A Rising Star
5
By Ariel H
Review by Michael Diamond
When one thinks of the violin, the first genre that is usually associated with it is classical music, or perhaps the old time fiddle playing of country or bluegrass. The violin is not as often found in a jazz context as other instruments such as saxophone, trumpet, piano, guitar, etc. However, there is a rich legacy of jazz violin that can be traced back to such artists as Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti, and Stuff Smith, leading up to more contemporary electric violinists like Jean Luc-Ponty. What is surprising and yet gratifying in today’s world of sample-based music and electronics is to see someone as young as Andrei Matorin embracing the roots of jazz and bringing his prodigious talents to bear in a more traditional setting.
However, his love affair with the violin did not begin with jazz. At the tender age of six, after moving to Boston from his native Brazil, Andrei began his studies of classical music. He eventually went on to years of formal musical education at prestigious conservatories in Italy and Switzerland before returning to the United States. It was at that point that he was exposed to the world of jazz and a new road beckoned. After further study of this art form at the New England Conservatory’s Jazz Program and the Berklee College Of Music, Andrei won numerous scholarships and awards. He has also garnered critical acclaim and was recognized as an “emerging jazz violinist” by The Boston Globe, who featured him twice in their “Critic’s Picks” column in recent years.
While Matorin is indeed the leader and focus of Opus, it is clearly an ensemble effort and he gives ample space and free reign to the rest of the talented musicians in the group. Sporting equally impressive credentials, talent, and youthfulness as Andrei, the rhythm section includes Luques Curtis on bass, Dan Pugach on drums, and pianist Takeshi Ohbayashi – all impressive musicians in their own right. Hearing them perform together, one would get the impression that they had honed their skills over decades of playing the club circuit, rather than being such relative newcomers.
One of the things that impressed me most about this recording was the fact that there was almost no editing done on it, something that is relatively rare in today’s computerized, “fix it in the mix” studio environment. Andrei’s goal was to “capture the moment and feeling of our performances in the studio... so that the listener could feel a part of the experience.” To that end, he has certainly achieved his objective.
Jazz is sometimes seen as intellectual or cerebral, and while there are those elements here, Andrei and ensemble also bring an emotive quality that is moving and soulful. Acoustic bass kicks off the opening track, “Smile” and leads the rest of the group into a lovely mid-tempo tune that is as warm and inviting as its name implies. At almost nine minutes in length, this song is the longest piece on the CD. Unlike many bandleaders, Andrei lays back quite a bit for the first half of the song before showing his colors on a solo about five minutes in. It is well worth waiting for and really grabs your attention when it first comes in, as well as in the way it evolves. The next song, “Then And Now” continues on a similar energy level as it winds through some interesting and intriguing chord changes and motifs. The pace slows down a bit on “Coming Home” which begins with a haunting violin solo and develops into a touching ballad. One of my favorite tunes on the CD is “Silver Blue” with its mellow groove that makes it hard not to nod your head or tap your foot to the beat. Another sweet ballad and a couple high spirited up-tempo numbers fill out the rest of the album that concludes with the aptly-named “Sunday Blues” which has an easy laid back feel and features a tasty duet of violin and acoustic bass.
Opus certainly lives up to its name and is an impressive achievement. Andrei Matorin has come a long way in a relatively short time, and with the rest of his career ahead of him, I’m sure that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this rapidly rising star.
