Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra, Bridges from the East

Violinist Elektra Kurtis and her Ensemble Elektra are back again with a new one that once again sings out with a kind of fusion jazz that gives us a strong eastern folk flavor--from Greece, the Baltics, the Mid-East and combines it with jazz fusedom.

This one is called Bridges from the East (Milo Records 301). Elektra as you may well know is a gloriously rhapsodic violinist who has the brilliance to meld wonderfully the violin's eastern roots, its jazz heritage and its classical history into a style that is all Elektra. Curtis Stewart seconds her nicely as the other violinist in the band and he can swing! Then there is the irreplaceable eastern-jazz clarinet Lefteris Bournias, plus the crack rhythm team of Bradley Jones on electric bass and then the ever-insightful drumming of Reggie Nicholson.

Elektra's compositions are as ever right on the mark and the arrangements capture the special eastern fusion blend for which the ensemble is famous.

Nothing missing here. Another gem from the ensemble!

Sarah Bernstein Quartet, Still/Free

The musical worlds of Sarah Bernstein are multi-faceted. There can be dark, moody moments, big electric-like sounds, poetic depth and anything in between, but she is always very much herself. On the current release she gives us music in an expanded tonal, beauteous quartet frame. The album is Still/Free (Leo 746). It centers around Sarah's violin of course and features the ever-piquant Kris Davis on piano, plus some first-rate, intelligent rhythm section drive from Stuart Popejoy on electric bass and Ches Smith on drums.

There are seven Bernstein originals that stand out as special and at the same time allow the band to freely swing around them with inimitable soloing from Sarah and Kris, nicely essential solo and group thrusts from Stuart, and world-class time and freedom from Ches.

It shows us in depth Sarah's more ambitiously modern jazz-centered playing and her carefully and effectively wrought modernist compositions in this vein. It establishes that we have something special going on in the way it all flows memorably, gives us some of her very fine, original violin work, essential Kris Davis soloing too and an exciting cohesive band that I hope can continue to play together, gig, make a bigger name for itself.

I love the music. I think you may well feel the same way. Bravo!