Mark Ginsburg

The album features Sydney-based, South African-born saxophonist Mark Ginsburg and pianist Ryan Grogan. The musical project of the two musicians revolves around the question of inspiration, which has to do with origin and also with intimacy. Completing the ensemble of the aforementioned musicians are bassist Brett Hirst and percussionist Fabian Hevia.

About the album we read: “The title, Oceans Together, reflects the varied shores, musical influences and social landscapes of the musicians. Each of these players has a rich background containing significant individual accomplishments, as well as a history of working together at different times over a few decades. The sound is very exposed - you can hear each note of every instrument - sonically there are no heavy drum sounds that compete with other instrument frequencies - the hand percussion is gentle, effective and subtle."

It took two years to realise the album. This was also related to the pandemic and the resulting isolation measures. The tenderness of the melodies is present from the first note. There is also something contemplative to discover in the pieces. The percussionist, who was deliberately used instead of a drummer, has also dedicated himself to the delicate sounds. The percussion is present but not intrusive, and accompanies the flow of sounds that the pianist develops on his piano, nothing more.

Ginsburg describes the album project with the following comments: "Our sound is quite different from other projects we have been involved in, particularly because we used hand percussion rather than a drum kit. Feedback from others indicates that the result is intimate, exposed, warm, sparse, you can hear each note, in a way its quite vulnerable. It has strains of the group Oregon (although unintended). The project has been fascinating because of the way we had to conceive the music in isolation and build on our ideas in an asynchronous manner (as opposed to being in the same room and working things out interactively)."

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Sometimes one even thinks that Lars Danielsson with his Liberetto was the inspiration for part of the music. Note the opening piano sequences in "Indecision". The lyrical is characteristic here, also with reference to classical music of the neo-romantic period. The sounds of saxophone and piano merge, forming a kind of musical "ganache". "Subterfuge" evokes moods that we know from the "Concerto de Aranjuez". Blurs dominate. When listening, one has the impression that hot desert sand is spreading beyond the Mediterranean Sea and that this is not a real barrier, but rather a kind of sea of ​​sound that is determined by the music of the residents. The playing of the saxophonist is particularly brilliant, as he refrains from assuming a dominant position. The saxophone sounds seem like icing that melts warmly. We hear subtle percussive sounds in the background and more bass-heavy sounds thanks to the pianist. And we also hear vocals, placed on an equal footing with the instruments and laid out more as a carpet of sound.

Alto or soprano saxophone? – that's what you ask yourself when you hear the composition "Gravity", written by Ginsburg. We hear the finest lines and hatching of the sound. There is nothing that is developed in from the center to the edges. Everything seems focused at the core. The following piece "In Situ", written by the pianist, describes the experiences of the last few years in which we had to stay in one place because of the pandemic. The style of the piece is cascading, especially with regard to the piano sequences. Above these lies the euphony of the saxophone, circulating, oscillating. And a little cymbal was also added to the piece. But the intimate sound of the saxophone is quite obvious, here and there sounding like a clarinet. And the bass player also has room to develop in this piece.

"Canticum" (comp Grogan) is followed by another composition by the pianist called "Oceans Together", the title track of the present album. The pianist opens the piece with a variant of the hour strike. What the saxophonist adds to the sound spectrum of the piece seems almost crystalline and fragile. You could also have the image of gently moving waves in your head if you follow the saxophonist's passages. It's not monster waves, but rather choppy water that's being poured into sound forms. The musicians also processed the view of the sky in a composition: "Under The Blue" (comp Grogan). And finally the question is "Where to From Here", which rounds off the very intimately shaped album.