By Jeff Potter | Published May 2017
With each successive disc, bassist-composer Petros Klampanis has developed an increasingly personal voice. Hailing from Zakynthos, Greece, the lanky upright bassist worked in the Athens jazz scene before furthering his studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York, where he promptly became a busy sideman.
On his debut album, Contextual, he proved a fine player with a meaty sound and thoughtful, lyrical approach. But it was 2015’s Minor Dispute that coalesced his concepts with its mix of jazz, classical and Mediterranean folk, played by an ensemble of jazz quartet with strings.
Chroma ventures even further in that direction with a live set of originals. The intimate performance captures a sensitive chamber ensemble of jazz quintet plus eight strings with a surprisingly expansive sound. That’s largely due to Klampanis’ impressive arranging; rather than employing strings as an “added layer,” they’re organic and equally vital.
The music is accessible in the best sense of the word: Casual listeners will embrace the album’s heartfelt melodicism, while closer engagement will reveal layers of complexity. And the excellent ensemble makes the highly structured, detailed compositions breathe with rhythmic fluidity.
Echoes of the bassist’s homeland are heard thematically, most effectively via lively odd-metered grooves. Drummer John Hadfield is an ideal purveyor of Klampanis’ vision. Using a hybrid kit of traditional drumkit pieces and mounted percussion, he spurs on the ensemble with sensitive, yet infectiously grooving layers.
Chroma: Chroma; Tough Decisions; Little Blue Sun; Cosmic Patience (Intro); Cosmic Patience; Shadows; Shades Of Magenta. (44:27)
Personnel: Petros Klampanis, bass, voice; Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Shai Maestro, piano; John Hadfield, drums, percussion; Keita Ogawa, percussion; Gokce Erem, Megan Gould, Eylem Basaldi, Migen Selmani, violin; Carrie Frey, Peter Kiral, viola; Colin Stokes, Sam Quiggins, cello.
