Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nicolas Meier/ Dewa Budjana Group: Flying Spirits
Nicolas Meier/ Dewa Budjana Group: Flying Spirits
By
Nicolas Meier
guitar, acoustic
Dewa Budjana
guitar, electricb.1963
Indonesian Budjana and the Swiss-born now UK-resident Meier are both in double digits with their own solo fusion and jazz records. While bringing variant skills and knowledge to the project, a love and mastery of World Music is the thread that binds. Their musical fluency extends to Middle Eastern, Turkish, flamenco, rock, and well beyond. Both are influenced by guitar God

Jeff Beck
guitar1944 - 2023

John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942

Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
The possibility of clutter comes to mind when merging musicians with such vast skill sets and range. That thought is quickly dispersed with a recording which is engineered with a broadness of space that coincides with the infinite nature of the musical odyssey itself. A space that would have accommodated a much larger ensemble was explored, traveled, and enriched vividly by a quintet that also included the illuminatingly brilliant suling renderings of
Saat Syah
flute
Jimmy Haslip
bassb.1951
To over-analyze every song or to cherry pick songs would be to miss the larger picture. As mentioned earlier, this is a journey, maze-like trip that moves through many passages, changes, and diverse elements, creating an opportunity to take the brain on that much needed vacation. We may be on lockdown physically, but these happy and deep spirits can positively alter your headspace. To not listen to this record in its entirety is to rob yourself of its core. Meier's engagingly evolved acoustic is heard in perfect symmetry with Budjana's nuanced and intense electric. Both are adjoined with the extraordinary inflections and evocatively hybrid sounds of Syah.
This mesh of jazz, fusion, and Middle Eastern flavored World Music wouldn't fly without being steered and driven by Sikis and Haslip. Both imparted key elements with their complex interplay and dynamics. They provided exceptionally wide, seemingly infinite, boundaries that expanded the palette for Meier, Budjana, and Syah to freely, without limitations, delve intently into their spiritual souls.
Yes, the vault was gladly reopened to welcome the most enchanting Flying Spirits to its rightful place among the shortlist of 2020's finest. ">
Track Listing
Flying Spirits; Ganga; Gschwend Trees; Jayaprana; Joged Kahyangen; Peaceful; Riversides; Tales
Personnel
Dewa Budjana
guitar, electricNicolas Meier
guitar, acousticJimmy Haslip
bassSaat Syah
fluteAsaf Sikis
drumsAlbum information
Title: Flying Spirits | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Blue Canoe Records
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