Saturday, 2nd May 2009 15:27
PRESS / QUOTES
"Jazz and poetry never really became a movement. Over the past 90 years or so, the hybrid form has had a few peak periods and some embarrassing lows. On the strength of Sam Sadigursky's work, we may be at one of the peaks." - Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
"...personal, not particularly restricted by ideas of musical genre, quite complex and resolutely unshowy...there are warm pop ballads, voices overlapping in a choir, jagged polyrhythms built of woodwinds, bass lines on a constant walk, kalimbas setting up a mode for the singer. Ultimately the album doesn´t lean too heavily on the strength of the words. It´s as if the process energized Mr. Sadigursky so much that he wrote music good enough to take your mind off the poems." - Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
"More Bjork than Brubeck." - Tad Hendrickson, AOL Spinner/Relix Magazine
"...compelling soundscapes that sit on the intersection of the classical art song and a wide-ranging eclecticism that references jazz, world music, post-minimalism and pop... a self-contained sound world of beguiling combinations of vocalists and mysterious orchestration." - Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
"a talent to watch" - Ken Shimamato, The Fort Worth Weekly
"I had a sinking feeling that something was missing from my life, but couldn’t put a finger on it until I put Sam Sadigursky’s Words Project II on to listen and I remembered the power that words have to bring beauty and meaning into life. Of course this force can be amplified by combining it with great music, and Sadigursky, whose first Words Project was a revelation and one of the better releases of 2007, is back with another release that may even surpass the first one... a work that fuses the sadness and joy inherent in life and filters them through the beauty and absurdity of life in a way that helps me remember why I love both music and words so much." - Brad Walseth, jazzchicago.net
"A compelling second recording...This music is not about technical facility or long solos or vocals that “stop the show”; instead the music gives added strength to the words, makes them stand out more because one is compelled to listen closely." - Richard Kamins, courant.com
"One of the most highly regarded of a young generation of composer/performers on the New York jazz scene... releasing challenging new works that bridge music and literature...a triumph of concept, composition and execution.... filled with haunting voices, often dark, sometimes playful melodies, and overall a stunning marriage of word and sound....the voices of the poets are paramount, each an elegant match to words and the melodies." - Andrea Canter, jazzink.blogspot.com
"triumphant and introspective soundscapes...the improvisation is always exciting, enough to make repeated listens enjoyable. The Words Project is a great piece of modern jazz and an accessible album for new jazz listeners." - Michael Ferguson, jazzreview.com
"compelling... touchingly intimate. four star review, selected as one of the top ten records of 2007." - Steve Smith, time out new york
"that rare anomaly: a jazz-and-poetry record that sounds utterly natural and convincing" - Steve Smith, nightafternight.blog.com
"When artistic ambition is combined with the talent to fulfill the plan, something special is bound to happen. The Words Project is reedman Sam Sadigursky’s leadership debut, and that he chose to mix words and music is ambition of the highest order. That it succeeds so completely is a tribute to the faith Sadigursky had in his vision.... The music of The Words Project is glorious and easily stands on its own, with many impressive purely instrumental sections. This complex, deeply effecting work is a real paradox in that it is simultaneously a whole, and also two parts that cooperate and compete." - Budd Kopman, allaboutjazz.com
"The combination of the arts of poetry and music is a rarely attempted feat and one that is hardly ever pulled off successfully... thankfully, Sam Sadigursky’s The Words Project is the exception to this norm... the music mirrors the cool sleek winter landscape of broken hearts and loss of love... the core band is inventive, yet watertight, while Sadigursky thrills with his solo turn... [a] remarkable exploration of the fragile frailty of life and love, brought about through the penetrating words of some of humankind’s finest poets and enhanced by the memorable music of Sam Sadigursky." - Brad Walseth, jazzchicago.net
"Sam Sadigursky’s well tailored musical atmospheres reveal a sensitive approach to musical prosody... a set of vaporous, modernist scenescapes.... Throughout, Sadigursky’s flowing phraseology empathetically follows the free versed and, oftentimes, tricky meters... The project’s more challenging moments, enlivened by its instigator’s elaborate melodies, fare very well, and are given a unity despite the multifarious sweep of the original material." - Martin Gladu, allaboutjazz.com
"Entrancing... hypnotic.... The Words Project is a musical world full of riches and you should partake in this feast." - Richard Kamins , courant.com
"Vibrant and thought-provoking... Sadigursky has truly created one of the more fascinating records of recent years. His ambition is rewarded by a set of performances that is a brilliant effort from start to finish." - Jay Collins, cadence magazine
