Athens was not the only date on John Psathas' international diary last year. In April, the Wellington composer was in Amsterdam, collaborating with the celebrated Nederlands Blazers Ensemble on the group's latest multicultural celebration.
Zeibekiko: The Greek Concert scoops up all the adrenalin of those live concerts on a newCD. Two-and-a half-thousand years of Greek musical history is revitalised by the virtuoso Dutch wind players, playing alongside Greek traditional musicians Manos Achalinotopoulos and Vangelis Karipis. For the Kiwi connection, much of the music has been arranged by Psathas, who has also slipped a few originals into the line-up.
The Womad set will doubtlessly take to the contributions by the Greek guests.
Achalinotopoulos waxes pastoral on the traditional Tzamara with bent notes, sexy vibrato and flickering grace notes.
A few tracks later he puts clarino aside and picks up the oboe-like zourna for Suk/Bazaar, its wild, flailing melody cutting through the air.
Drummer Vangelis Karipis is no slouch when it comes to sustaining almost 10 minutes of improv with the NBE percussionists. All three dimensions are sonically buzzing. Early on, you feel surrounded by the fluttering of a thousand bird's wings; later the musicians' unbridled mouth music will make you wish this was a DVD.
Psathas' arrangements are agile and aware, honing in on the primal energy of the original material.
Achalinotopoulos' Bacchic swings from the celebratory goat dance to something more akin to a dreamy soundscape from a Theo Angelopoulos movie. When it all but runs amok in the middle section, it sounds as if Zorba's Dance is being given a once-over by a berserk Bavarian beerhall band. Musical intoxication is inevitable.
When Psathas' own voice rings out he has ace performers at his service. The mysterious, unsettled pitchings of Abisheka cut like elegant lasers; Mal Occhio or Evil Eye is a possessed polka noir, which even manages to pick up a bit of a Bernstein rumble when it gets going.
Psathas saves the best for last, a frenzied dance of the Maenads, Dionysian revelry which doesn't let up for just over seven minutes. Tumultuous stuff and, depending on the fortitude of your liver, the perfect excuse for a few glasses of retsina.
* Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Zeibekiko: The Greek Concert (NBE CD 014, through Ode Records)
