Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Markus Stockhausen, Sony Music 2018.
In September 2017 the State Music Council of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, awarded its Silver Tuning Fork to trumpet player, improviser, composer and band leader, Markus Stockhausen.
The award provided an occasion for a live concert which was recorded by West German Radio in Dusseldorf.
Seven musicians from seven different countries and cultures, the Eternal Voyage band, developed improvisations around melodic themes provided by Stockhausen and in so doing reached an entirely new level of ensemble playing.
The band consisted of; Alireza Mortazavi from Persia playing a zither-like instrument known as a santur, Hindol Deb a sitar virtuoso from India, Dutch clarinetist Tara Bouman, Lebanese singer Rabih Lahoud, German-Indian keyboard player Jarry Singla, German-Polish percussionist Bodek Janke, and Stockhausen on trumpet.
The album contains seven extended tracks.
Compositions are allowed time to develop into long, detailed, often elegiac and lyrical pieces.
Singer Rabih Lahoud’s beautiful vocalisations become an additional instrument rather than the provider of lyrics.
The track Avanti being the sole exception where spoken word introduces the song.
The album has a delightful meditative feel as the performers are afforded the scope and latitude to develop their musical improvisations.
This is the second album of Markus Stockhausen’s that I’ve heard and I remain completely enthralled by the quality of his band’s performances.
Each musician is a master craftsman and they blend seamlessly creating musical pieces of lyrical and poetic beauty.
