Tracklist:

1. Conversation 1 2:42
2. Conversation 2 8:04
3. Conversation 3 4:08
4. Conversation 4 8:22
5. Conversation 5 10:22
6. Conversation 6 11:40

 

Line-up:

Agustí Fernández – piano
Rafał Mazur – acoustic bass guitar

Recorded:

live at The Alchemia, Kraków, Poland October 18, 2015

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About:

The name of this album reflects much on its music. Ziran is a concept key in Daoism, a Chinese philosophical tradition with an emphasis on living in harmony with, and in accordance to, the natural flow or cosmic structural order of the universe. To become nearer to a state of ziran, one must become separate from unnatural influences and returned to an entirely natural, spontaneous state.

And this, precisely, is what Agustí Fernandez and Rafal Mazur do in this music, they open themselves and listen each other’s soul. It is in this process of discovery where us, as spectators and listeners come in and the music becomes our own mirror.

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Reviews:

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Named for the Daoist concept of attaining a natural, spontaneous state, Ziran combines the sounds from Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández and Krakow’s Rafał Mazur, who plays acoustic bass guitar.

In contrast to first-date edginess, Mazur and Fernández aim to reflect the Daoist concept from which Ziran arises: living in harmony with, and in accordance to, the natural flow. This is accomplished by the two figuratively dumping out a bag of extended techniques from buzing piano string plucks and capotes rattles on one hand, to Mazur utilizing the guitar-like and bass-like properties of his instrument as thumping accompaniment to high-string slaps. Moving back and forth while anticipating each others’ moves, while nothing as pedestrian as an overriding theme arises, by “Conversation 3” instrumental speech patterns of both evolve into direct dialogue. Fernández’s single-note hunting-and-pecking moves to kinetic Cecil Taylor-like keyboard exploration as if he’s rappelling down the mountain top at supersonic speeds, while cataloguing all manner of jagged matter as he makes his descent. Meanwhile via the use of calming plucks the bass guitarist creates a buffer for that action. By the final “Conversation 6” the two simultaneously and figuratively attain solid ground, creating a near-recital ready interface that is sonorous and propulsive at the same time.

review courtesy of Ken Waxman, http://www.jazzword.com