Label: 4000 Records, 2025

Personnel - Philip Griffin: oud; Goran Gajić: double bass; Malindi Morris: percussion; Romano Crivici: piano.

East of West, a world jazz trio based in Brisbane, Australia, has a new record, Pastorale, where they infuse each of the six tunes with pictorial vividness. Featured on piano here is Australian pianist Romano Crivici—also a contemporary classical violinist and leader of the Elektra String Quartet—who adds a gorgeous touch to the jazz-meets-Balkan/Mediterranean influences of the trio, led by Bosnian-born bassist and main composer Goran Gajić. Oud player Philip Griffin and percussionist Malindi Morris complete the lineup.

“Where Is Your Accent From” sets an inviting tone, opening with an oud introductory section before an arpeggiated piano riff and ‘singing’ bass lines substantiate the whole through colorful layers. Crivici digresses, subtly accompanied by percussion, leading to calm waters and dreamy places before interjecting across a final six-beat cycle vamp where Griffin steps forward, playing the oud with suave grace.

With a deeply evocative world sound, “Quiet Days in West End” unfolds in seven, immersed in tranquility and conveying beauty through the unison theme statement professed by oud, piano, and bass. The engagingly propulsive “Small Eyes” flows dramatically and passionately with metronomic consistency, tied together by bass and percussion with substantial assist from Crivici.

“Takt” initiates its journey like a call-and-response between piano and oud. Crivici and Gajić also communicate assertively within certain passages, and the piece culminates in a crescendo orchestrated in septuple meter. Motif developments are at the core of Gajić’s compositions, and everything is refined to perfection in the title track, “Pastorale”, which came to life in 2016. Its modal tension, serving as foundation, makes the beautiful surface shine even more. Gajić delivers a fine bass solo before taking the piece to a close with his hypnotic arco work.

Fans of world fusion will certainly resonate with East of West’s musical intuition and ethnic sophistication.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Where Is Your Accent From ► 03 - Small Eyes ► 06 - Pastorale

Label: Shift Paradigm Records, 2024

Personnel - Brad Shepik: guitar, Bulgarian tambura, saz, banjo; Layale Chaker: violin; Amino Belyamani: piano; Sam Minaie: bass; John Hadfield: drums, percussion.

American guitarist Brad Shepik possesses a distinctly global musical identity, exhibiting a remarkable ability to seamlessly integrate music from diverse cultures into a post-bop context. Dream of the Possible, his ninth album as a leader, marks the return of his Human Activity band—now featuring an entirely new lineup—in a ten-part meditation on climate change.

The album opens with “Code Red”, where a vivid guitar figure sets the tone, followed by Amino Belyamani’s evocative piano chords, John Hadfield’s groove-driven drumming, and Sam Minaie’s breathing bass lines. Violinist Layale Chaker, born in Paris and raised in Lebanon, joins them, adding a rich melodic layer. Shepik’s guitar solo is lucid and deeply expressive, while Minaie delivers a brief, compact statement before supporting a vamp in five for Belyamani’s practical deliberations. The piece culminates in a unified riff. The following track, “The Search”, is a mid-tempo waltz with doleful folk inflections, composed for the migrants seeking refuge from environmental changes.

Shepik’s world fusion makes skillful use of odd meters in pieces like the title cut, “Future Generations”, and “Naturitude”. “Dream of the Possible” builds around a cyclic harmonic progression with dark undertones, driven by a propulsive beat that helps define its 5/4 time signature, while shifting figures spread over a more rock-inspired texture. In turn, “Future Generations” unfolds gently in seven, and “Naturitude” stands out with its exotic charm, revealing a 10-beat cycle over which Chaker gracefully showcases her sinuous melodic lines. A yawing shift in motion is carried out halfway for Shepik’s guitar solo.

Shepik and Chaker continue to blend their sounds beautifully on “Symbioticity”, offering a colorful, charming spin on Middle Eastern chants and rhythms with a collective center. The band, never dabbling and always to the point, shifts gears for “Travel Back”, which starts quietly before taking off with purposeful, invigorating movements. This number evokes nostalgia for a youthful past and a healthier planet, with Shepik navigating modes and key changes with aplomb.

Brimming with emotion and heart, Dream of the Possible combines thoughtful composition and emphatic sounds into a sincere plea for environmental action. I wholeheartedly stand with Shepik in this cause.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Code Red ► 03 - Dream of the Possible ► 06 - Travel Back ► 09 - Naturitude