Fusion Orchestra
Octagon
© 2006 Fusion Orchestra (634479459504)
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The music of Fusion Orchestra is groovy modern Jazz Fusion based on re-conceptualization and combination of different ethnic and contemporary styles with nontrivial rhythms and signatures.
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Fusion Orchestra is a group of musicians from Sevastopol, Crimea that creates and performs music based on re-conceptualization and combination of different ethnic and contemporary styles and textures.
Cast:
Sergey Bogdan (acoustic guitar),
Eugene Popov (piano),
Pavel Voronezhsky (bass),
Denis Melnikov (drums).
Style: jazz-rock, fusion, smooth jazz, contemporary jazz.
Band History:
"Fusion Orchestra" was formed in 1998 as a jazz-rock/fusion band. At that time, it included the Sergey Bogdan (acoustic guitar), Tatyana Kudryavtseva (violin), Marina Zatsepina (cello), Elvira Kalnik (vocal), Andrey Tupysev (drums), Pavel Voronezhsky (bass), Alexey Yanikov (accordion) and Sergey Popovsky (flutes). In 2001 "Fusion Orchestra" released CD album called "Musical Novelle" and after that, its cast was completely changed to the current version.
The group took part in fests:
"Jazz-Koktebel '2007" (Koktebel, Ukraine);
"Mamakabo '2007" (Koktebel, Ukraine);
"Flyugery Lvova '2007" (Lviv, Ukraine)
"Mamakabo '2006" (Koktebel, Ukraine);
"Jazz-Koktebel '2004" (Koktebel, Ukraine);
"Jazz Autumn '2004" (Sevastopol, Ukraine);
«Yalta Jam '2000» (Yalta, Ukraine);
"The Jazz Horizons '2000" (Krivoi Rog, Ukraine).
Activity:
Creation of delicate «musical landscapes» based on composing and improvising for gigs, clubs, exhibitions and parties — that's the current speciality of Fusion Orchestra.
Releases:
"Apocrypha" (2007) (c)&(p) Fusion Orchestra. All rights reserved.
"Octagon" (2006) (c)&(p) Fusion Orchestra. All rights reserved.
"Musical Novelle" (2001) (c)&(p) Fusion Orchestra. All rights reserved.
reviews
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It is unique in it's own way, yet something we have heard before...
author: MJBradyBased on the bands name, I was expecting something a little more electric, or perhaps a combination of orchestrated fusion music. Yet what this band from Crimea are about is jazz textures with elements of world fusion. Mostly all acoustical, the fourpiece of electric bass, drums, piano, and electric/classical guitar take a fairly laid back approach to their style of music. It is unique in it's own way, yet something we have heard before. All the players are very skilled and well versed in jazz improv, creating songs that are structured for the sake of interactive accompaniment, yet leaving a lot of room for stretching out as soloists. I find that the music is very relaxed, yet shows enough technical arrangements to keep your ears piqued. Not smooth jazz in any way, as they take a more non-commercial path in their writing. In some ways I sense a little Chick Corea's Acoustik Band, yet never really going that deep into the virtuoso playing. The pianist gets main stage pretty much on every song, as the bassist and drummer provide workmanlike backdrops. The guitarist, while present seems to only be heard on occasions, giving the music a second voice. I guess this CD is decent, though certainly not something most fans of intense fusion music are going to find that interesting. All told, this is a jazz CD, straight forward, unadulterated organic music that follows some old paths and incorporates some new ethnic sounds. It's apparent that by virtue of the bands' skill level, that they are capable of doing pretty much anything if they want to get more into the electric field of fusion, as for this CD, it's a relaxing listen on a Sunday morning kind of CD.
Outstanding progressive jazz CD. Pick up a copy today!
author: RadioIndy.com staffWow! "Octagon" is a very enjoyable progressive jazz fusion CD by Fusion Orchestra. The musicians on this CD are phenomenal and the band is very tight. The recording sounds very crisp, with simple production that highlights the natural sounds of the instruments and accomplished musicians. The songs are musically complex yet enjoyable to the non-musician listener as well. For example, the tight breaks and complex runs in “Jadido” are awesome and blend together with rich piano compositions into an excellent song for the listener. Whether you enjoy listening to jazz fusion, or just listening to extremely talented musicians, you'll love this CD. Pick up a copy today!
