Search - Ernst Reijseger :: Janna

A seamless fusion of traditions.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 02/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While attending a screening of Werner Herzog's superb "The Wild Blue Yonder", I was struck by the depth and power of the music Herzog had used for the film-- cello and vocal performances that were utterly captivating. A little research and I discovered this record (which as it turns out is not where the soundtrack was drawn from), "Janna" by Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger with Senagalese vocalist Mola Sylla and percussionist Serigne C.M. Gueye.



Reijseger has existed pretty much on the edge of my listening knowledge-- the European avant-garde traditions are something I've sort of flirted with but never really embraced. Having heard this piece, I suspect that's about to change.



The record by and large is a complete synthesis of Sylla and Gueye's Senagalese traditions with Reijseger's sort of European jazz/improv/neoclassical one. What is perhaps most stunning is that the music sounds seemless-- there's no "Europe meets Africa" feel or strings with hand drumming feel to it, it's a completely integrated music that defies categorization and sounds as if it was meant to go together.



As individuals, the three performers excel at their craft-- Reijseger, whose playing first drew my attention to this work, is clearly immensely talented (his admirers evidentally include famed classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma). He possesses the rare quality of playing pizzicato as confidently as he does arco, and finds rolls for his instrument that would otherwise not be expected. Sometimes he plays rhythmically, sometimes fulfilling a more bass-esque roll, sometimes playing delicate melodies. Sylla is also a revelation-- singing primarily in wolof, a language native to Senegal, he finds a clear level of expression that transcends language--even without the rather interesting liner notes discussing the lyrical meanings, when Sylla sings of pain, you hear it, when he sings of joy, you hear it, when he sings of longing or of the excitement of spending time with someone in love, you hear it. To communicate this directly in a language I've no understanding of whatsoever is, to my mind, downright stunning.



With Sylla's power as a vocalist and the flexibility of the three as instrumentalists, an extraordinarily wide range of moods and textures are covered, with all three taking spotlights. I've only had the record for a couple days (although it's been in heavy rotation), and some particular favorites have started to emerge-- opener "Jangelma" finds Reijseger setting up a captivating, somewhat indistinct line before giving way to a circular rhythmic figure over with Sylla expresses the pain of a European imposed education system designed to take away the heritage of his people, the a capella "Fier", a rather complex love song, is rendered with such enormous power and sensitivity as to be overwhelming, and the mournful "Doxandeem" finds Gueye as percussionist stealing the show from a both intriguing rhythmic cello performance and a vocal that speaks of betrayal and pain



I'm generally not one who is inclined towards this sort of frantic level of endless praising, but this album is really beyond words. Even if you're only vaguely curious about this, this is a brilliant recording. Highly recommended."

Great music

B. Mendelson | Zutphen, Netherlands | 03/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i have seen these guys live, in Zutphen (Netherlands) It was more then a concert. It was... it was... it was WOW!



Thanks Ernst"