Name: Phoenix: Live In Salzburg and Zurich
Brand: City Hall Records
SKU: 1401640
Price: 14.64 USD
Availability: InStock

Phoenix

Rating

Album: Phoenix: Live In Salzburg and Zurich
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Folk Song	More Info...	0:07
2)	Karelian Kink	More Info...	0:05
3)	Archaeopteryx	More Info...	0:02
4)	Turcana	More Info...	0:02
5)	Synopsis	More Info...	0:06
6)	Phoenix: Rising	More Info...	0:09
7)	Falsche Faehrten	More Info...	0:07
8)	Alpine Trail: Calling	More Info...	0:01
9)	Alpine Trail: Walking	More Info...	0:02
10)	Alpine Trail: Dreaming	More Info...	0:01
11)	Alpine Trail: Dancing	More Info...	0:01
12)	Suonatina	More Info...	0:07
13)	Tikkettitakkitakk	More Info...	0:07

Album: Phoenix: Live In Salzburg and Zurich
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Folk Song	More Info...	0:07
2)	Karelian Kink	More Info...	0:05
3)	Archaeopteryx	More Info...	0:02
4)	Turcana	More Info...	0:02
5)	Synopsis	More Info...	0:06
6)	Phoenix: Rising	More Info...	0:09
7)	Falsche Faehrten	More Info...	0:07
8)	Alpine Trail: Calling	More Info...	0:01
9)	Alpine Trail: Walking	More Info...	0:02
10)	Alpine Trail: Dreaming	More Info...	0:01
11)	Alpine Trail: Dancing	More Info...	0:01
12)	Suonatina	More Info...	0:07
13)	Tikkettitakkitakk	More Info...	0:07

Performer Notes

Pago Libre: Tscho Theissing (violin); Arkady Shilkloper (horn); John Wolf Brennan (piano); Daniele Patumi (bass).
Personnel: Tscho Theissing (violin); Arkady Shilkloper (flugelhorn, horns, alphorn); John Wolf Brennan (piano, bowed piano, prepared piano).
Audio Mixers: Tscho Theissing; Daniele Patumi; Andreas Brll; John Wolf Brennan.
Recording information: Jazzit, Salzburg, Austria (12/01/2002-02/10/2003); Moods, Zurich, Switzerland (12/01/2002-02/10/2003).
Photographer: Christoph Hellhake.
Unknown Contributor Role: Arkady Shilkloper.
Arranger: John Wolf Brennan.
For the most part recorded live in Salzburg (there is only one piece from the Zurich concert), Phoenix captures the quartet in excellent shape and presents an enjoyable blend of old favorites and new compositions. Pago Libre's sound has become slightly predictable -- on first listen you might get the impression of being familiar with most pieces, but when you begin to track down titles you'll realize that the new ones overpower the old. But this comfort level surely isn't a bad thing. Key pieces from the previous three albums (including the first live CD, Wake Up Call) receive spirited renditions, starting with Arkady Shilkloper's festive "Folk Song," here extended to a delicious eight minutes. It includes some of the meanest bass work Daniele Patumi has committed to disc. John Wolf Brennan's "Synopsis" and Tscho Theissing's "Falsche Faehrten" provide other highlights. A collective improvisation, "Phoenix: Rising" illustrates the dangers of being such a classy quartet. The music is engaging, but remains a bit too polite to inspire awe, especially considering how devilish Theissing's violin can sound in pieces derived from folk songs. Shilkloper's "Alpine Trail" suite presents seldom-heard extended techniques on the French horn embedded into pleasant melodies. After such a virtuosic display, Brennan's "Suonatina" sounds disappointing, its overtly romantic theme coaxing a lifeless solo out of Theissing's violin. Luckily, the latter's "Tikkettitakkitakk," a witty number that uses the "word" in the title to compensate for the group's lack of percussion, ends the set on a better note. ~ Fran‡ois Couture