Rings Reviews
“The music is widescreen and it is easy to imagine several of the pieces being used in movies. The whole album… is indeed both beautiful and organic. ‘Rings’ serves as an ideal introduction to new listeners and will hopefully make even more people discover Friedlander's wonderful music.” Jakob Baekgaard, All About Jazz
“...the quality of the musicianship and the vigour of the diverse compositional styles is impressive.” James Wells, Aural Aggravation
“‘Rings’... [mixes] the incantations of the world music, the gallant tones of the modern classical, and the unexpectedness of the avant-garde jazz.” - Jazz Trail
“A fine new album.” - The New York Times
“[‘Rings’] seamlessly fuses together expressions of jazz, folk and chamber, creating an ambiguity of influence that really draws the ear in. Pretty easy to fall for this one.” - Dave Sumner, This is Jazz Today
“‘Rings’ comes at you from different angles: there are times when the band plays with seductive confidence, loneliness and insecurity. The unifying theme of the project are the cycles each piece follows.” Essmaa, Horen…
“‘A Single Eye’ tappst und wuselt übers Piano und pickt und sülzt an den Saiten, dass sich animierte Comicszenen einstellen. Friedlander und Nagai lassen aber Cello und Piano auch von Sehnsucht und Verlust singen…” Bad Alchemy, Issue 91
“'A Single Eye' taps and whispers over the piano and picks and sloops on the strings to create animated comic scenes. Friedlander and Nagai, however, also let the cello and piano sing of longing and loss…” Bad Alchemy, Issue 91
“[Shoko Nagai e Satoshi Takeishi] che condividono l’eclettismo e l’audacia del [Friedlander] nell’attraversare generi musicali e linguaggi apparentemente lontani anni luce: nei dodici brani di “Rings” si alternano danze gitane dal sapore mediorientale (‘The Seducer’, ‘Risky Business’), eleganti ballate jazz-fusion alla Pat Metheny (‘Black Phebe’, ‘Fracture’) e più sperimentali improvvisazioni che mescolano acustico ed elettronico (‘A Single Eye’, ‘Solve Me’, ‘Canoe’). Raffinato.” Roberto Mandolini, Rockerilla
“[Shoko Nagai and Satoshi Takeishi] share the eclecticism and the audacity of [Friedlander] in crossing genres and languages seemingly light years away: the twelve tracks from "Rings" alternate from gypsy dances with Middle Eastern flavor ( 'The Seducer', 'Risky business'), to elegant jazz fusion ballads à la Pat Metheny ( 'Black Phebe', 'Fracture') to more experimental improvisations that blend acoustic and electronic ( 'A Single Eye', 'Solve Me', 'Canoe'). Refined.” Roberto Mandolini, Rockerilla
“Nastrój poszczególnych utworów zmienia się w zelżności od używanego przez Nagai instrumentu - gdy gra na akordeonie muzyka tria emanuje estetyka world music, gdy sięga po fortepian - dominuje kameralny jazz, choć pojawiaja się również momenty przywodzace na myśl współczesna muzyka poważna. Do współczesnej awangardy najbliżej jest w trzyczęściowej kompozycji tytułowej, gdzie obok wiolonczeli pojawia się elektronika i loopy.” Rafał Zbrzeski, Lizard
“The mood of each song varies depending on which instrument Nagai uses - when playing the accordion the trio exudes the aesthetics of world music; when reaching for piano, intimate jazz dominates, although there are also moments reminiscent of contemporary classical music. The closest to the contemporary avant-garde is in the titular three-part composition, which includes loopy electronics next to the cello.” Rafał Zbrzeski, Lizard
“Affiancato dalla pianista e fisarmonicista Shoko Nagai e dal percussionista Satoshi Takeishi, Friedlander offre oltre un’ora di complesso ma affascinante intrattenimento… la seconda parte dell’album giostra attorno agli aspetti più sperimentali e rarefatti dell’arte di Erik, indugiando sui passaggi dissonanti di “Tremors” e sull’agonizzante, esangue desolazione di “Solve me”, cullando la magia del pianoforte della Nagai nella sospesa “Waterwheel” e cedendo infine all’amato jazz nell’intricato arzigogolo di “Flycatcher”. Disco ovattato e gentile, “Rings” è un viaggio fra i molti colori di un artista da scoprire con rispettosa devozione, finestra socchiusa su una musica così lontana, così vicina.” Manuel Maverna, Music Map
“Flanked by pianist and accordionist Shoko Nagai and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, Friedlander provides over an hour of complex but fascinating entertainment… the second part of the album carousels around the more experimental aspects of Erik’s rarefied art, lingering on the dissonant passages of "Tremors" and the agonizing, bloodless desolation of "Solve me", cradling the magic of Nagai’s suspended piano in "Waterwheel" and finally giving way to the beloved jazzy, intricate winds of "Flycatcher". A muffled and kind album, "Rings" is a journey through the many colors of an artist, to be explored with respectful devotion, the half-open window of a music so near, yet so far.” Manuel Maverna, Music Map
“...com doses abastadas de criatividade e risco, o trio constrói em “Rings” um corpo musical orgânico, cuja fluidez hipnótica se deve em grande parte a eum talento notável para improvisar em cima das estruturas repetitivas, fazendo deste um disco dinâmico e muito sedutor.” O Dominio Dos Deuses
“...with rich doses of creativity and risk, the trio builds in “Rings” an organic musical body, whose hypnotic fluidity is due in large part to a remarkable talent to improvise over repetitive structures, making it a dynamic and very seductive disc.” O Dominio Dos Deuses
“...einen vielfältigen Reigen an Sounds und Melodien durch unterschiedlichste Genres, die trotz der an sich ja limitierten Instrumentierung sehr reichhaltig ist. Ein Grenzüberschreitendes Album mit einem doch einheitlichen Sound, welches für Kenner ebenso wie für Einsteiger in das Friedlander Universum geeignet ist.” Wolfgang Kabsch, Musik an sich
“...a wide variety of sounds and melodies through a wide variety of genres, which is very rich despite the limited instrumentation. A genre crossing album with a uniform sound, suitable for connoisseurs as well as for newcomers to the Friedlander Universe.” Wolfgang Kabsch, Musik an sich
“‘Rings’ pendelt zwischen lateinamerikanischen Passagen mit getragenem Akkordeon und zartem Cello-Strich, aleatorischen Elementen und klassischen JazzFiguren. In der Tat “multiple trios within one”!” Four Stars - Karsten Zimalla, Fear No Jazz
“‘Rings’ pendulates between Latin passages with a worn accordion and a delicate cello line, and classical jazz figures with aleatoric elements. There are in fact, "multiple trios within one”!” Four Stars - Karsten Zimalla, Fear No Jazz