The Rhythm
Future Quartet brings its unique brand of 21st century Gypsy jazz to the Xerox
Rochester International Jazz Festival on Friday, June 24 in celebration of its
new CD Travels. The quartet features chief soloists Jason Anick on violin and
Olli Soikkeli on guitar, along with second guitarist Max O’Rourke and bassist
Greg Loughman. Shows take place at 6 and 10 p.m. at Montage Music Hall.
Comprised of
forward thinking and prodigiously gifted players, the Rhythm Future Quartet
continues its deeply felt mission to situate Gypsy jazz firmly in the here and now.
On Travels, scintillating original compositions, dazzling improvisation and
one-mind ensemble playing convert the swinging string driven sounds of the past
into a viable and vital style that speaks directly to jazz lovers of the
present. The album was released
February 26, 2016 on Magic Fiddle Music.
As DownBeat
publisher Frank Alkyer writes: “The future of Gypsy jazz is in good hands with
the Rhythm Future Quartet.... Anick is a fluid violinist and Soikkeli flat-out
blisters on guitar... The musicianship throughout this 13-song set is
breathtaking.... Rhythm Future, indeed.
I look forward to listening to this group for a long, long time.”
Rhythm
Future Quartet (named after the Django Reinhardt composition “Rhythm Futur”)
has itself evolved since its self-titled 2014 debut recording. Where that
critically acclaimed release drew on standards as its core repertoire, Travels
is largely devoted to group originals, compositions that touch on the tenants
of the Gypsy jazz style yet thoroughly reflect the contemporary mindset of the
makers. These ten new pieces are interwoven with shrewd reinterpretations of
Bireli Lagrene’s “Made In France,” Paul Durand’s “Je Sui Seul Ce Soir” and, in
a slinky arrangement that signals the band’s willingness to expand the scope of
the Gypsy jazz idiom, Lennon and McCartney’s “Come Together.” Each of these
thirteen performances display the awing virtuosity and sublime lyricism of the
featured instrumentalists as well as the enviable cohesion of a musical unit
that breathes as a collective entity.
As its title
infers, Travels reflects the nomadic nature of the band and its individual
members. “Over the past two and a half years, the group has done extensive
traveling all over the world,” Anick says, “We used this time to work together
to compose and co-arrange all the material that culminated into this new
record.” With over 50 different countries between the four members throughout
their careers, traveling has certainly been a big part of both their group and
individual development, expanding their musical and cultural horizons and
ultimately inspiring new compositions that tie all of these experiences
together. Besides the literal sense of the word, Anick states, “This album also
travels in the musical sense, traversing various musical landscapes from around
the world, which opened up new rhythmic and melodic possibilities and allowed
the group to take its Gypsy jazz influenced music into the future.” The
international influences are easily heard in such Anick pieces as “Vesella”
which incorporates Balkan music rhythms within the mix, and “Amsterdam” and
“The Keeper” which are inflected with Latin rhythms and textures.
If rousing
performances including “Bushwick Stomp” (which celebrates Finnish guitarist
Soikkeli’s move to his present Brooklyn home) and “Don’t Tell Me” and “Made In
France” are within the traditional Gypsy jazz vein, such pieces as “Travels,”
“Still Winter” and “Round Hill” speak of RF’s new musical expression, a vision
that makes effective use of more atmospheric textures and reflective moods. “We
want to bring it all to the table,” Anick says, “Variety is valuable for our
listeners and for us as players.”
Clearly this
is not the Gypsy jazz for purists. “Instead of putting our own stamp on beloved
material we are trying to bring new material to the forefront,” Anick states.
“We’re trying to bridge a gap. We aim to draw in listeners that respond to the
best of the tradition–the energy, the rhythm, the exciting virtuosity, the deep
emotion–and then take a leap of faith and open their ears up to new
soundscapes. We as a group are trying to prove that a music normally associated
with older players can now provide personal expression for younger players of
today.”
One of the
youngest instructors at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Jason Anick, now 30,
is rapidly making a name for himself in the world of jazz violin and mandolin.
In addition to leading his own contemporary jazz ensemble and performing with
the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has been touring and recording with Grammy
award-winning Nashville guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson since 2008 when he was
recruited while still a senior at Hartt Conservatory. In addition to his work
with the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has released two highly acclaimed albums
as a leader, Tipping Point (2014) and Sleepless (2010). A versatile and sought
after side-man, Anick has also shared the stage with an array of artists like
Stevie Wonder, John Sebastian, The Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Tommy Emmanuel, and
Delta Rae.
Olli
Soikkeli was born in 1991 in Nurmes, Finland. He started playing guitar at the
age of 12 and, once he heard the music of Django Reinhardt, he was hooked. He’s been performing Gypsy jazz ever since
and has performed in jazz clubs and festivals in Finland and beyond. He
currently lives in NYC and has performed with Bucky Pizzarelli, Cyrille Aimee,
Tommy Emmanuel, Anat Cohen and many more, garnering him the title, ‘the Finish
Boy Wonder’. He’s released two albums under
his own name in addition to albums with Rhythm Future Quartet. The Wall Street Journal heralded him as “a
riveting Finnish guitarist who combines astonishing dexterity and speed with
pure soul.”
Vermont
native Max O’Rourke is quickly earning a reputation as one of the top young
Gypsy jazz guitarists of his day. The
19-year-old was the winner of the 2015 Saga Award from DjangoFest Northwest and
is currently a student at Berklee College of Music. In addition to performing with the Rhythm
Future Quartet, he has shared the stage with the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet and
the Grammy winning John Jorgenson Quartet.
Greg
Loughman is an “emphatically lyrical” (JazzTimes), versatile and sensitive
bassist who’s performed with numerous jazz greats including George Garzone,
Curtis Fuller, Jerry Bergonzi, Joanne Brackeen, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan and
many others. He currently leads his own indie rock group Lowman and performs
with the John Funkhouser Trio, Klezwoods, and many others.
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