Miha Gantar - New York City (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

For any emerging artist seeking to establish a foothold in a crowded field, it’s imperative to make a strong first impression. That’s a tenet Miha Gantar clearly has taken to heart. Gantar, a 26-year-old improvising pianist and composer born in Slovenia and now based in Amsterdam, made a strong first splash in 2022 with Introducing, a 5CD debut release on the esteemed Clean Feed label. Another 5CD set, Amsterdam, followed on the same label in October 2023. Now, Gantar completes a hat trick with New York City, a third 5CD set.

This set illuminates the young pianist’s prodigious creativity and versatility across five distinct settings. Reinforcing their individuality, each album in the set has its own title. The first, Ultima, unites the pianist with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson, an elite rhythm section previously employed by Andrew Hill and Fred Hersch. The second, Transitions, underscores Gantar’s background in classical music, complementing his piano with the quartet of violinists Doori Na and Sarah Thomas, violist Amy Huimei Tan, and cellist Irène Han—the latter three members of the Bergamot Quartet. Sanctuary, third in the set, captures a first meeting between Gantar and saxophonist Zoh Amba, a Tennessee transplant cutting an increasingly high profile in New York with her soulful approach to ecstatic jazz. Disc four, Angels is another trio—but here, instead of the classic bass and drums format, Gantar spars with two percussionists, Kweku Sumbry and Jeremy Dutton. The last disc, Towards Purity, finds Gantar alone, deploying his powers of invention in an extended nocturne that’s ceaselessly lyrical despite its lack of tonal mooring. It’s an ideal coda and benediction after the busy meetings and collaborations found on the four previous albums comprising New York City—and, in its own way, one more unique artistic statement Gantar could only have created here, and now.

TRACKLIST

1. Miha Gantar - Synopsis, Pt.1 (Ultima)
2. Miha Gantar - Synopsis, Pt.2 (Ultima)
3. Miha Gantar - Parisian Impromptu (Transitions)
4. Miha Gantar - Exodus (Sanctuary)
5. Miha Gantar - Angles (Angels)
6. Miha Gantar - To My Love (Towards Purity)



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