December, 07, 2007

One of the most bright events of 2007, VII Jazz Bez '2007, which has been held on December 2 through 9 in 4 cities in Ukraine and 2 cities in Poland, is far behind. However our impressions, new acquaintance, lessons and the experience gained have stayed with us.
The festival has united 43 gigs, 116 musicians and the audience of 11000. Participants from the USA, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine took part in the event, including such jazz legends as Lee Konitz, Petras Vysniauskas, Robertha Piket, Julian Thomas, Nikolay Trzaska, Karol Shimanovski, Piotr Baron, Jacek Kochan, Klaus Kugel etc.
We played in Lvov (Ukraine), Przemyszl (Poland), Sanok (Poland) and Ternopol (Ukraine). Every city was excellent in its own way, but the common thing was sincere attention and warm audience. Lvov has pleased by its philarmonic hall and the new ethno-jazz club "Lyalka". In Przemyszl and Sanok we were jamming with outstanding musicians from Monorail Quartet (Poland-USA). In Ternopol we have been accorded a hearty welcome by owercrowded hall of the local dramatic theatre. After that we were invited to dinner and jam with the local musicians, which have pleased us by their masterly performance and enthusiasm.
Sympathy of the audience has promoted us to the top 10 performance of the festival.
Some Jazz Bez '2007 photo you can check here >>

November, 1, 2007

Photos from the very unusual Fusion Orchestra's open air gig are placed here: http://www.fusion-orchestra.com/photos10_rus.shtml

September, 24, 2007

Fusion Orchestra CD "Apocrypha" is available at CDBaby now: http://cdbaby.com/cd/fusionorchestra2 with the following annotation:
"Firmness and masculinity of the rhythm combined with tenderness and sensory sounding of the keys. In this music we can trace some philosophy, some clearness, some balance between any extreme points and exotic features…"

September 23, 2007

Several photo from Fusion Orchestra's gigs at the Mamakabo'2007 and Jazz-Koktebel'2007 have uploaded here:
http://www.fusion-orchestra.com/photos8.shtml
http://www.fusion-orchestra.com/photos9.shtml

September 12, 2007 

Several videos from Fusion Orchestra's gig at the Mamakabo'2007 fest (Koktebel, Crimea, Ukraine, 09/09/2007) have uploaded here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdkzKDwROGw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiY8AsVfxNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yrTEuJzZ0

August 23, 2007

Fusion Orchestra (c) & (p) 2007 CD album "Apocrypha" has released and now is available for purchase.

August 16, 2007

The new album is finally recorded and mixed. 2007-year CD "Apocrypha" is being prepared for release and soon will be on sale. Check the News updates for more information.


May 05, 2007

Fusion Orchestra have returned from the 5th ethno-jazz festival Flyugery Lvova (Lviv, Ukraine). In spite of the hard financial situation caused by recent political events in Ukraine the festival organization was excellent. To our surprise the audience met us very warmly and demonstrated a real interest in our performance. There were quite a few meetings with artistic people of the city, and we also were invited to participate in a Jazz Bez concert series touring Ukraine and Poland in December 2007.


March 30, 2007

Fusion Orchestra have invited to participate at Jazz-Koktebel festival in September, 29, 2007.


March 24, 2007

Fusion Orchestra have started recording a new album to be released by the end of the summer 2007. Traditionally all recording, mixing and premastering will be done in Fusion Studio by ourselves. Check the News later to get fresh info about this project.


March 23, 2007

We've got confirmation from the "Flyugery Lvova" fest organizers regarding Fusion Orchestra participation in this event on 29 April 2007. We'll be honored to share the stage with Arkady Shilkloper and "The Chamber Orchestra Leopolis".


March 07, 2007

RadioIndy.com has reviewed Fusion Orchestra CD Octagon.
Read this review>>


March 06, 2007

ProGGnosis.com has reviewed Fusion Orchestra CD Octagon.
Read this review >>


February 21, 2007

RuTube has uploaded a video-clip about Fusion Orchestra's gigging at the «Mamakabo-2006» jazz fest, Koktebel, Crimea in September, 2006. This video includes several "passages" from band's popular pieces and exclusive interview with Enver Izmailov and Sergey Bogdan (Fusion Orchestra) - sorry, but both interviews are in Russian.

February 10, 2007

The February 2007 issues of AvtoZvuk & AudioVideo magazines with a column about Fusion Orchestra have been released and now are available for purchase. These issues also contain the "Hot Chocolate" Audio CD that includes the Jadido track from our recent album Octagon.

December 29, 2006

The first full review regarding CD "Octagon":

OCTAGON
The group's second album containing only the original material proves to be a consistent work full of interesting ideas. Despite a standard jazz combo format the group achieves a rather unique sound.

