Across all borders
Sarah Chaksad has reduced her orchestra to a 13-piece ensemble and her new album proves that her decision was the right one. The new formation knows how to be both bolder and more agile.
For more than ten years, the name Sarah Chaksad has been synonymous with jazz full of concise motifs, subdued sounds and complex rhythms. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the saxophonist, composer and bandleader was primarily on the road with her "Orchestra", with which she also released two albums. For her latest work, TogetherShe has not expanded her ensemble, but reduced it to 13 musicians. According to the 40-year-old, the current formation is therefore more flexible and enjoys additional space for improvisation.
Rare instruments, odd meters
In an interview with the author of these lines in 2022, Chaksad explained that her aim is to continue to develop and that music serves as a place of strength for her. Both are reflected in her ten new pieces. The majority of the compositions were triggered by the death of her father, who came from Iran. This prompted her to delve deeper into traditional Persian music. As a result, she has expanded her dynamic sound with instruments such as the eufonium, valve trombone and Persian violin, which are little known in jazz.
In addition, almost all the songs on Together are based on odd meters. While the playful Imagine Peace features a 13/8 time signature, the atmospheric title track uses a 5/8 time signature and is particularly appealing thanks to Misagh Joolaee's soulful solo on the kamanche, a spike fiddle. Numbers such as the elegiac Love Letters or the cheeky Lostwhich was inspired by parental life in Berlin, are imaginative, inspired and stick with you.
Ultimately, the album is characterized by depth of focus, diverse timbres and careful solo contributions. Sarah Chaksad would like to Together The band's music is full of curiosity and moves from genre to genre, which is easy to understand.
Sarah Chaksad Large Ensemble: Together. Clap Your Hands CYH
Line up: Yumi Ito (voc), Hildegunn Øiseth (tp, goat horn), Paco Andreo (vtb), Lukas Wyss (tb), Sophia Nidecker (tuba), Catherine Delaunay (basset horn), Christoph Bösch (fl), Fabian Willmann (ts), Julia Hülsmann (p), Fabio Gouvea (g), Dominique Girod (b), Eva Klesse (dr), Misagh Joolaee (kamancheh), Sarah Chaksad (ss, as, comp)
