Melos

This keenly anticipated follow-up to 'Chants, Hymns and Dances', the 2004 ECM release by Anja Lechner and Vassilis Tsabropoulos which was an international bestseller, again features Tsabropoulos and Gurdjieff compositions, but reverses the ratio. This time there is more Tsabropoulos in an arc of material that incorporates three clearly-etched Gurdjieff tunes, "Tibetan Dance", "Sayyid Dance" and "Reading from a Sacred Book". The uniqueness of 'Chants, Hymns and Dances' lay in the fresh arrangements for piano and cello which allowed the Gurdjieff music to sing and breathe. Melos' now takes the next step, and opens the music up. Each piece is melodically-direct but also offers perspectives for expressive playing.

Greek pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos studied at Juilliard with Rudolf Serkin and Tatjana Nikolayeva. Simultaneously and with the encouragement of Chick Corea, he began to improvise in jazz contexts and he's followed parallel paths ever since. His association with bassist Arild Andersen brought him to ECM in 1999. After releasing a solo album 'Akroasis', based on Byzantine hymns, he formed a duo with Anja Lechner for 'Chants, Hymns and Dances'.

German cellist Anja Lechner studied with Heinrich Schiff and Janos Starker. A founder member of the Rosamunde Quartet, whose ECM discs (Mansurian, Haydn, Shostakovich, Silvestrov) have been highly praised, she has also long been involved with aspects of improvisation in different traditions. Her interest in Tango Nuevo led to the Rosamunde Quartet's 'Kultrum' collaboration with Argentinean bandoneonist/composer Dino Saluzzi, many duo concerts with him and the album 'Ojos Negros'. Lechner also plays with Ukrainian pianist Misha Alperin (albums Night, Her First Dance), and French pianist Francois Couturier (Nostalghia - Song for Tarkovsky). Largely self-taught, Italian drummer U. T. Gandhi took workshops with Jimmy Cobb (drummer on "Kind of Blue") and Peter Erskine. He was in Enrico Rava's Electric Five band and plays often today with Miroslav Vitous. His first ECM recording was 'Juan Condori' with Dino Saluzzi, released in 2006.

Personnel:
Vassilis Tsabropoulos - (piano), Anja Lechner - (violoncello), U. T. Gandhi - (percussion)

Number of Discs: 1

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.