Dance
The opening composition displays all the main features of the whole album – odd metres, a fluent but reliable bass (Pavel Voronezhsky), a briefly surfacing and easily going to background guitar (Sergey Bogdan), energetic drums (Denis Melnikov), and a piano (Eugene Popov) taking major melodic and improvisational duties. The song starts without any introduction. The slightly processed classical guitar sounding in a folk manner exposes a short main theme, which is repeated in a rondo-like succession for more than 1.5 minutes. Then a powerful bass comes in and the other instruments follow. At first the theme seems tiresome but in a while it enchants you with its unusual rhythm of 4 + 3 + 3 + 3. After a resolute bridge a lyrical improvisation comes in with the dramatic bridge revealing itself in the middle one more time. Finally a short reprise brings the theme back just when you start missing it.

Unexpected Guest
An extended melancholic and contemplative piano introduction is followed by a light bossa nova with a chain of alternating solos by Bogdan and Popov. However it is not just Latin jazz and the bossa nova can turn either into an ominous episode or a repetitive short 9/4 motif. The pianist increases intensity in his developed solo which softly resolves over the familiar 9/4 figure. The guitar bossa nova gets interrupted once again with menacing piano chords and the return of the introduction rounds up the cycle.

December Rain
December rain typical for Crimea continues the Latin theme but you cannot expect pure styles from the Fuzion Orchestra. The rhythms and moods are changing, what seemed to be a smooth jazz rumba in a wink becomes swing (not a real strength of the ensemble though) and then funk. Here we can hear the first guest appearance – vocal of Lolita Poplavskaya. Unfortunately she was not allowed to deviate from the theme longer than a couple of measures so this colour in the limited group's palette showed just as a stroke. Another interesting moment is inclusion of a real rain sound into the record. And it is not just in the intro or fade out which would be completely trivial if not banal. It is in the middle of the composition and it lasts good 1.5 minutes. All the instruments tactfully release the pressure and the rain and Voronezhsky's pulsing bass come to the foreground.

Jadido
The fact that these musicians highly respect Chick Corea becomes evident in the "Spanish-speaking" Jadido by Voronezhsky. Its violin version was released on the first band's CD. Arguably, it is the most popular number from their repertoire. Irresistible drive, captivating full stops… Why is it not played by radio stations? The only thing getting me off rhythm is the too loose drum solo. However the album's voltage is getting higher.

Black Bagel
The title is inspired by Victor Pelevin's novel The Clay Machine-Gun (Chapaev i Pustota). Its main recognizable feature is a rhythmically complex and ever escaping bass figure which unpredictably rolls groups of three and four eighths notes. The first theme is anxious and questioning, the second one is a philosophical response. Now and then we can hear an extra quarter and in a moment another quarter is missing. In the middle part the guitar and the piano trade short solos divided by lightning speed basslines. Bogdan's guitar is far from the common patterns here. In the short break all-knowing Chapaev whistles the second theme standing at the edge of Ural (the Undefinable River of Absolute Love), and then a windmill of sounds captures you again.

Mayan Loom
Another enigmatic title meaning probably not the infamous device the Loom of Maya but rather the symmetric pattern of their calendar tool reflecting the structure of our DNA. But let's talk about music, and the music just rocks! This is a composition of a serious length (longer than 10 minutes) and serious tension. Light jazz gives up the place to solid rock. Live sounds interweave in a rhythm of a loom, the musical texture is subtly coloured with non-standard programming. Another chromatic solo by Bogdan, then great piano work by Popov followed by – surprise! – his electric guitar solo in a manner far from the common ways. The rhythm section is amazing. Little pearls are sprinkled here and there – burst of double tempo before the end, harmonics sending shivers down my spine, and finally the stopped time of the disappeared civilization. Well, the music is much greater than this description!

Russia
By the album's end the tension eases although the final songs are full of drama. The initial title of Russia was Country Miles. These are exactly the associations caused by the monotonous repetitive theme backed however with some harmonic movement. But the words Russia, boundless spaces, endless roads live well together and they are underlined by certain Russian thematizm. The melodically developed middle part with gradually doubling tempo is particularly interesting.

Forgotten Feelings
The CD closes with a romantic rhapsody for piano solo. The ending piece manages a rare finale combining downfall of the rhythmic intensity with increasing emotional intensity.

In the conclusion I would like to say something about the album as a whole. The cover design is pale but highly original. The disc released in the CD-Text format but unfortunately the song titles are in Cyrillic and are not displayed right by most players. Personally I would like if the always present propulsive and melodic bass of Pavel Voronezhsky was exposed at least in a single solo. I hope these wee remarks will not diminish all the strengths of this excellent body of work.

