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From the album "Orient"
Naim Records (2005)

Review by John Fordham in Guardian

Nicolas Meier is a Swiss guitarist with a bright reputation in his homeland, and also in Italy and France; now he has moved to London. Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin are clear influences on his brand of contemporary fusion, but since his move, the guitarist has broadened a brief that was already expanding. Orient is the product of three combined forces: the culture of Meier's Turkish wife, plus some musical experiments with London-based world-jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and middle-eastern drummer Asaf Sirkis. The result is like a Pat Metheny album with a strong eastern-European and middle-eastern spin. It might seem that by combining such well-travelled world-music elements, Meier is asking for trouble. But his originality as a writer, a player and a team leader dispatches any doubts. Give or take a few soft-fusion or movie-music longueurs, and some overdependence on Metheny's arsenal of guitar sound effects, Orient is a seductive balance of strong themes, inventive improvising and dynamic variety, with Atzon often playing exquisitely on saxes and on both conventional and Turkish clarinets.

The opener, Adiguzel, moves between Turkish dance music and jazz grooving; Sirkis' percussion is typically vivid and vigorous. Meier is elegant in tone and bubbling with ideas on the Methenyish Libra, and Atzmon plays a wonderful clarinet break of eerie whispers, sly insinuations and gripping tonal contrasts on Last Rose before Meier follows with a zither-like sound. Alone is Eastern fusion with subtle guitar electronics, and saxophonists Dave O'Higgins and Rob Lavers contrast a postbop-sax intensity with Atzmon's patient storytelling. Definitely promising.

credits

from Marble Dance (Free Download), released June 24, 2016
Nicolas Meier - all guitars
Asaf Sirkis - Drums
Gilad Atzmon - Clarinet, Turkish Clarinet & Soprano Saxes
Tom Mason - Acoustic Bass
Dave O'Higgins - Tenor Sax & Soprano Saxes
Bill Evans - Tenor Sax & Soprano Saxes
Matthieu Michel - Trumpet & Flugehorn
Thierry Lang - Piano (Blue Note Artiste)
Jose Reinoso - Piano & Keyboards
Rob Lavers - Tenor Sax & Soprano Saxes
Paul Francis - Bass
Alex Hendriksen - Tenor Sax & Soprano Saxes
Ben Zwerin - Bass
Siemy Di - Percussions
Juliano Zanoni - Drums

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