Awase

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Nik Bärtsch’s long-running Ronin band, now remodelled as a quartet, has an exuberant and open feel that this meticulous, unflinchingly disciplined and his jazz and rock-inflected ‘ritual music’... — Jazzwise, August 2018, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 4th May 2018
Catalogue No: 6735867
Label: ECM
Length: 65 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Nik Bärtsch: Modul 60

Work length5:08

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Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

Nik Bärtsch: Modul 58

Work length18:19

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Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

Stefan Haslebacher: A

Work length8:23

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Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

Nik Bärtsch: Modul 36

Work length13:37

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Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

Nik Bärtsch: Modul 34

Work length8:51

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Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

Nik Bärtsch: Modul 59

Work length11:01

$1.10

$1.50

$2.05

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Sha (bass clarinet), Sha (alto saxophone), Thomy Jordi (bass guitar), Kaspar Rast (drums), Nik Bärtsch (piano)
Recorded: 2017-10-18
Recording Venue: Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-Les-Fontaines

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About

'Awase', a term from martial arts, means "moving together" in the sense of matching energies, a fitting metaphor for the dynamic precision, tessellated grooves and balletic minimalism of Nik Bartsch's Ronin.

Six years have passed since the last release from the Swiss group (though Nik Bartsch did release 'Continuum' with his group Mobile on ECM in 2016). In the interim, trimmed from quintet to quartet size and with new bassist Thomy Jordi fully integrated, Ronin has become a subtly different band.

The pianist/composer speaks of a new-found freedom and flexibility in the approach to the material, with "greater transparency, more interaction, more joy in every performance". The freedom here extends to revisiting early Bartsch modules alongside new compositions including, for the first time on a Ronin record, a piece by reedman Sha.

Awase was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the south of France in October 2017 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Reviews

August 2018

Nik Bärtsch’s long-running Ronin band, now remodelled as a quartet, has an exuberant and open feel that this meticulous, unflinchingly disciplined and his jazz and rock-inflected ‘ritual music’ always exerts its own kind of mesmerising pull.

August 2018

From start to finish, it’s a compelling album, even if not something you’re likely to find yourself whistling while walking down the street.

Awase

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