Vitaly Zhuravlyov
http://vitalyz.netfirms.com/

December 25, 2006

It's already about four months since our official website went live, and a little bit less since we registered in several musical web communities. So, in short it's time to summarize :).
Well, during this period we had about 7000 visitors from 45 countries, and the number of our mp3 track downloads exceeded 2200. At the same time on our musical community web pages we had more than 3000 visitors, over 1600 promo track streaming playbacks and more than 1000 downloads. So, statistically speaking, in total we've got about 10000 spectators and 5000 listeners that virtually corresponds to a concert in a big size music-hall with poor acoustics in its peanut gallery :).
It's not a big result for this period of time but we are optimistic about the next year prospects...
We take this opportunity to thank all of our friends and fans for their support, belief in us and interest in our music - thank you very much!
According to many astrological forecasts the year 2007 (Year Of Pig) promises to be a very lucky one in all respects, and we wish you all to feel this fully in love, friendship, creativity and finance :)!

Merry Christmas and Happy Ney Year!


December 18, 2006

Fusion Orchestra CD album Octagon is available for purchasing now at CDBaby.com. You can also use this Link to write a review about this CD at CDBaby.com.


December 11, 2006

Fusion Orchestra has registered at SellaBand.com. This website has very original idea that: "... allows artists to gain access to the necessary resources and experience to develop their talent and provides a powerful platform for them to launch their careers". So, now you can become our Believer and invest in our band ;).

November 21, 2006

Now you can buy Fusion Orchestra CD album Octagon directly from our website using PayPal option.


November 11, 2006

Fusion Orchestra CD album Octagon is available for purchasing now as MP3 album at Soundclick.com


October 01, 2006

Fusion Orchestra got the first feedbacks regarding their CD "Octagon":

"Hello Fusion Orchestra - you have good music! You have a combination of elements in your collective sound that gives a positive energy to the notes."

Chris Burnett, United States

http://myspace.com/chrisburnettquartet

"Excellent!! Nuff said, just listen to this and be taken for a ride, that's if you dig jazz that is structured melodically & thematically while being both loose and complex at the same time?"

Brillman, Norway

http://www.ArtistServer.com/Brillman

"I downloaded all tracks you uploaded - all very cool tunes. I was happy to hear no vocals in the music, and that there was a certain 'jam' feel there. I hope you don't mind a comparison, but I was thinking you sounded a bit like Phish when they were younger."

Gideon / Sonic Wallpaper, United States http://www.artistserver.com/artist/index.cfm/a/9/SonicWallpaper

"Black Bagel! Great work on that one... The solos were super cool! I totally dug the transitions to whistling... But the main groove was a jammer! Great work - Especially that piano: went on a roll."

Kylo, United States

http://www.artistserver.com/artist/index.cfm/a/7613/Kylo

"This is nice stuff - nicely recorded too. Reminds me of Ben Folds Five before they disappeared up their own arse".

Danny K, United Kingdom

http://www.thelegendarydannyk.com/

"Fantastic album you guys have made! I love listening to it...I can tell a lot of work went into making this album, and its great to know there's musicians at your talent level still out there. Each song has so much depth to it, it's amazing! And every song has many subtle surprises that I find myself listening over and over again. Very impressive work. I'm so glad I found you on this thing...I don't even know how it happened...just sort of found you. And the end part on 'Mayan Loom' is nothing short of brilliant. I wish you well in all your endeavors and please keep me posted on any other new material you guys make. Again, fantastic recording! I wish I could see your live show sometime".

Scotty Orange, United States
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=19606755

"Your CD sounds and looks very good. It's very interesting and slightly "exotic" to me with all the odd meter tunes and different scales and harmonies. My favorites are "Unexpected guest" (nice mood and beautiful melody), "Jadido" (reminds me of Chick Corea) and "Black bagel" (cool groove and high energy, funny name too :-). It's also a very nice solopiece your pianist plays at the end. You seem to have played together for a long time, as you are tight and follow each other well. Good idea with the voice on "December rain", more of that! Overall, a very good, original and 'organic' album - good job!"

Mats Bystrom, Sweden

http://www.subfive.com/

"I find myself coming back to this site and listening over and over. Really fine writing and playing".

 Steve Mohacey , United States

http://www.myspace.com/stevemohacey

"Very nice - it reminds me of some bands I used to listen few years ago, like: Universe Zero, Present... There is something interesting, captivating, that you can really listen to and enjoy even if it's not that jazzy.......Bravo!"

