“Istiqbal Gathering” – JOHN JORGENSON: Concerto Glasso; Dieter’s Lounge; Istiqbal Gathering; BALAKRISHNAN: Groove in the Louvre – John Jorgenson, solo guitar/Orchestra Nashville/Paul Gambill/Turtle Island Quartet/Alexander Fedoriouk, cimbalom/David Davidson, violin – J2 Records [johnjorgenson.com] ****:
Each of the pieces here was commissioned by Gambill and his innovative Orchestra Nashville over a seven-year-long collaboration with acoustic guitarist-composer Jorgenson (plus David Balakrishnan of the Turtle Island Quartet in the case of his composition). Jorgenson is best known as a Gypsy Jazz guitarist in the Django Reinhardt mold, but he’s not stuck in just one type of music, being active in country, mainstream jazz and other genres. Jorgenson has tried to combine traditional classical structures with jazz, gypsy jazz and world music, to create a unique style, led by his brilliant work on the guitar. The Concerto and the closing Istiqbal Gathering both involve the full orchestra, with the cimbalom and violin joining Jorgenson’s guitar on the closing work.
Dieter’s Lounge and Groove in the Louvre feature the very crossoverish Turtle Island Quartet along with the string section of Orchestra Nashville. Jorgenson usually plays, and plays here, the Selmac guitar such as used by Reinhardt and most gypsy jazz guitarists today – instead of the nylon string classical acoustic guitar. The Selmac has been regarded as a sort of anachronism in the modern guitar world, but Jorgenson uses his Selmac on all these selections, which are much more than just orchestrations of Django tunes.
The three movements of the opening Concerto Glasso are Roma Arise, Seaside Waltz, and Tarantella and Reverie. It’s a delightful guitar concerto and should appeal to any fans of the Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez. The closing Istiqbal Gathering moves a bit out of the gypsy jazz arena and into more Eastern European climes with its mix of guitar, violin and cimbalom. There are no notes about the derivation of it’s title, but Istiqbal is an Islamic verb meaning “the art of welcoming someone.” This album breaks new ground crossover-wise, as have several recent albums. Recommended.
– John Sunier