Outstanding progressive jazz CD. Pick up a copy today!
author: RadioIndy.com staffWow! "Octagon" is a very enjoyable progressive jazz fusion CD by Fusion Orchestra. The musicians on this CD are phenomenal and the band is very tight. The recording sounds very crisp, with simple production that highlights the natural sounds of the instruments and accomplished musicians. The songs are musically complex yet enjoyable to the non-musician listener as well. For example, the tight breaks and complex runs in “Judido” are awesome and blend together with rich piano compositions into an excellent song for the listener. Whether you enjoy listening to jazz fusion, or just listening to extremely talented musicians, you'll love this CD. Pick up a copy today!
Highly reccomended album for jazz lovers
author: ChrisHighly reccomended album for jazz lovers, the production is superb and the tunes tight, my copy is an absolute treat!
Consistent work full of interesting ideas
author: Vitaly Zhuravlyov"Octagon" - is the group’s second album containing only the original material proves to be a consistent work full of interesting ideas. Despite a standard jazz combo format the group achieves a rather unique sound. ======================= 1."Dance" - The opening composition displays all the main features of the whole album – odd metres, a fluent but reliable bass (Pavel Voronezhsky), a briefly surfacing and easily going to background guitar (Sergey Bogdan), energetic drums (Denis Melnikov), and a piano (Eugene Popov) taking major melodic and improvisational duties. The song starts without any introduction. The slightly processed classical guitar sounding in a folk manner exposes a short main theme, which is repeated in a rondo-like succession for more than 1.5 minutes. Then a powerful bass comes in and the other instruments follow. At first the theme seems tiresome but in a while it enchants you with its unusual rhythm of 4 + 3 + 3 + 3. After a resolute bridge a lyrical improvisation comes in with the dramatic bridge revealing itself in the middle one more time. Finally a short reprise brings the theme back just when you start missing it. ======================= 2."Unexpected Guest" - An extended melancholic and contemplative piano introduction is followed by a light bossa nova with a chain of alternating solos by Bogdan and Popov. However it is not just Latin jazz and the bossa nova can turn either into an ominous episode or a repetitive short 9/4 motif. The pianist increases intensity in his developed solo which softly resolves over the familiar 9/4 figure. The guitar bossa nova gets interrupted once again with menacing piano chords and the return of the introduction rounds up the cycle. ======================= 3."December Rain" - December rain typical for Crimea continues the Latin theme but you cannot expect pure styles from the Fusion Orchestra. The rhythms and moods are changing, what seemed to be a smooth jazz rumba in a wink becomes swing (not a real strength of the ensemble though) and then funk. Here we can hear the first guest appearance – vocal of Lolita Poplavskaya. Unfortunately she was not allowed to deviate from the theme longer than a couple of measures so this colour in the limited group’s palette showed just as a stroke. Another interesting moment is inclusion of a real rain sound into the record. And it is not just in the intro or fade out which would be completely trivial if not banal. It is in the middle of the composition and it lasts good 1.5 minutes. All the instruments tactfully release the pressure and the rain and Voronezhsky’s pulsing bass come to the foreground. ======================= 4."Jadido" - The fact that these musicians highly respect Chick Corea becomes evident in the “Spanish-speaking” Jadido by Voronezhsky. Its violin version was released on the first band’s CD. Arguably, it is the most popular number from their repertoire. Irresistible drive, captivating full stops… Why is it not played by radio stations? The only thing getting me off rhythm is the too loose drum solo. However the album’s voltage is getting higher. ======================= 5."Black Bagel" - The title is inspired by Victor Pelevin’s novel The Clay Machine-Gun (Chapaev i Pustota). Its main recognizable feature is a rhythmically complex and ever escaping bass figure which unpredictably rolls groups of three and four eighths notes. The first theme is anxious and questioning, the second one is a philosophical response. Now and then we can hear an extra quarter and in a moment another quarter is missing. In the middle part the guitar and the piano trade short solos divided by lightning speed basslines. Bogdan’s guitar is far from