Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Agust: Camallera

259

Agust: Camallera

By

Sign in to view read count
Agust: Camallera
Camallera was born naturally from the complex growth process of pianist Agusti Fernández. This experimental Spanish musician is beginning to be known in his native country, and it is only a question of time before he earns recognition outside Spanish borders.

To understand Fernández's ability—and importance for other musicians—both as a pianist and an improviser, one must consider his most recent recordings. He has appeared on several discs with Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, the last of which was Memory/Vision (ECM, 2003); he has appeared in duos with William Parker (2nd Set (Radical Records, 2001)), Derek Bailey (Barcelona (Hopscotch Records, 2002)), and Marilyn Crispell (Dark Night, and Luminous (Edicions Nova Era, 1998)). With 1 is not 1 (Edicions Nova Era, 1998), a solo piano recording, Fernandez attained critical acknowledgement, consolidating his reputation as a piano improviser without the support of another player. In 2004 the Agusti Fernández Quartet recorded Lonely Woman: The Music Of Ornette Coleman (Taller de Músics, 2005), an essential collection of Ornette Coleman compositions. Accompanied by Spanish musicians, Fernández successfully translated Coleman's music to the piano's keys.

Relative to all these projects, Camallera is the most ambitious, conceptually speaking. The 67 minutes that made it onto the recording are only a small summary of the fifteen consecutive hours that Fernandez spent in front of his piano. His instrument sounded from 7 am till 10 pm, accompanied only by the projection of Una Ventana Abierta al Mundo, a film by Alberto Tognazzi based on the sun's trajectory during the day. The images on the screen were the inspiration that Fernández used to melt down piano and time.

"Solar," the first song on the CD, reflects the relative unimportance of ten minutes in comparison with fifteen hours. The slow evolution of the piece contrasts with "Topos." Using an impossible rhythm, Fernández obtains an industrial atmosphere, extracting incredible sounds from the piano. "Aurora" is related to classical music, while "Zentral" finds its inspiration in the minimalism of oriental sounds.

The excellent post-production behind Camallera achieves amazing results: it's practically impossible to compress into an hour the things that happened during a whole day. The CD doesn't pretend to shorten the day, but instead extracts six fragments to expose the magnitude of the project. Camallera is not an easily categorized recording. It permits listeners to witness an exercise in improvisation that elevates Agusti Fernández above most of Spain's improvisers, and a big percentage of the international kind as well.

Visit Agusti Fernández on the web.

Track Listing

Solar; Topos; Aurora; Zentral; Al-Sirul; Mem

Personnel

Agusti Fern

Album information

Title: Camallera | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: G33G Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create 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.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.