"Profound... sublime..." - Jazzman Magazine, France
"...personal, not particularly restricted by ideas of musical genre, quite complex and resolutely unshowy...there are warm pop ballads, voices overlapping in a choir, jagged polyrhythms built of woodwinds, bass lines on a constant walk, kalimbas setting up a mode for the singer. Ultimately the album doesn´t lean too heavily on the strength of the words. It´s as if the process energized Mr. Sadigursky so much that he wrote music good enough to take your mind off the poems." - Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
"More Bjork than Brubeck." - Tad Hendrickson, AOL Spinner/Relix Magazine
"...compelling soundscapes that sit on the intersection of the classical art song and a wide-ranging eclecticism that references jazz, world music, post-minimalism and pop... a self-contained sound world of beguiling combinations of vocalists and mysterious orchestration." - Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
"a talent to watch" - Ken Shimamato, The Fort Worth Weekly
"I had a sinking feeling that something was missing from my life, but couldn’t put a finger on it until I put Sam Sadigursky’s Words Project II on to listen and I remembered the power that words have to bring beauty and meaning into life. Of course this force can be amplified by combining it with great music, and Sadigursky, whose first Words Project was a revelation and one of the better releases of 2007, is back with another release that may even surpass the first one... a work that fuses the sadness and joy inherent in life and filters them through the beauty and absurdity of life in a way that helps me remember why I love both music and words so much." - Brad Walseth, jazzchicago.net
"A compelling second recording...This music is not about technical facility or long solos or vocals that “stop the show”; instead the music gives added strength to the words, makes them stand out more because one is compelled to listen closely." - Richard Kamins, courant.com
"One of the most highly regarded of a young generation of composer/performers on the New York jazz scene... releasing challenging new works that bridge music and literature...a triumph of concept, composition and execution.... filled with haunting voices, often dark, sometimes playful melodies, and overall a stunning marriage of word and sound....the voices of the poets are paramount, each an elegant match to words and the melodies." - Andrea Canter, jazzink.blogspot.com
"triumphant and introspective soundscapes...the improvisation is always exciting, enough to make repeated listens enjoyable. The Words Project is a great piece of modern jazz and an accessible album for new jazz listeners." - Michael Ferguson, jazzreview.com
"compelling... touchingly intimate. four star review, selected as one of the top ten records of 2007." - Steve Smith, time out new york
"that rare anomaly: a jazz-and-poetry record that sounds utterly natural and convincing" - Steve Smith, nightafternight.blog.com
"When artistic ambition is combined with the talent to fulfill the plan, something special is bound to happen. The Words Project is reedman Sam Sadigursky’s leadership debut, and that he chose to mix words and music is ambition of the highest order. That it succeeds so completely is a tribute to the faith Sadigursky had in his vision.... The music of The Words Project is glorious and easily stands on its own, with many impressive purely instrumental sections. This complex, deeply effecting work is a real paradox in that it is simultaneously a whole, and also two parts that cooperate and compete." - Budd Kopman, allaboutjazz.com
"The combination of the arts of poetry and music is a rarely attempted feat and one that is hardly ever pulled off successfully... thankfully, Sam Sadigursky’s The Words Project is the exception to this norm... the music mirrors the cool sleek winter landscape of broken hearts and loss of love... the core band is inventive, yet watertight, while Sadigursky thrills with his solo turn... [a] remarkable exploration of the fragile frailty of life and love, brought about through the penetrating words of some of humankind’s finest poets and enhanced by the memorable music of Sam Sadigursky." - Brad Walseth, jazzchicago.net
"Sam Sadigursky’s well tailored musical atmospheres reveal a sensitive approach to musical prosody... a set of vaporous, modernist scenescapes.... Throughout, Sadigursky’s flowing phraseology empathetically follows the free versed and, oftentimes, tricky meters... The project’s more challenging moments, enlivened by its instigator’s elaborate melodies, fare very well, and are given a unity despite the multifarious sweep of the original material." - Martin Gladu, allaboutjazz.com
"Entrancing... hypnotic.... The Words Project is a musical world full of riches and you should partake in this feast." - Richard Kamins , courant.com
"Vibrant and thought-provoking... Sadigursky has truly created one of the more fascinating records of recent years. His ambition is rewarded by a set of performances that is a brilliant effort from start to finish." - Jay Collins, cadence magazine
"Profound... sublime..." - Jazzman Magazine, France