A Fine Line In Between [Pure DSD]

There are some consistently high-quality and interesting recordings coming out of Hungary’s SuperSize Recording Studio and Hunnia Records, and this one by guitarist and experimenter Roland Heidrich is a fine example.

Heidrich blurs the lines between Jazz, Progressive, and the music of his native Hungary. Here he lays it all down with an easy groove, courtesy of his able sidesmen Csaba Pengő on bass, and drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács, on opening tracks ‘Guru’ and ‘Radio’. The trio is aided and abetted by a couple of hugely inventive sax players – János Ávéd on tenor and soprano, Gergő Kováts on baritone – who occasionally take flight, the three principals stepping back and keeping the rhythm motoring.

Then there are gentle moments such as the guitar/sax duo of ‘This Is A Song’ – which indeed it is, but a quite simple and effective one – and the flat-out charging bonkers ness and complexity of the appropriately-titled ‘Crazy’, which closes the album, with the performers soaring off in all directions and each taking a solo in classic jazz-gig style.

It all comes together to create a set as innovative as it is energizing, and with a real live feel captured in the studio by engineer Gábor Halász straight to Stereo DSD 256. It’s a fresh and powerful sound, and always fascinating.