Vazesh - Tapestry reviews
“Compelling from start to end, Tapestry is intricately woven with subtleties and surprises.”
★★★★★, album of the month
Mojo Magazine, UK
By Andy Cowan
“Perhaps what I love most about Vazesh is that it is in no sense self-consciously cross-cultural. Yes, inevitably (especially to western ears) Sadeghi’s sound, lines and harmonic constraints speak of the ancient tradition of greater Persia, but ultimately the three players just find common ground on which to express a collective musicality that is all their own – one that seems limitless in its potential scope, and is a soul-enriching experience.”
Sydney Morning Herald
by John Shand
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/new-music-to-listen-to-in-december-20241203-p5kvk8.html
The music on Tapestry is so drop-dead beautiful that it’s easy to overlook the undercurrent of tension in the sophomore release from the trio Vazesh. One source of this tension is simply the fear that something might shatter the tranquility generated by the trio of Iranian tar player Hamed Sadeghi, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Jeremy Rose, and bassist Lloyd Swanton. But another is the simmering moodiness that hangs over every moment. Released on the Australian label Earshift Records, it could easily get slotted in with some of the ECM Records new century folk-jazz recordings (i.e., Anouar Brahem). When Rose switches over to bass clarinet, the effect is hypnotic."
The Best Jazz on Bandcamp, Nov 2024
By Dave Sumner
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-jazz/the-best-jazz-on-bandcamp-november-2024
“Jeremy Rose's improvisations, both singable and elaborate as in the delicate "Lilac" imbued with a meditative dreaminess, bear witness to the successful interaction between contemporary ideas and ancestral musical traditions”
Citizen Jazz, France
https://www.citizenjazz.com/Vazesh.html
“Everything is there to make this Tapestry by Vazesh, a rare moment of music and beauty.”
Djolo, France
https://djolo.net/tapestry-vazesh-plus-beaux-moments-jazz-annee/
This is a beautiful album, which allows to rediscover the wind instruments or the double bass and, for the lesser-known tar, to discover an instrument strongly imbued with culture and traditions. To be enjoyed without moderation, in peace, on a stereo worthy of the name. A sonic and adventurous treat!
Jazzmania Belgium/Netherlands
by Philippe Thirionet, December 12 2024
It’s a beautiful and unclassifiable record. The individual sounds are exquisite — the tar strummed and plucked with a tiny hint of twang, the reeds (bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophones) elegant, the double bass resonant (Swanton, of course, is also one-third of the Necks). But the point is the sense of conversation, ebbing and flowing without rhetoric or exhibition meditative but never passive. When musicians from different cultures can do this together, with so much ease and naturalness, maybe we’re not in such a terrible state after all.
By Richard Williams, 4 October 2024
“A transcending mosaic of improvisational beauty”
Rocking GR – 15 November 2024
By Antonis Kalamosos
https://www.rocking.gr/reviews/mini/2024-11#12538
“Light in density but rich in detail and a beauty that transcends all cultures, Tapestry is the peacefully assured world vibe salve for a more volatile and uncertain world.”
Something Else USA – 12 November 2024
By S. Victor Aarons
https://somethingelsereviews.com/2024/11/12/vazesh-tapestry-lloyd-swanton-jeremy-rose-hamed-sadeghi/
The result is music as meditation—a reflection on the allure of colors, scents, and objects. It is music that lingers, continuing to resonate even after it fades. It invites you to pause time, demanding to be heard again and again. Take the time; the Vazesh trio rewards you with improvisations rooted in tradition, filled with anecdotes and narratives that settle deeply and atmospherically within. Magical, contemplative, enriching. A heartfelt experience.
Verhoovens Jazz, Germany
By Verhooven, Clemens
https://www.jazzhalo.be/reviews/cdlpk7-reviews/v/vazesh-tapestry/
“The trio creates a unique sonic environment, placing listeners in an undulating landscape shrouded in fog, which occasionally lifts to reveal awe-inspiring vistas. The boundary between the distant horizon and the sky dissolves, as does the line between jazz improvisation and the Persian traditional roots that deeply inform this music.”
Jazz Halo, Belgium
by Georges Tonla Briquet
https://www.jazzhalo.be/reviews/cdlpk7-reviews/v/vazesh-tapestry/