Facing East

Facing East is oriented primarily towards Armenia, celebrating the folk music of the Caucasus in adventurous fashion. The multi– national members of the Modus Quartet use a modern jazz lexicon to bind a mixture of traditional folk songs and original compositions into a coherent and compelling whole.

Armenian vocalist Houry Dora Apartian draws upon her roots to plot beguiling Eastern-inflected melodies but does not stop there. Opening track ‘Shalakho’ showcases her highly rhythmic vocalisations, as she duets with Israeli percussionist and album producer Omri Hason. He ventures beyond his traditional role, employing the hang drum on the more reflective tracks, such as the lilting waltz of ‘Shavim’, or the mournful and mysterious ‘Blue Rain’. The album feels furthest from its folk roots when Italian accordionist Antonello Messina is in the spotlight, performing key-busting bebop influenced solos and chordal freak-outs that comprehensively liberate his instrument from any stereotype. One might think that a fusion of contemporary jazz with compositions popularised by Komitas Vartabed, godfather of Armenian folk, would be inelegant. Modus Quartet prove emphatically otherwise. The maverick priest and musicologist Komitas would surely have approved.