Recommended: Paraskevas Kitsos – “Polemos”

Built upon a foundation of striking free improvisation, this is a fascinating debut from Athens-based bassist Paraskevas Kitsos.  With tracks like “Prologos” and “Fovos,” the sextet generates some serious melodic intensity even when eschewing the thought of giving it shape, and by putting all of their energy into the music’s presence, it creates the spark that gives Polemos its life.  That said, this sextet is totally comfortable taking a segue into the love song “Elpida,” and the sudden homage to form and structure sync up just fine with the clash of dissonance and randomness of other tracks.  And that randomness and dissonance takes many forms on this intriguing album.  For instance, “Via” is a relentless thunderstorm where the rain comes from all directions, and then there’s the moody “Thrinos,” a film noir soundtrack that would never agree to remain affixed to the screen, and then also “Katakleida,” a tune with a dreamy atmosphere and a subtle warning of restless sleep.

I’m pretty well addicted to this recording, and it’s one that deserves to more widely heard of.

Your album personnel:  Paraskevas Kitsos (bass), Yiannis Papanastasiou (alto & soprano sax), Giannis Papagiannoulis (percussion), Yiannis Angelopoulos (drums), Vageli Stefanopoulos (piano) and Pantelis Stoikos (trumpet).

The album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album on their Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Athens, Greece scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp