Marko Churnchetz

“Devotion”

(Whirlwind Recordings WR4653)

Marko Crncec is a Slovenian pianist and composer who divides his time between his homeland and New York, a city where he has already established a considerable reputation. Released under his Anglicised name of Churnchetz “Devotion” is a powerful début that teams the pianist with some of the Big Apple’s brightest young jazz stars in the shapes of tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, Canadian born bassist Chris Tordini and the great Justin Brown at the drums, a musician familiar to UK audiences through his appearances with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.

“Devotion” is an impressive statement from Churnchetz, both as a performer and as a composer. He cites the influence of such greats as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea but Churnchetz is also in tune with more current developments and expresses his admiration for the music of contemporary groups led by pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and saxophonist Steve Lehman. There’s also an awareness of the latest developments in the worlds of rock, soul, hip hop and drum ‘n’ bass. One tune, the appropriately titled “Schizo” even includes elements drawn from flamenco, Indian and modern classical music. The sum of all this is a powerful and exciting strand of post bop with the adventurous Churnchetz judiciously adding electric instruments to the essentially acoustic group sound, the extra colours and textures serving the music well. There’s a busy, urgent, urban feel about “Devotion” and Churnchetz sounds like a musician -and composer- who is just bursting with ideas.

Opener “Being There” sets the quartet’s stall out, bustling urgent post bop with the busy rhythms of Tordini and Brown fuelling an expansive, flowing solo from Churnchetz that negotiates a dazzling variety of twists and turns and simply bristles with intent. Shim follows him, his sound edgy, almost angry but full of colour and invention.

Churnchetz obviously regards the aforementioned “Schizo” as one of the cornerstones of the album. He describes the piece as “a tune that features a flamenco intro with modern classical style technique and phrasing mixed with a rhythmical approach that was influenced by Indian classical music as a result of my studies with the great Guru Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. It also features Mark on the electric midi controller which offers some different sounds compared to the traditional saxophone. For me it is about coming up with the most accurate description of where I am as a person who loves and has studied a great deal of music”.
With its mix of styles and acoustic and electronic sounds the piece is busy but compelling with Churnchetz and the group making the numerous stylistic shifts and changes sound convincing and organic. Despite a brief foray into electronic sounds the piece is primarily acoustic with Shim worrying away at his tenor like a dog with a bone. Churnchetz’s own solo is similarly busy and frenetic and Tordini and the excellent Brown offer brilliant rhythmic support, negotiating the complexities of Churnchetz’s writing with considerable aplomb. For the listener it’s something of a musical white knuckle ride, but one that thrills and invigorates - and one can’t help but admire the confidence and quality of the playing.   

The title track is Churnchetz’s devotion to his recently deceased mother and presents a more lyrical side to his musical personality. For the listener it represents a welcome change of pace after the breathless excitement of the first two tracks. Not quite a true ballad the piece has a soaring anthemic quality and acts as the vehicle for solos from Churnchetz, Tordini and Shim with the latter’s tenor solo adding a real element of grit and rigour to the piece.

“Gonzalost” (the title presumably inspired by Rubalacaba) adds the sound of electric keyboards and electric bass to Churnchetz’s sound palette as he also pays homage to Hancock and Zawinul. Early on there’s an engaging duet between the leader’s keyboards and Tordini’s electric bass shadowed by Brown’s cymbal ticks and shimmers. As the piece develops Churchetz solos inventively on synthesiser and Shim unleashes the midi controller again.
There’s a seventies patina here that may not be the taste of all listeners, indeed I stopped listening to much of this kind of thing myself years ago, yet Churnchetz and his colleagues transcend the limits of the fusion genre by dint of their skill, daring and imagination. This piece actually makes for highly invigorating listening and towards the close there’s a sparkling acoustic piano solo that seems designed to win over any doubters.

“Interprelude” maintains the energy levels, albeit in the same acoustic post bop mode as the opener. Shim returns to the tenor and again stakes his claim as one of the best young saxophonists around. Busy and bustling the piece sounds like a fragment from a longer work and as the title indicates it acts as a kind of prelude to the following “Risk Free”.
This picks up where “Interprelude” leaves off, with high energy, stop start unison passages eventually providing the platform for more thoughtful solos as the music develops. Both Churnchetz and Shim deliver expansive and imaginative solos before a return to the edgy energy of the opening exchanges with the piece being climaxed with a feature for the brilliant Brown who is in exceptional form throughout the album.

Tordini (who I first heard at the 2010 London Jazz Festival with pianist Yaron Herman’s trio) provides an atmospheric solo acoustic bass introduction to the piece “Without Tomorrow”. 
The main event represents another glimpse of Churnchetz’s more contemplative side, a frequently beautiful piece that unfolds slowly and eloquently and which possesses a strong narrative arc.  The gradual development allows for intelligent but lyrical solos from Churnchetz and particularly Shim, with both musicians presenting their ideas in an unhurried, organic manner that draws in the listener.

“Late” is another foray into fusion territory with Shim deploying the midi controller and Churnchetz doubling on electric and acoustic keyboards. He adopts a Rhodes sound for his solo above Brown’s urgent, shuffling grooves. Shim follows in his electronic guise but ultimately it’s the brilliance of Brown that tends to divert the listener’s attention.

The album concludes with “Improvisation” which features Churnchetz on solo acoustic piano, a final reminder of his enormous talent as the ideas pour out of him yet in such a natural way that the piece could just as easily be fully composed.

Whirlwind Recordings founder Michael Janisch is a brilliant talent spotter and in Churnchetz he has unearthed a gem with enormous potential. “Devotion” is a stunning début with Churnchetz impressing as both a musician and a composer. Helped by a world class band he explores a variety of jazz styles and his eventful and ambitious writing style ensures that the listener remains captivated throughout.

The acoustic tracks are the most effective but the use of electronic instruments on “Schizo” and “Gonzalost” is also highly convincing, although less so on the more routine fusion of “Late”. However minor misgivings aside this is a terrific album and Churnchetz is clearly an enormous talent. I was equally impressed by his band mates, particularly Shim and Brown.

If Janisch is able to bring Churnchetz to the UK I predict that he’ll take British audiences by storm. On the evidence of this album the world looks set to be hearing a lot more from Marko Churnchetz.

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