Tassos Siliotopoulos Quartet

“Wait For Dusk”

(Konnex Records KCD 5166)

Greek born but London based, guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos is probably best known as a member of drummer Asaf Sirkis’ trio. Tassos kindly gave me a copy of this album for review purposes when the Sirkis Trio played in Abergavenny late last year and it’s been lurking in my “to do” pile ever since. With a new Spiliotopoulos album “Archipelagos” now out on the F-ire label it’s high time I took a look at this offering which first appeared in 2006 on the German Konnex label. Apologies to Tassos for taking so long to get around to it.

Comprising of nine Spiliotopoulos originals the album features the three members of the Asaf Sirkis Trio ( Sirkis, Spiliotopoulos and bassist Yaron Stavi) plus tenor saxophonist Robin Fincker from the Loop Collective bands Blink, Fringe Magnetic and Outhouse. Fincker adds an extra dimension to the group sound giving Spiliotopoulos a foil to bounce off, a welcome change to the sometimes claustrophobic atmosphere of the Sirkis trio.

An imaginative and versatile saxophonist the French born Fincker quickly makes his presence felt on the lively opener “Ask Harry”, linking up well with Spiliotopoulos’s guitar and providing a typically idiosyncratic solo full of long upper register lines.

The episodic “Lights In The East” is both lovely and dramatic and features Spiliotopoulos at his best. The guitarist states that his main influence is Allan Holdsworth but his approach is a good deal less bombastic than that of his chief inspiration. Spiliotopoulos has also been compared to Bill Frisell, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Kurt Rosenwinkel and John Abercrombie. There’s something of all of these in Spiliotopoulos’ playing but in the main his style is impossible to classify. He has developed a personal sound that is very contemporary yet inextricably rooted in the jazz guitar tradition. Fincker’s solo here both whispers and cries as he conveys considerable emotion. This is a piece with a real cinematic quality, something which occurs in much of Spiliotopoulos’ best work.

“Gemini” is more conventionally structured with Spiliotopoulos’ guitar sound becoming more obviously “jazzy”. There’s another distinctive solo from Fincker who has been compared with some justification to Warne Marsh and Fly’s Mark Turner, and something of a drum feature for the excellent Sirkis who drums with great sensitivity throughout the album.

“Back Again” is a leisurely ramble featuring Spiliotopoulos intelligent chording and soloing, lyrical double bass from Stavi and a beautifully measured solo from Fincker, again largely in his instrument’s upper registers.

“Next Village” exudes a kind of jaunty pastoralism and “Ivis” is a hauntingly beautiful ballad. The latter features Fincker at his most tender and lyrical and Spiliotopoulos is superb throughout , his playing cool and unhurried. Sirkis gives wonderfully sympathetic support, mainly with the brushes.

“Over The Summer” exhibits some of the effortless breeziness suggested by the title with Fincker digging in during the tune’s later stages. “Other Ways” is also airy and spacious giving Spilitopoulos room to spread out with an intelligently constructed solo. In a highly democratic unit Spiliotopoulos gives similar room to the excellent Fincker.  Although it’s the guitarist’s group and he’s the sole composer there’s no sense of ego from Siliotopoulos and as a result there’s a unified group sound throughout. The contribution of Stavi and Sirkis shouldn’t be overlooked, both give intelligent, flexible support with the drummer ceaselessly colourful but never overwhelming.

The album ends with the title track, ironically the shortest on the album. However the quartet manage to distil its essence into four atmospheric minutes, a cinematic mini masterpiece.

“Wait Until Dusk” is an impressive solo début from Spiliotopoulos that highlight his abilities as both a guitarist and a composer. At the same time it’s a fine group record with everybody playing with and for each other. Fincker’s tenor adds an appealing extra voice to the band and overall this is a well crafted and enjoyable album. It perhaps lacks a little in terms of dynamics, the mood of leisurely exploration remains pretty much the same throughout, but this is a relatively minor complaint about an enjoyable and well executed record. 

For more information about Tassos Spiliotopoulos please visit   http://www.tassos-spiliotopoulos.com

 

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