Johannes Eick - "Music for Solo Six-String Double Bass" album review
Johannes Eick - Music for Solo Six-String Double Bass
Each track presents a slightly new sound of the six-string, while still remaining within a overall easy-going ambiance.
Johannes Eick is a Norwegian jazz bassist who specializes on six string basses. His recent release is a solo album consisting of his own music composed and improvised especially for this instrument. Music for Solo Six-String Double Bass brings to the fore how this expanded instrument pushes the bass into the realm of harmony and melody simultaneously. Eick truly uses the whole instrument in the album, not shying away from both the extreme lows and highs of the bass. In certain tracks Eick overdubs himself, creating long arco drones over which to solo, or gorgeous chorale settings of contemporary jazz harmonies. However, the post-production edits could have been cleaner. In some tracks it is difficult to tell if notes are purposefully displaced or accidentally not edited correctly. Similarly, the overbearing reverb and effects added in tracks such as "The Flood" come across as extraneous and out of place.
Most striking on the album are the three color interludes. These tracks, "Yellow Interlude", "Red Interlude", and "Blue Interlude", highlight Eick's ability to successfully condense his material down into only the most necessary, never playing too much nor too little. Throughout the album, Eick switches seamlessly back and forth from pizzicato and arco with the same amount of comfort and confidence in both. His tone, although clearly altered in post-production on certain tracks, is clear and stylistically appropriate. At times when playing arco on the upper strings, the six-string begins to morph into a tinny cello or gamba timbre. While not typical of a traditional double bass and at times is distracting from the music, Eick knows his instrument well and is sure to mostly use this to his advantage while planning his compositions and improvising.
As one listens to Music for Six-String Double Bass, it is impossible to distinguish from Eick's pre-composed music and his improvisations. The feel of the album flows naturally due to his mixture of short interludes between the longer tunes. Each track presents a slightly new sound of the six-string, while still remaining within a overall easy-going ambiance. Music for Solo Six-String Double Bass is a must listen to album for contemporary bassists of all styles and lovers of relaxing jazz.
Listen and purchase the album here or on YouTube and AmazonMusic.
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