KCSM Radio Interview with Sascha Jacobsen by Chuy Varela
Reviews of Nuevo Chamber, The Musical Art Quintet
“polished performance” -New York Times
“...composer-bassist Sascha Jacobsen's concoctions hop nimbly through a world of styles while impressing with ear-catching intricacy and handsome technique....indelible tracks like "Milonga de San Francisco" and Afrobeat-inflected "Fela Feliz" are spirited treats that will have you twirling across the floor.”
-San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Classical music is sexy again. Lest you doubt that, look no further than Mission District chamber group The Musical Art Quintet”
-East Bay Express
“Plenty of local bands are ambitious; San Francisco's Musical Art Quintet is trailblazing its own genre. The group, led by bassist and composer Sascha Jacobsen, grew out of Classical Revolution jams at which Jacobsen would write out a new piece of music for his group to perform on the spot. His pieces seek to combine and remix elements of chamber music with rhythms and sounds from all over the world. A Musical Art Quintet composition might meld influences from Africa, Argentina, or Cuba — and even a drum machine — into a globe-hopping, dance-inspiring, gorgeous work. Classical training and a taste for evocative melodies underpin this sound, but improvisation and lively rhythms make the group's "Nuevo Chamber" music truly its own.”-SF Weekly
“Nuevo Chamber is a superb fusion of chamber compositions and global sounds by one of the emerging talents in the world music scene.”-World Music Central
“Expect an and invigorating infusion of classical and worldly sounds” - Mundo Vibe
Review of "Outer Sunset" 2002
Joshua Kline - double bassist magazine
Any contemporary Jazz listener will tell you that very few new releases really nail it these days. You might get great technical chops on one album, some nice composition on another, and maybe, every now and then, someone will actually say something. So it's with extraordinary glee that I direct your weary and disappointed ears to Sascha Jacobsen's Outer Sunset, which shines a (well, dying) light on Jazz that it hasn't basked in for years.
Latin Jazz? Straight Ahead? It?s all the same to Jacobsen's Quintet, who speak both languages fluently, and effortlessly flip from one to another as the compositions demand. And with influences ranging from Wayne Shorter to Paquito D'Rivera, these original compositions demand a lot. Full of syncopated figures, melodic lines doubled by the whole band, and abrupt switches from mid-tempo swing time to a scorching Latin rhythm, this album is destined for heavy rotation in the living rooms of Jazz purists as well as Fusion buffs everywhere.
You won't just be impressed; you'll be melted by pieces such as Curls (track 4), which is a soulful bossa, evoking everything from Jobim to Pat Metheny's Bright Size Life (with a fantastic clean guitar solo by Vanderveer to rival Pat's, also). Jacobsen's bass is steady and solid; the rich tone, coupled with his talent for melodic development, makes for lyrical solos that go for feeling in place of flash. Laval's soloing is delicious on swing pieces such as A Puro Sol (track 6), where he serves up a few spicy and inspired choruses, but his expertise in Latin accompaniment is also apparent in his full command of the traditional offbeat rhythm piano figures. Stop your squinting. Despite its name, Outer Sunset brightly illuminates the Jazz Idiom to reveal the true level of storytelling that's still present in this music and in these times.
Joshua Kline
jazzreview.com/double bassist magazineJoshua Kline - double bassist magazine
“polished performance” -New York Times
“...composer-bassist Sascha Jacobsen's concoctions hop nimbly through a world of styles while impressing with ear-catching intricacy and handsome technique....indelible tracks like "Milonga de San Francisco" and Afrobeat-inflected "Fela Feliz" are spirited treats that will have you twirling across the floor.”
-San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Classical music is sexy again. Lest you doubt that, look no further than Mission District chamber group The Musical Art Quintet”
-East Bay Express
“Plenty of local bands are ambitious; San Francisco's Musical Art Quintet is trailblazing its own genre. The group, led by bassist and composer Sascha Jacobsen, grew out of Classical Revolution jams at which Jacobsen would write out a new piece of music for his group to perform on the spot. His pieces seek to combine and remix elements of chamber music with rhythms and sounds from all over the world. A Musical Art Quintet composition might meld influences from Africa, Argentina, or Cuba — and even a drum machine — into a globe-hopping, dance-inspiring, gorgeous work. Classical training and a taste for evocative melodies underpin this sound, but improvisation and lively rhythms make the group's "Nuevo Chamber" music truly its own.”-SF Weekly
“Nuevo Chamber is a superb fusion of chamber compositions and global sounds by one of the emerging talents in the world music scene.”-World Music Central
“Expect an and invigorating infusion of classical and worldly sounds” - Mundo Vibe
Review of "Outer Sunset" 2002
Joshua Kline - double bassist magazine
Any contemporary Jazz listener will tell you that very few new releases really nail it these days. You might get great technical chops on one album, some nice composition on another, and maybe, every now and then, someone will actually say something. So it's with extraordinary glee that I direct your weary and disappointed ears to Sascha Jacobsen's Outer Sunset, which shines a (well, dying) light on Jazz that it hasn't basked in for years.
Latin Jazz? Straight Ahead? It?s all the same to Jacobsen's Quintet, who speak both languages fluently, and effortlessly flip from one to another as the compositions demand. And with influences ranging from Wayne Shorter to Paquito D'Rivera, these original compositions demand a lot. Full of syncopated figures, melodic lines doubled by the whole band, and abrupt switches from mid-tempo swing time to a scorching Latin rhythm, this album is destined for heavy rotation in the living rooms of Jazz purists as well as Fusion buffs everywhere.
You won't just be impressed; you'll be melted by pieces such as Curls (track 4), which is a soulful bossa, evoking everything from Jobim to Pat Metheny's Bright Size Life (with a fantastic clean guitar solo by Vanderveer to rival Pat's, also). Jacobsen's bass is steady and solid; the rich tone, coupled with his talent for melodic development, makes for lyrical solos that go for feeling in place of flash. Laval's soloing is delicious on swing pieces such as A Puro Sol (track 6), where he serves up a few spicy and inspired choruses, but his expertise in Latin accompaniment is also apparent in his full command of the traditional offbeat rhythm piano figures. Stop your squinting. Despite its name, Outer Sunset brightly illuminates the Jazz Idiom to reveal the true level of storytelling that's still present in this music and in these times.
Joshua Kline
jazzreview.com/double bassist magazineJoshua Kline - double bassist magazine