Constellation
  Dark Green

Sandor Szabo/Balazs Major/Gilbert Isbin Trio

Recorded at the VRT (Belgian National Radio Broadcast) Studios and released by Pannon Jazz (Hungary)

REVIEWS

Bridge Guitar Reviews Henk te Veldhuis , 2006

This album is a cooperation between the Hungarian guitarist Sandor Szabó, percussionist Balasz Major and the Belgian guitarist Gilbert Isbin. The amazing story is that all three musicians had the perfect circumstances during a stage meeting to have a perfect chemistry between all the players, which one as a musician and listener is always looking for, creating the ideal concept for that magic moment. It ended up in the making of the CD Constellations, which reveals us the secret of the title of this album. The music they create together is complex, with sound escapades of the individual musicians who mix extremely well round a chosen musical theme and where each musician has the liberty and freedom to give each other the space to interact on the musical elements and structures. The CD starts with Dark Green with a repeating theme in woven matching patterns. The title track Constellation is an 11 minutes long journey of the unconscious mind where mystery and experimental musical counterpoints are explored. Cute Movements Metaphorically and Irresistible Desire have an identical setup. On Wawacou percussionist Balasz Major has a leading role in the composition with top-notch percussion patterns assisted by the two guitarists who create improvised experimental music to it. Sandor Szabó plays a 16 string guitar and Gilbert Isbin a classical guitar. This CD will attract foremost listeners of abstract and experimental music who like to discover new dimensions in music.

LINER NOTES

Made in the early 1990’s, this recording is the result of a musical collaboration between Hungarian guitarist Sandor Szabó and his Belgian counterpart Gilbert Isbin. The impulse for making a recording together came during a joined tour with Hungarian percussionist Balazs Major, which offered an opportunity for working with the VRT Belgian Radio.

Marc Van Den Hoof invited the trio for the recording. Among the many elements that make this recording so special is the fact that it was recorded in one take, with no dubbing or post-production enhancement. Very rarely does such a magical moment exists, when all the circumstances are perfect and stand in a constellation with each other. The magic that happened on stage is reflected in the title of the album. Although the two guitarists played in different styles, they were able to meet at a crossroads, creating enduring art. Many factors – including the tapes being lost for some time- contributed to the delay of this album’s release. Ultimately the recordings were found and other difficulites were overcome and we can now release the recording. We would like to thank Gilbert Isbin’s work in organizing the record and his help in locating the master tapes. We also thank Jos Demol for his encouragement and for organizing the concerttour in Belgium. Last but not least we thank Sandor Szabo, who not only left his magical touch in the music, but also remastered the recording. We are very pleased to share these great moments of magic with the listener.