With the CD “Lydia” vibraphonist, percussionist, composer and bandleader Erik Fisher has fulfilled a long-held wish: to present his musical life’s work in the field of jazz on a single CD.
The recording surprises and inspires both by the playing and the overall atmosphere. The “Erich Fischer Quintet” give of their very best in this recording in the Radio-studio in Zürich, playing with sensitivity, dynamism and joie de vivre. Andy Neresheimer has taken great pains with the recording, mixing and production; and Thomas Blättler’s CD graphics are also absolutely right.
The thirteen pieces which comprise “Lydia” explore the many-sided, mutable world of jazz, “Jazz is the freedom to have many forms.” This quotation from Duke Ellington is the adopted saying of the Erich Fischer Quintet. Imaginative themes sometimes economically presented in duo, sometimes treated with the full tone palette, relaxed solos, sometimes quiet and laid back, sometimes bubbling and ecstatic, this is the material. The musical arrangements surprise with their variety, the gentle voice of the vibraphone always at the centre, a bass which never tries to subvert the melody, drums which provide just enough of the rhythmic foundation, sometimes airy, sometimes insistent, and the subtle colours provided by two brass-players harmonizing perfectly. This is the magical mix which produces the energy, wit and sympathy of the Erich Fischer Quintet’s “Lydia”.
Vasko Atanasovski (Slowenien) (sopran-, altosaxophon, flute), Erich „Joey Oz“ Fischer (CH) (vibraphon, vocals), René Mosele (CH) (trombone), Claudio Strebel (CH) (bass), Benno Kaiser (CH) (drums).
Tracklisting:
1. Urgu
2. Sequenzen und Frequenzen
3. Returnology
4. Northern Song
5. Muffle and Shuffle
6. Estamos TAN GO-zandos
7. U n' U n' me
8. Miner's Song
9. A New Chance
10. Lydia
11. Ljubljana Flautomanja
12. Nice Harmonies
13. African Vibes Nr. 4