Floros Floridis, Nicky Skopelitis & Okay Temiz - Our Trip So Far (2001)

Just dredged this recording off an old collection of mp3 files and what a nice recording it is. I have long been fond of mixing a little East and West in my jazz and this hits the spot. Hard to classify (sometimes heads in an avant-garde direction) and very innovative.

"A Turk percussionist, a Greek on reeds and a Greek-American on guitars can only mean one thing: Ebullient originality. OUR TRIP SO FAR is brimming with the sounds of the East, the West, and the heart. Its uniqueness, however, doesn´t lie in its cultural diversity, it´s in the way these three instrumentalists experiment. Thus we have the traditional Greek 9/8 motif dressed in bold drums and daring reeds. Complex rhythmic patterns are thrown at the listener who´s thrown out of his seat once the guitars and sax take lead. . . Remember Coltrane´s Meditations or Davis´ Bitches Brew? Set yourself free and ´travel´—one instrument at a time. That´s the only way to get the complete jazz experience."—Maria Paravantes, Greek Beat, April 23, 2001.

Credits:

• Floros Floridis: flute, alto sax, soprano sax, clarinette Bb, bass clarinette
• Nicky Skopelitis: electric guitar, electric 12 string guitar
• Okay Temiz: drums, cembe, electric berimbao, guica, electronical pyramid

Track List:

1. Nar Cicegi (Temiz) 4:18
2. Pitch Black (Skopelitis) 5:23
3. The Ever Sound (Floridis, Skopelitis, Temiz) 2:51
4. Happy Elephant (Floridis) 8:29
5. Stars (Floridis, Skopelitis, Temiz) 2:00
6. Kulla Baba (Temiz) 3:48
7. Night Falls (Floridis, Skopelitis) 6:11
8. Greetings From Overseas (Floridis, Skopelitis, Temiz) 3:48
9. The Light Blue Above (Skopelitis) 7:57
10. Gringos (Floridis, Skopelitis, Temiz) 3:57

Download Link: Enjoy the Music!, or Here.