Endless Fields
Music for Jazz-Trio & String Quartet
Featuring string players of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Tracks
- Sand in my eyes
- Orva Parach
- Blue Water
- Timeless
- A night in the jungle
- Endless fields
- A ghost from the past
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Musicians
- Tal Balshai – Piano
- Jan Roder – Bass
- Michael Griener – Drums
String Players of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
- Christoph von der Nahmer - Violin
- Esther Middendorf - Violin
- Martin von der Nahmer - Viola
- Knut Weber - Cello
All compositions and arrangements by Tal Balshai
Booklet
Over the past few years, I have often had the opportunity, as a jazz pianist and leader of my own jazz trio, to work together with classical musicians. These occasions were a wandering between two worlds. The experiences and impressions that I gained through this process inspired me to create the music for this CD.The compositions on this CD are perhaps difficult to categorize, as they combine jazz, classical and oriental elements. My purpose was to create music that is powerful and full of images, while remaining accessible to listeners from different musical backgrounds.
The first three pieces belong together. For this reason they appear without breaks in between on the CD and are performed in concerts in the same manner. “Sand in my eyes” is a small oriental journey through a sandy desert in the blazing heat, “Orva parach” describes an arrival in a village with the accompanying welcome party and “Blue Water” evokes the sun rising over the sea and the feeling of the cool clear water.
In the piece “Timeless” I have attempted to combine two ideas that have always interested me, Latin American music and the simple but strong harmonies that can be created through the interplay of a major tonic and a minor dominant. Both the theme and improvisations – in many variations – are imbued with the relationship between these two elements.
“A night in the jungle” was originally conceived as a lullaby in a children’s opera, in which a frightened baby antelope in the jungle at night is comforted and calmed by his mother. I later rearranged the piece for a low string instrument, but the original themes and moods are still easy to recognize: the dark theme, the fear of the calf in the jungle at night is answered by a comforting melody, the calming voice of its mother. This scene comes alive through Knut Weber's sensitive interpretation.
“Endless fields” is again a composition born out of my love of a certain harmonic relationship, this time the tonic – sub-dominant. This relationship has the ability to draw the listener into an endless spiral. The name “Endless fields” symbolizes the endless plains that open up when you hear these harmonies.
“A ghost from the past” brings together all the elements in my music: oriental, classical and jazz. It appears to me as if none of these ideas come from me, but if not from me, then from whom?