Baiji

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Editor's info:
Felix Stüssi, a native of Switzerland, is an acclaimed pianist now based in Montreal. This fabulous recording is the result of the Felix Stussi 5 having won the Grand Prize at the 2007 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. The group entered the studio earlier this year with guest Ray Anderson (trombone), with magnificent results. Refreshingly, the repertoire is all original compositions by Stussi. Stussi explains his choice of title:«Baiji» (Lipotes vexillifer), the Chinese river dolphin, is venerated as the «Goddess of the Yangtze». This divine cetacean, however, was been declared functionally extinct in 2006, after 20 million years of existence. The title song is about how humankind continues to saw the branch we are all sitting on.


The Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), a Chinese freshwater dolphin, is venerated as the «Goddess of the Yangtze». This divine cetacean, however, was declared functionally extinct in 2006, after 20 million years of existence. The title song of this CD is about the fact that humanity continues to saw the very branch on which we are all sitting. On the Verge can be seen in the same context. The urgency of the alto saxophone solo is full of positive energy which calls for action. Trade Winds helped me to cross the Atlantic Ocean many years ago. Here, the title also refers to the exchange of musical phrases between the wind instruments. Ripasso has been written under the influence of the Italian red wine by the same name: a Valpolicella made by fermenting young wine with the skins and lees left over from making Amarone. Porc-épic, meaning porcupine, is a blues with a twist, laying the foundation for spiky and energetic soloing. This contrasts with the hypnotic mood of Friifad, which bears the name of a mythical and very exposed chamois hunter's path in the Swiss Glärnisch massif, where I worked as a goat herder. I was inspired by the overtone series which is still used by alphorn blowers and in Swiss Naturjodel, in which one or more voices sing a melody without lyrics. Due to glacier melt-down and rock decay, it is nowadays a very difficult climb to get to Friifad. Both Primavera and Whiteout Blues are about the heavy winters in Québec. The first evoking the outburst of vitality at the long-awaited arrival of spring, the second having been written during a heavy snowstorm in December 2007.
by Félix Stüssi