| The long-awaited album by the Argentinean bandoneon giant Saluzzi and German cellist Lechner, known both for her work with the Rosamunde Quartet and her explorations outside it. It was, for instance, Lechner’s interest in Tango Nuevo that made the ongoing Saluzzi/Rosamunde “Kultrum” collaboration possible in the mid-90s; Anja and Dino have toured widely as a duo, too. Jazz Review editor Richard Cook described one of their concerts as being “as close to perfection as any music-making I can recently recall". Essentially chamber music with inspirational roots in Argentinean traditions “Ojos Negros” puts the emphasis on Saluzzi’s finely-crafted compositions but also has a strong improvised component.
If I were to tell you that four month into 2007, I already had a nomination fort he year’s best-sounding record, you might think me daring. If I told you that it features bandoneon and cello, you’d probably think me barking mad. But there it is. … What’s astonishing about the music is the amount of tonal color the two instrumentalists coax out of not just their instruments, but their interplay. Melodic lines shift effortlessly from cello to bandoneon and back again. Both Saluzzi and Lechner are superb continuo players, keeping the performances moving forward without endlessly recapitulating the same passages. -Wes Phillips, Stereophile |