Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Samo Salamon: Stretching Out

Samo Salamon: Stretching Out

By Jakob Baekgaard
October 7, 2013
View read count

Cosmopolitan is a term that is often used to describe musicians, but in the case of Slovenian guitarist

Samo Salamon

guitar, electric
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Samo Salamon, it is certainly a description that fits.

Salamon has turned the restless nature of the travelling musician into an aesthetic strategy and has worked with two different quartets that represent his different musical sides: the hip underground of the New York jazz scene and the experimental sensibility of the European avant-garde.

Stretching Out is an ambitious double album that offers a full portrait of his working groups. Disc one consists of four compositions played by Salamon's US quartet with tenor saxophonist

Donny McCaslin

saxophone, tenor
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Donny McCaslin, bassist John Hebert and drummer

Gerald Cleaver

drums
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Cleaver. This is epic stuff where the term "stretching out" is taken at face value. McCaslin spins elegant narrative lines and the propulsive drumming of Cleaver keeps things boiling while the groove is in the hands of Hebert. Salamon's motifs twist and turn, but there's a melodic sensibility at heart, which comes across on the unison playfulness on "Swamp Area" where the guitarist and McCaslin play in close tandem.

Disc 2 finds Salamon playing with his European quartet with bassist Bruno Chevillon and drummer

Roberto Dani

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Roberto Dani. The most interesting addition, however, is violinist Dominique Pifarely. He plays in the vein of

Jeff Gauthier

violin
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Gauthier and

Billy Bang

violin
1947 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Bang and his playing is a joy to behold as he explores the textures of his instrument without sacrificing the melody. Like Salamon, Pifarely is a melodic experimentalist and a refreshing musical voice.

The group covers a wide spectrum, ranging from subtle lyrical

Steve Reich

composer / conductor
b.1936

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Reich-like repetition on "Molene" to shades of progressive rock on "The Puffins We Never Saw," with heavily distorted chords and scratching violin.

Stretching Out is the perfect portrait of one of the most interesting guitarists in modern jazz. Salamon continues to stretch the boundaries of music and here he engages in an intense dialogue with his working groups and creates an expression that is all his own.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

My Rain / Kei's Blues; Swamp Area; Ice Storm; The Puffins We Never Saw; Drizzle; Erdeven; The Land of Artichokes; Molene; No Photos!; Oyster Picnic; Pointe Du Raz.

Personnel

Samo Salamon

guitar, electric

Samo Salamon: guitar; Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone (CD1); John Hebert: bass (CD1); Gerald Cleaver: drums (CD1); Dominique Pifarely: violin (CD2); Bruno Chevillon: bass (CD2); Roberto Dani: drums (Cd2).

Album information

Title: Stretching Out | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Samo Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Tri-Centric Orchestra Commissioning ...
< Previous

For Joe
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.