Jaguar-Flower is among the latest batch of releases from violist, composer and bandleader Szilárd Mezei accompanied by what has become a sort of standard (but unique) quartet of Ivan Burka, Ervin Malinka, István Csík and Mezei himself. All four compositions on this album were originally recorded previously, the titular Jaguar nearly two decades ago, and none previously arranged as a quartet. This is the first time they were performed, or at least those performances were captured, together.
Although I have a few other Mezei recordings, none of the pieces here appear on those. While this means I cannot weigh in on how these realizations differ from the others, it is also testament to Mezei's deep compositional repertoire, as well as the fact that it might very well be the time for him and his long-time collaborators to revisit some of their earlier work. And maybe those gaps in my library are for the better, as Jaguar-Flower seems as much a fitting introduction to Mezei's work for newbies (or those who just have not properly kept up with his prolific output) as a mature statement in itself. As for me, I consider myself coming to these pieces with certain expectations, but generally fresh ears.
What I hear is an admixture of modern composition, folk melodies, and free improvisation, with an emphasis on the former two. Of course, folk is often lined with improv as are the relevant corners of the modern classical world, so that distinction should only go far. Still, excluding sections of "Hep 35" and a few other counter-examples, rarely do these songs fall into jazz grooves or all-out wailing. When they do shift into those territories, they do so in short tactical bursts. The rest of Jaguar-Flower is slower and more meditative. I hesitate to lean too far into environmental determinism, but these pieces really do evoke bucolic spaces, possibly the fields of Mezei's native northern Serbia or even the craggy outcrops of the south of the country. However, I am not sure how much of that effect is intentional and how much can be reduced to the imagination of this listener.
As with many traditional European musics, the melodies and structures are simple, but only on their surface. They are accessible but can also zig and zag and twist and turn and about-face without notice. (Notably, they do so with more frequency, here, and open into melodic and amelodic improvisations.) Then, the pieces inevitably return to those early stilted tunes that hint at the wistful or succulent but are just rough enough to avoid becoming saccharine. In short, Jaguar-Flower is of the quality and character many of us have come to expect from Mezei and is all the better for it.
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