I pretty much can only listen to this album from now on.  Kind of sucks because I have so many other CDs that want to be played...
I was listening to this album on the bus this morning and I discovered, thanks to the audio intimacy of headphones, that this is a proficiently crafted and highly engaging masterwork that has actually blown me away.  I haven't been this impressed with an album in a long time.  
It's fluid songwriting laced with subtle intricacies had to be improvised to be as genuine and raw as they are. The Strato Ensemble's music prowess is intimidating.  I still can't comprehend how they made a 24 minute long song where I'm still wanting more at the end.  Seriously, it never gets tedious.  
I am now a fan.  I want more.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
The members of The Strato Ensemble were involved in various groups and projects before they decided to come together for one common cause: liberation through improvisational flow. Takeshi Nishimoto (electric guitar), Jako Giacomini (drums), Dean De Benedictis (keyboards), and Giuseppe Patane (bass) could easily play traditional jazz, or become an avant garde group, but considering that their previous groups were very different from each other, they had to create something different for this.

They went into the studio, and hours of jam sessions resulted in the music that is Drawn Straws (Fateless Music). The title of the CD tells about the different mixtures on the album in terms of who plays what. A few of the songs feature all of the musicians playing, while the next song could be two or three members. Regardless of the combination of musicians in each song, each of them show what they are capable of doing with each other, and what the listener gets to hear is the kind of jazz that takes in a wide range of different styles and atmopherics. There are moments which may sound like a Portishead outtakes, while other moments may bring to mind late 70's-era Weather Report. The group cite Tortoise and ECM albums from the 70's and 80's as an influence, and you can hear this, but in terms of different sound textures and ambience, they are along the lines of what Norway's Supersilent have done throughout their career, and also touch on the repetition and spontaneity heard in the music by Australia's The Necks. The Strato Ensemble take on that same approach but in a jazz setting, where they will go into it and just play, letting things happen, but in that process they end up creating songs that take the listener on a level of... well, if you've ever been on that higher level, it's just the level above that. Nishimoto's guitar work is in fine form, and in "Trenches" and "Galaxing", featuring Benedictis and Giacomini as a duo, you feel as if you're meditating with genius.

Drawn Straws is 9 songs clocking in just under 80 minutes, with the first track running for 24 minutes, it isn't music for short attention spans. It is music for those who want to be taken on a journey. As for these four, they should take this music around the world and come back with an even wider palette to choose from. A remarkable debut album.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
On "Drawn Straws", The Strato Ensemble pieces together an electrifying album full of surprise and intrigue. This jazz improvisational group has an excellent sense of rhythm, melody, and spontaneity. The Strato Ensemble did an excellent job of achieving a well balanced jazz album with a unique flavor that is created by including many interesting electronic sounds. The musicianship on the CD is particularly impressive, especially the piano and keyboard work. On "Thou Dire Lull," the track is accompanied by an awesome piano piece sure to elevate the ears of any jazz lover. If you like Weather Report then you will love The Strato Ensemble. Don't miss out, get your copy today!
                            Read more...
                        

                            
The shape of all unshaped atmosphereic cohesion molds mysterious metaphysical transductions illuminated by mood lamps of internal nuance.
                            Read more...