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Marbin
(self-titled)
Artist: Marbin
URL: www.marbinmusic.com
Label: indie - unsigned
Length: 10 tracks / 35 minutes
It figures that the pairing of a couple of musicians named Dani and Danny would prove symbiotic – what doesn't figure is that the duo would produce dreamy, sophisticated yet accessible jazz-scapes using only sax and guitar as their instruments of choice. Markovitch on sax and Rabin on guitar (put the names together and see why their called Marbin) produce music that's melodic, articulate and atmospheric, engaging and yet almost hypnotic.
On most tracks the two instruments compliment each other - alternately providing a backdrop for the other to solo against. There are also compositions that primarily feature either Rabin's masterful guitar work (“Miyazaki”) or Markovitch's smooth and inventive sax playing (“Yodo”). Still, the pair of musicians allow their instruments to weave in and out of most of the songs with such subtlety and texture as to almost create a listening game: was that a bed of sax I just heard? Some pizzicato guitar? The only obvious deviations from the duet formula seem to be the delicate, wordless vocal on “Mei,” by Mat Davidson, and the occasional percussion loop – at least, that's all the credits allude to.
The almost trance-like quality of several of the pieces doesn't disallow some mighty impressive guitar and sax playing – Rabin's guitar work is full of clean, fluid runs, muted picking, tremolo, and chord work, and Markovitch's sax is fired by expressive phrasing and subtle effects. There are also a couple of shorter, more experimental tracks, like the percussive “Yodo.” The melodies and evoked impressions are sometimes reflective, and at other times exotic, as many of the titles might suggest - “Cuba,” for example, is an appropriately foreign sounding jazz-tango. While titles like “Abadaba” and “Crystal Bells” suggest the magical quality of much of the music, titles like “Mei,” “Kasai,” and “Biwako” suggest the slight Oriental direction that a few tracks take – and one wonders if “Miyazaki” is an homage to the great Japanese animator who has created some very special magic of his own through the years...
Marbin is a jazzy excursion inward that avoids the pitfalls of becoming 'wallpaper music' by highlighting the skillful playing of the Rabin and Markovitch and the melodic strength of the compositions. A highly listenable project.
Bert Saraco
http://www.myspace.com/expressimage
http://expressimagephoto.tripod.com
Artist: Marbin
URL: www.marbinmusic.com
Label: indie - unsigned
Length: 10 tracks / 35 minutes
It figures that the pairing of a couple of musicians named Dani and Danny would prove symbiotic – what doesn't figure is that the duo would produce dreamy, sophisticated yet accessible jazz-scapes using only sax and guitar as their instruments of choice. Markovitch on sax and Rabin on guitar (put the names together and see why their called Marbin) produce music that's melodic, articulate and atmospheric, engaging and yet almost hypnotic.
On most tracks the two instruments compliment each other - alternately providing a backdrop for the other to solo against. There are also compositions that primarily feature either Rabin's masterful guitar work (“Miyazaki”) or Markovitch's smooth and inventive sax playing (“Yodo”). Still, the pair of musicians allow their instruments to weave in and out of most of the songs with such subtlety and texture as to almost create a listening game: was that a bed of sax I just heard? Some pizzicato guitar? The only obvious deviations from the duet formula seem to be the delicate, wordless vocal on “Mei,” by Mat Davidson, and the occasional percussion loop – at least, that's all the credits allude to.
The almost trance-like quality of several of the pieces doesn't disallow some mighty impressive guitar and sax playing – Rabin's guitar work is full of clean, fluid runs, muted picking, tremolo, and chord work, and Markovitch's sax is fired by expressive phrasing and subtle effects. There are also a couple of shorter, more experimental tracks, like the percussive “Yodo.” The melodies and evoked impressions are sometimes reflective, and at other times exotic, as many of the titles might suggest - “Cuba,” for example, is an appropriately foreign sounding jazz-tango. While titles like “Abadaba” and “Crystal Bells” suggest the magical quality of much of the music, titles like “Mei,” “Kasai,” and “Biwako” suggest the slight Oriental direction that a few tracks take – and one wonders if “Miyazaki” is an homage to the great Japanese animator who has created some very special magic of his own through the years...
Marbin is a jazzy excursion inward that avoids the pitfalls of becoming 'wallpaper music' by highlighting the skillful playing of the Rabin and Markovitch and the melodic strength of the compositions. A highly listenable project.
Bert Saraco
http://www.myspace.com/expressimage
http://expressimagephoto.tripod.com