Yochk'o SEFFER - From New York To Budapest (Great Winds/Musea 2013)

Yochk'o SEFFER always created varied and interesting works during his long of career, be it with MAGMA, ZAO, NEFFESH MUSIC, his teammate François "FATON" CAHEN or all alone. In each of his records, the French saxophone-player tries to pay tribute to his Hungarian roots, with jazz-rock music close to ZAO, but with free tendencies. "Chromophonie" compiles two volumes, originally released in 1981 and 1982, with the notable support of Hungarian violinist Lajos HORVATH and the QUATUOR MARGAND. "Magyar Etno" unites popular music from Hungary with free and dissonant jazz. "Yog I - Pitchipoy" (1997) keeps on carrying NEFFESH MUSIC's spirit, as flaming as ever. The development of complex and structured themes are linked with frenetic saxophone parts, blended with other instruments. It can be described as the crossing point between works like "Ghigoul" or "Chromophonie". "Yog II - Sefira" (1998) follows the same path with an equal talent: Thierry MAILLARD, Dominique BERTRAM and Sylvain MILLER are here as well. "My Old Roots" is a collection of pieces recorded between 1976 and 1980. Some of them should have been included in the Musea reissue of "Chromophonie", but were dropped because of technical problems. So, here they are today ! Some others had been composed in the year 1976 with NEFFESH MUSIC. Let's also note that many of the compositions were never released on CD, especially an unreleased track recorded in 2005 with violin player Lajos HORVATH. So, here's an excellent introduction to the lively, inventive and colourful music of Yochk'o SEFFER. Just brilliant ! The "Chromophonie" DVD was the documentary we were waiting for, to illustrate the career of this exceptional musician, refugee in France since the dramatic events suffered by Hungary in the year 1956. Directed by Jean-Pierre ZIRN, this movie presents the work of the artist as a musician, but also as an improviser, a painter and a sculptor. Musicians from the MAGMA galaxy are featured here, such as Christian VANDER, Didier LOCKWOOD or François "FATON" CAHEN. Some other fellows appear as well: Alain BOUHEY, Sylvain MILLER, Laurent MATHERON, François CAUSSE, Denis CONSTANT-MARTIN, L'ENSEMBLE DE CORDES CAMERATA DE L'ISLE, LE SEPTUOR DE SAXOPHONES, Gérard PREVOST and Cynthia SAINT-VILLE. Five bonus-tracks complete the show, new interpretations from the repertoire of ETHNIC DUO, NEFFESH MUSIC and ZAO. Said to be Yochk'o SEFFER's musical testimony, "Condor" (Musea Parallèle, 2010) is no less than a triple-album, worthy of the event ! It showcases several duets recorded with Joëlle LEANDRE, Jean-Pascal MOLINA, Sylvain MILLER and François CAUSSE. Made of original tracks, this major opus is decomposed into three different parts, named "Puma", "Anaconda" and "Condor". The latter features the ambitious "Trabla n°12", a 30 minute-long work for fifteen saxophones (!), and a present performance of the classic "Ima" as a video bonus-track. "Acèl Toll" (Great Winds, 2011) has been recorded as a quartet with Didier LEVALLET (Double-bass), Sébastien LOVATO (Piano) and Jean-Pascal MOLINA (Drums). Not to be missed !
http://yochko-seffer.com