I'm really happy to present to you the album Almost Alone Vol. 1 – the first volume of three volumes of a really amazing new European guitar project I started in May during the Corona lockdown.
The project features 36 fantastic jazz guitarists from 35 different European countries (below the list) - all these musicians are amazing guitarists and composers and I'm really thankful that they contributed their amazing share to the compositions I wrote.
The three volumes of »Almost Alone« will come out through the following year. Here are the guitarists featured on Almost Alone Vol. 1:
Alex Machacek (Austria) -
alexmachacek.com/about/
Rafal Sarnecki (Poland) -
rafalsarnecki.com/en/
Cenk Erdogan (Turkey) -
www.cenkerdogan.net
Andre Fernandes (Portugal) -
andrefernandesmusic.com/home
Kalle Kalima (Finland) -
kallekalima.com
Jacob Young (Norway) -
www.jacobyoung.no/about
Albert Vila (Spain) -
albertvilamusic.com
Dušan Jevtović (Serbia) -
www.dusanjevtovic.com
Lorenzo Di Maio (Belgium) -
www.lorenzodimaio.com
Philipp Schaufelberger (Switzerland) -
ps.ignore.net
Spiros Exaras (Greece) -
www.spirosexaras.com
Spiros Exaras uses La Bella Strings.
Kalle Kalima appears on courtesy of Act Music.
COMPLETE LIST OF PARTICIPATING GUITARISTS:
- AUSTRIA – ALEX MACHACEK
- BELGIUM – LORENZO DI MAIO
- BULGARIA - LUDMIL KRUMOV
- CROATIA – ELVIS STANIĆ
- CZECH REPUBLIC – DAVID DORUZKA
- DENMARK – MIKKEL PLOUG
- ENGLAND – MARK WINGFIELD
- FINLAND – KALLE KALIMA
- FRANCE – MAXIME DELPIERRE
- GERMANY – RONNY GRAUPE
- GREECE – SPIROS EXARAS
- HOLLAND – VINCENT KONING
- HUNGARY – GELLERT SZABO
- ICELAND – ANDRES THOR & MIKAEL MANI ASMUNDSSON
- IRELAND – CHRISTY DORAN
- ITALY – FRANCESCO DIODATI
- KOSOVO - TAULANT MEHMETI
- LATVIA – MARCIS AUZINŠ
- LITHUANIA - MINDAUGAS STUMBRAS
- LUXEMBOURG – GREG LAMY
- MACEDONIA – SAŠO POPOVSKI
- MALTA – SANDRO ZERAFA
- NORWAY – JACOB YOUNG
- POLAND – RAFAL SARNECKI
- PORTUGAL – ANDRE FERNANDES
- ROMANIA - GEORGE DUMITRIU
- SCOTLAND - BEN MACDONALD
- SERBIA – DUŠAN JEVTOVIĆ
- SLOVAKIA – MICHAL BUGALA
- SLOVENIA – SAMO SALAMON
- SPAIN - ALBERT VILA
- SWEDEN – SUSANNA RISBERG
- SWITZERLAND – PHILIPP SCHAUFELBERGER
- TURKEY – CENK ERDOGAN
- UKRAINE – IGOR OSYPOV
"Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon is as prolific as he is innovative. His restless explorations have resulted in a large, versatile discography that ranges from the orchestral to the free flowing with a variety of ensembles. His 2020 release Almost Alone Vol. 1 is a set of eleven duets each with a different international guitarist. It is the first in a planned three-record series.
Every track features a different set of motifs yet the eloquent lyricism of the dialogues gives the album a thematic unity. For instance, the "Coalition of Mistaken" with the Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima is expansive and atmospheric. The contrast between acoustic and electric strings creates a captivating soundscape. Darker hues penetrate the shimmering tune as Kalima and Salamon push the boundaries of improvisation to a delightfully dissonant realm.
On "Seven Cats," on the other hand, Salamon and Serbian guitarist Dusan Jevtovic pepper the Slavic melody with muscular and acerbic chords. Drawing inspiration both from their shared heritage as well as the visceral world of hard rock the two artists craft a musical fairy tale that is mordant and filled with moments of virtuosity.
In contrast on "Crooswijk" Turkish guitarist Cenk Erdogan's fretless instrument and Salamon's percussive lines build a song filled with Levantine mysticism. One of the most intimate pieces on the album it allows Erdogan to stretch out with kaleidoscopic phrases and poetic sense as Salamon creates a wistful ambience around the solo.
Similarly melancholic is "Northern Wind." Here, Greek guitarist Spiros Exaras and Salamon exchange haunting and hypnotic refrains that have hints of the blues as well as a Zen-like solemnity.
As expected from Salamon Almost Alone Volume 1 is a superb and thrilling work. His synergy with so many charismatic musicians as well as each one's singular brilliance is what makes this release stimulating and emotive. It certainly whets the appetite for the subsequent installments in this ingenious project."
(ALL ABOUT JAZZ, Hrayr Attarian, December 2020)
released October 26, 2020
Samo Šalamon – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, moog
Alex Machacek – electric and acoustic guitars (1)
Rafal Sarnecki – electric guitars (2)
Cenk Erdogan – fretless guitar (3)
Andre Fernandes – electric guitar (4)
Kalle Kalima – electric guitars (5)
Jacob Young – electric guitar (6)
Albert Vila – electric guitar (7)
Dušan Jevtović – electric guitars (8)
Lorenzo Di Maio – electric guitars (9)
Philipp Schaufelberger – electic guitar (10)
Spiros Exaras – electric and slide guitars (11)
Recorded between May and September 2020.
Produced, mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon, except track 1 mixed and mastered by Alex Machacek.
All tunes published by Sazas.
Contact info:
www.samosalamon.com
samosalamon@gmail.com
Samo Records, 2020
