Search - Alex Kontorovich :: Deep Minor

Clarinetist/saxophonist/composer Alex Kontorovich is well versed in the gospel according to Bird and Trane and while his jazz background is notable, his knowledge and familiarity with klezmer is equally impressive. A founding member of the electrifying klezmer aggregation, the Klez Dispensers he is much in demand as a sideman, adding his horns to the Klezmatics and Frank London's Klezmer Brass All Stars. His debut as a leader is entitled Deep Minor and it possesses a sound whose soul is composed of equal parts immigrant experience, bluesman s reflection and youthful optimism. The CD will be released on September 18 on Chamsa Records.

For this project, Kontorovich has assembled a captivating cast of world musicians who are as much at home with Parker and Coltrane as they are with Brandwein and Tarras or Zorn and Krakauer. Bassist Reuben Radding and drummer Aaron Alexander are two individuals who, like Kontorovich, have produced their own takes on the intermarriage of jazz and world music. Together, they form a rhythm section that fosters exploration of Kontorovich s varied compositions. Joining them is Brandon Seabrook, who has expanded the scope of the banjo while defining its place in modern jazz/klezmer fusion. His unique approach, more percussive than country, is a staple of the pioneering jazz/klezmer band Naftule's Dream and its more traditional alter ego, Shirim. He is the perfect foil for Kontorovich s musical vision and lends his inventive improvisations and stylings to this session. Doubling on electric guitar, he adds a searing edge to the proceedings. Together these artists create one of the most elegantly interconnected hybridizations of klezmer with modern jazz.

Alex Kontorovich is one of the young rising stars on the NYC and international klezmer, classical and jazz scenes. Born in Russia before Glasnost, Kontorovich brings to his music early vivid memories of Jewish repression and scarcity of necessities. Perhaps these recollections are partly responsible for his ability to blend the freedom of jazz with klezmer's Eastern European identity in such an elegant way. In addition, his overall persona differentiates him from the stereotypical twenty-something. A martial arts black belt, math professor at Brown University, and classically trained musician, Kontorovich represents the best of his cohorts diversity. Add to that stunning credentials in klezmer and modern jazz (the Klezmatics, Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Jamie Begian's Big Band, the Toronto Philharmonia, the Waterloo Symphony, DJ SoCalled, Aaron Alexander's Midrash Mish Mosh, King Django's Roots and Culture Band, KlezSka, the Brellochs Saxophone Quartet, founding member of the Klez Dispensers) and it is no accident that this music is an exciting and positive reflection of the next Jewish and jazz generation coming of age amidst a myriad of multicultural influences.

From the liner notes by Elliott Simon, All About Jazz - NY