Zenekar – Swirls – Digital only

Zenekar – SWIRLS

CD review by Tony Smith

TN2604 Di – $12

TN177 Apr 26

Zenekar is Hungarian for band or orchestra, and this ensemble produces an authentic gypsy swing sound in their 2025 album.

Over some 50 minutes however, the general feeling you get is of a jazz approach led by creative drumming and soaring clarinet playing.

Percussionist Dave Kemp wrote all the tracks except for ‘Native Gardenia’ which was composed by clarinet player, Catharina Kemp.

John Reeves on accordion and Samuel Vincent on double bass make up the quartet.

Dave Kemp has been involved in numerous musical projects in commercial, classical and jazz fields.

He is in demand as a vibraphone player and educator.

Dave’s compositions are ‘Dark Waltz’, ‘Flat Five Jive’, ‘Swirls’, ‘Lament for a Holiday Tango’, ‘Hemiola’, ‘Byzantine’, ‘October Rain Dance’, ‘Dirge and Dance’ and ‘After the Bell Tolls’.

The huge variety of musical forms Kemp has at his fingertips, literally, ensures diversity in these pieces.

The bass clarinet certainly makes the first waltz ocean deep and rainforest dark.

The percussion ground in ‘Native Gardenia’ is suggestive of a dreamy Afro beat.

The rhythm in ‘Flat Five Jive’ is complex.

The bass comes into its own here and the music seems to speak in sentences with abrupt endings and brief, perfectly timed pauses.

‘Swirls’ has a six beat rhythm in which there are three strong pulses instead of the usual emphasis on the first and fourth beats.

The ‘Lament’ is far from sounding sad.

Perhaps the holiday happened after all.

‘Hemiola’ has a foot-tapping Latin, possibly Cuban, feel and evokes images of a conga line.

‘Byzantine’ begins with a Middle Eastern riff on the clarinet.

The drums then tap out some rhythms that no belly dancer could resist.

There is a very listenable drum solo as well.

The ‘Rain Dance’ is unlikely to be of the kind that produces rain.

Rather it is suggestive of the ways you might dance in the rain to celebrate its arrival after dry times.

Of all the tracks, this one seems to me to be the most Australian.

October is likely to bring monsoons, storms and spring rains in the southern hemisphere.

It reminded me of the ground breaking 1971 album by John Sangster called ‘Australia and All That Jazz’.

‘Dirge’ begins with a serious clarinet strain and a single tapped drum beat.

It could indeed be a slow march for a burial.

The piece then breaks out of that mood and segues into a dance (a jaunty ‘Tom Tom the Piper’s Son’ rhythm) that might herald the entry of a circus troupe.

The juxtaposition of these pieces makes them both more enjoyable.

‘After the Bell’ is a light hearted whimsical piece that shows off the excellent ensemble that Zenekar has.

The accordion and bass are subtle but essential and the front line instruments shine.

Marly Luske recorded the album at Alchemix Studios.

Album art is by Caroline Lanzon, Rita Monteith and Catharina Kemp.

If you like percussion, then you will love this album by Zenekar.

If you are indifferent about the drums, then you will become a convert listening to these compositions.

While some players of drum kits might do a good job maintaining a steady beat behind lead musicians, Dave Kemp brings percussion into the foreground in a way which makes drums a solo instrument for virtuosic performance.

This album is only available in digital form.