Review of Zarabanda Variations – free jazz project is a fun dive into colonial history | Music

CLassical music lovers will be familiar with the sarabande genre – a Spanish dance style based on the lively and melodious style of music favored by baroque composers such as Bach and Handel. For the American singer Keir GoGwilt, however, the sarabande has something very powerful. For his collaboration with The Zarabanda Variations, he wrote a 10-part ensemble that combines free jazz with baroque strings and spoken word poetry to explore Latin America’s pre-colonial Spanish influence in the 17th and 18th centuries.

At first listen, it is difficult to understand how this song can fit into the classical sarabande at all. The strumming of strings, strumming, belly rumbles and shrill whistles create chaos throughout, as if to reflect the power of dance that is said to be in the early forms of dance. Instead, instead of creating a baroque sarabande ensemble, GoGwilt’s writings fit into its obscure history to create something new.

Matachín’s wonky meters refer to contemporary Spanish dance that is also known for its strengths in Alec Goldfarb’s finger-picking jazz guitar, while Otra Llorona features Mexican sarabandes and Mariana Flores Buluo’s melodious vocals. The Tonada Americana is a spectacular, pulsating blend of 17th-century Spanish dance music. music with parts of a bowed bowed violin that create a sense of anticipation for a decision that has yet to arrive.

This is not an easy song, with several spoken words from the poet Edgar Garcia often have confusing references, but the instrument is good and the volume is amazing. Through the incredible imagination of this square dance, GoGwilt uncovers the depths that will keep composers interested in the sarabande for generations to come.

Also this month

The Brazilian-German duo Bullfinch Bullfinch releasing their self-titled album (Mr Bongo), featuring warm analogue sounds from the 70s Brazilian popular music with exciting sounds, lively live horns and a jazzy twist. A retro pastiche that still works because of its simple design. A rare find of Malaysian jazz from the 60s and 70s, Alfonso Soliano‘s Three Trombones (Audible Beauty) has a wonderful sense of the sub-section that draws on Chimayi’s movements as much as the main group’s music. A singer Finns released What Does It Take to Bloom? (Salon Africana), a group of breezy breezy jazz tunes that culminate in a haunting rendition of Nina Simone’s So You Want to Be a Woman.