Dan Alex Mitrofan / bozo, Romania

http://www.audiostreet.net/profile.aspx?profileid=132940

"I listened to your song "Dance"....a mix of styles here as I can see a jazz side and some kind of Euro style, Celtic traditional maybe - I don't know, correct me if I'm wrong... I enjoyed the tune very much though, you guys make great music, that much I know is obvious...keep it up... Let us know when you have new material. Thanks and much respect!"

Ryan / ADAD Records, United States
http://www.soundclick.com/adadrecords

"Love your music, especially the original material. Listening to Dance as I type this..what a great track!"

John / vinejockey, United States

http://www.noisehead.com/member/nh_member_posts.php?member_id=147

"Hey Fusion Orchestra!! I wanted to stop thru here to let ya'll know that u are putting out some good vibes on the musical aspect man! I was just listening to the song ya'll have made called Black Bagel and I gotta give props cuz its like smooth and upbeat all at the same time!!!! How the heck do ya'll do that there??? Anyway good job and good work!!!"

J. Rolo, United States

http://www.noisehead.com/artist/nh_artist_posts.php?artist_id=780

"Great stuff. Music like this is the reason sequencers will never kill a truly talented live musician. Could you even imagine where to start with trying to turn this into a midi file? It just wouldn't work on so many levels :-). "

Slam, United Kingdom

http://www.noisehead.com/artist/nh_artist_posts.php?artist_id=555

"Highly recommended album for jazz lovers, the production is superb and the tunes are tight, my copy is an absolute treat!"

Chris / chriscruise, New Zealand

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=592313

"Wow! "Octagon" is a very enjoyable progressive jazz fusion CD by Fusion Orchestra. The musicians on this CD are phenomenal and the band is very tight. The recording sounds very crisp, with simple production that highlights the natural sounds of the instruments and accomplished musicians. The songs are musically complex yet enjoyable to the non-musician listener as well. For example, the tight breaks and complex runs in "Jadido" are awesome and blend together with rich piano compositions into an excellent song for the listener. Whether you enjoy listening to jazz fusion, or just listening to extremely talented musicians, you'll love this CD. Pick up a copy today!"

RadioIndy.com

http://www.radioindy.com/

"Based on the bands name, I was expecting something a little more electric, or perhaps a combination of orchestrated fusion music. Yet what this band from Crimea are about is jazz textures with elements of world fusion. Mostly all acoustical, the fourpiece of electric bass, drums, piano, and electric/classical guitar take a fairly laid back approach to their style of music. It is unique in it's own way, yet something we have heard before. All the players are very skilled and well versed in jazz improv, creating songs that are structured for the sake of interactive accompaniment, yet leaving a lot of room for stretching out as soloists.

I find that the music is very relaxed, yet shows enough technical arrangements to keep your ears piqued. Not smooth jazz in any way, as they take a more non-commercial path in their writing. In some ways I sense a little Chick Corea's Acoustik Band, yet never really going that deep into the virtuoso playing. The pianist gets main stage pretty much on every song, as the bassist and drummer provide workmanlike backdrops. The guitarist, while present seems to only be heard on occasions, giving the music a second voice.

I guess this CD is decent, though certainly not something most fans of intense fusion music are going to find that interesting. All told, this is a jazz CD, straight forward, unadulterated organic music that follows some old paths and incorporates some new ethnic sounds. It's apparent that by virtue of the bands' skill level, that they are capable of doing pretty much anything if they want to get more into the electric field of fusion, as for this CD, it's a relaxing listen on a Sunday morning kind of CD".

MJBrady / ProGGnosis.com

http://www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=21469

September 29, 2006

Fuzion Orchestra (c) & (p) 2006 CD album "Octagon" has released and now is available for purchase. For more information please visit: http://www.fusion-orchestra.com/octagon.html.

September 25, 2006

Hey Every1!

We are Fusion Orchestra from the sunny town of Sevastopol, Ukraine. We play groovy modern Jazz with nontrivial rhythms and signatures.

Heard about your wicked cool music forum, and decided to join in, cuz we just love the way you guys talk about music. And of course, music is our burning lifelong passion!

We are very interesting in your opinion/comments about our music, especially from musicians play in the same music genre. So, don't hesitate to post you comments :).

Cheers!

12/09/2007 08:00 PM

Jazz Bez
Ternopol, UA

12/08/2007 08:00 PM

Jazz Bez
Sanok, PL


12/07/2007 08:00 PM

Jazz Bez
Przemysl, PL


12/06/2007 08:00 PM

Jazz Bez
"Lyal'ka" club (Galitsky sqr., 1), Lvov, UA,


09/23/2007 07:00 PM 

Jazz - Koktebel '2007
City Bay
Koktebel, Crimea, UA

09/09/2007 06:00 PM

Mamakabo '2007

Open Stage, Luna-Park

Koktebel, Crimea. UA