The Russian jazz magazine’s pick for June, 2021 edition of the Europe Jazz Media Chart is «Clockwise,» released by Evgeny Ponomarev Quartet on St. Petersburg, Russia-based Rainy Days Records label as a CD and a digital album.
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This tight and mature album was recorded in Moscow at the Russian capital’s most advanced recording facility, the CineLab SoundMix studio, by St. Petersburg, Russia-based quartet led by the pianist Evgeny Ponomarev. Classically trained and a consummate jazz performer, Evgeny earned respect in St. Pete’s conservative, generally bebop-oriented jazz community, even if his original music (i.e., all 6 tracks on his sophomore album, his debut on Rainy Days Records) is anything but straight-ahead jazz. Compositionally tricky, rhythmically strong, and harmonically rich, this album was recorded by the band Evgeny worked at least 10 years with: sax man Andrey Polovko, bassist Grigory Voskoboynik, and drummer Peter Mikheev. The band is tight, the arrangements intriguing, but the overall effect is direct, and not as artsy-smartsy as it may seem: I even daresay it’s rather accessible for the general public.
More info on Clockwise:
The album was released on April 30, 2021, the international Jazz Day.
Performers: Evgeny Ponomarev — piano (all except 4), Fender Rhodes (4); Andrey Polovko — tenor saxophone (1-6), soprano saxophone (2); Grigory Voskoboynik — double bass; Peter Mikheev — drums (1-6), percussion (1,4)
Guest performers: Pavel Ilushin — guitar (4); Peter Vostokov — cornet (2); Anton Gimazetdinov — trombone, tuba (2)
Musical producer: Evgeny Ponomarev
Executive producer: Eugene Petrushanskiy
Recorded by Alexander Perfilyev at CineLab SoundMix in Moscow, engineered by Jacob Zakhvatkin and Dmitri Kovalyov, mixed and mastered by Alexander Perfilyev
Liner photography and promotional video: Yuriy Chichkov
Cover art and package design by Dimitri Komedea (271DSGN)