the common patterns here. In the short break all-knowing Chapaev whistles the second theme standing at the edge of Ural (the Undefinable River of Absolute Love), and then a windmill of sounds captures you again. ======================= 6."Mayan Loom" - Another enigmatic title meaning probably not the infamous device the Loom of Maya but rather the symmetric pattern of their calendar tool reflecting the structure of our DNA. But let’s talk about music, and the music just rocks! This is a composition of a serious length (longer than 10 minutes) and serious tension. Light jazz gives up the place to solid rock. Live sounds interweave in a rhythm of a loom, the musical texture is subtly coloured with non-standard programming. Another chromatic solo by Bogdan, then great piano work by Popov followed by – surprise! – his electric guitar solo in a manner far from the common ways. The rhythm section is amazing. Little pearls are sprinkled here and there – burst of double tempo before the end, harmonics sending shivers down my spine, and finally the stopped time of the disappeared civilization. Well, the music is much greater than this description! ======================= 7."Russia" - By the album’s end the tension eases although the final songs are full of drama. The initial title of Russia was Country Miles. These are exactly the associations caused by the monotonous repetitive theme backed however with some harmonic movement. But the words Russia, boundless spaces, endless roads live well together and they are underlined by certain Russian thematizm. The melodically developed middle part with gradually doubling tempo is particularly interesting. ======================= 8."Forgotten Feelings" - The CD closes with a romantic rhapsody for piano solo. The ending piece manages a rare finale combining downfall of the rhythmic intensity with increasing emotional intensity. ======================= In the conclusion I would like to say something about the album as a whole. The cover design is pale but highly original. The disc released in the CD-Text format but unfortunately the song titles are in Cyrillic and are not displayed right by most players. Personally I would like if the always present propulsive and melodic bass of Pavel Voronezhsky was exposed at least in a single solo. I hope these wee remarks will not diminish all the strengths of this excellent body of work.
Very good, original and 'organic' album - good job!
author: Mats Bystrom... Your CD sounds and looks very good, It's very interesting and slightly "exotic" to me with all the oddmeter tunes and different scales and harmonies. My favorites are "Unexpected guest" (nice mood and beautiful melody), "Jadido" (reminds me of Chick Corea) and "Black bagel" (cool groove and high energy, funny name too :-). It's also a very nice solopiece your pianist plays at the end. You seem to have played together for a long time, as you are tight and follow eachother well. Good idea with the voice on "December rain", more of that!... Overall, a very good, original and 'organic' album - good job!
Highly and wholeheartedly recommended to everybody!!!
author: Arthur ZDAAS PaleyAs a proud owner of a copy of that CD, I can say, that project is really impressive, the music is interesting for the mind and touchy for the soul. Highly and wholeheartedly recommended to everybody!!!
You guys are great!
author: PsychicpetYou guys are great! I absolutely dig the sound you have as a group and the commitment to your art!!! All the best with the new CD and all of the new tunes already brewing!
Fantastic album you guys have made!
author: Scotty OrangeFantastic album you guys have made! I love listening to it... I can tell a lot of work went into making this album, and its great to know there's musicians at your talent level still out there. Each song has so much depth to it, it's amazing! And every song has many subtle surprises that I find myself listening over and over again. Very impressive work. I'm so glad I found you on this thing... I don't even know how it happened... just sort of found you. And the end part on "Mayan Loom" is nothing short of brilliant. I wish you well in all your endeavors and please keep me posted on any other new material you guys make. Again, fantastic recording! I wish I could see your live show sometime.
Nice stuff!
author: Danny KThis is nice stuff - nicely recorded too. Reminds me of Ben Folds Five before they disappeared up their own arse.
Excellent!!
author: BrillmanExcellent!! Nuff said, just listen to this and be taken for a ride, that's if you dig jazz that is structured melodically & thematically while being both loose and complex at the same time?