Album review

Bojan Z

Xenophonia

Paris 

26/05/2006 - 

Xenophonia not only finds Bojan Z venturing into rock territory for the first time. On his new album, the talented jazz pianist continues to perfect the art of the trio and hones the deft, light-fingered style he has made his own.

Bojan Z garnered rave reviews for his 2003 album Transpacifik, recorded with Rémi Vignolo (double bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums). Now the piano virtuoso takes what he calls his “working trio” one step further with a new drummer, Ben Perowsky.

By the time the musicians went into the studio to begin recording sessions at the end of 2004, they had already amassed an impressive amount of raw material. Studio time was thus devoted to installing genuine musical dialogue and forging what the trio hoped would be a totally unique sound. Bojan Z - a regular collaborator with fellow French jazz star Julien Lourau - hit upon the perfect catalyst for creating this, inventing a new instrument: the “xenophone” (a customised Fender Rhodes).

The resulting album, Xenophonia, is never a demonstrative work. No cascading avalanches of blue notes or exuberant swing refrains here, but a slow-building kind of jazz that unfolds in a laidback fusion style. (It comes as no surprise to learn that most of the tracks on this ultra-cool opus were arranged orally rather than written down at any point.) What’s more, many of the melodies on the album have a timeless feel. Tracks such as Wheels and Xenos Blues may hark back to the fuzzy guitar feedback of Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, but others, such az Ulaz, evoke more of an ice-cold winter wonderland.

The trio’s music constantly bucks and shifts, taking listeners by surprise at every turn. There is even a moment when the threesome verge on the hallucinogenic, whipping up an electric storm of distorted sounds reminiscent of Frank Zappa’s psychedelic rock. Besides putting an interesting new rock spin on his presentation, Xenophonia shows off Bojan Z’s extraordinary talent as a composer. This new album undoubtedly marks a new stage in Bojan’s artistic career, confirming him as a musician in a class of his own – and already a reference in the French jazz world!

Bojan Z Xenophonia (Label Bleu) 2006

Vincent  Fertey

Translation : Julie  Street