SLAMCD518 Samuel Blaser – Solo Bone

This solo album by Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser was recorded live in concert for Swiss Radio ‘Espace 2’ in 2007; seven original tracks and an amazing version of Ellington’s ‘Mood Indigo’.

Samuel Blaser: trombone

“Blaser knows his horn, and over the course of Solo Bone he amply demonstrates this mastery. Unlike most solo trombone projects that pass my way, Blaser keeps his work grounded in the Jazz and Classical mainstreams. He pro­pels his performances with pedal point punctuations. Only on the opening two minutes of the closing “Finally Alone” does he offer some free-form exploration. It’s a tasty two minutes in which – using his F-valve – he emulates the sound of rubbing a turntable. But then he’s just as tasty on the one cover, “Mood Indigo,” on which he employs multiphonics and a plunger mute to evoke Duke’s eerie three-part voicing of the theme.” – David Dupont, Cadence

“Solo Bone is the direct heir to Albert Mangelsdorff’s work in conception and aesthetic…But like bass clarinettists escaping Dolphy’s shadow, Blaser’s solo effort is far more than a Mangelsdorff tribute. The technique is there as is the emphasis on tonal melodic improvisation, but it was up to Blaser to make something of it, and in a live setting no less. Solo Bone is an eminently listenable album that shows much promise.” – Andrey Henkin, All About Jazz

Recorded by Michel Golay on November 4th 2007, at Salle Faller, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland.

SLAM CATALOGUE