Review from Songlines - new album "Remedy"

Born in Beirut and of Armenian heritage, Margossian studied classical piano before moving to Yerevan to master Central Asian jazz, particularly the 1970s-originating fusions of improvised jazz and local traditions from Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now based in Sydney, this is Margossian's third quintet album. Directing from the piano, she draws its diverse Middle Eastern and Central Asian elements into a beautifully cohesive whole. On 'Repentance', she shines with her non-stop, breathless piano riffs echoing Bud Powell, but hats off to everyone in the ensemble. Stuart Vandegraaff's saxophones bring Arabic taarab to the mix, notably in 'In Flight' and 'Waves Unveiled'; Sri Lankan-born Alexander Inman-Hislop and Istanbul-born Adem Yilmaz offer complex percussion syncopations; and Jacques Emery's bass provides a constant anchor. Margossian's baby son makes a fleeting appearance at the opening of 'Free Kicks – for Ruben'. Other guests include the brilliant trumpet improviser Phil Slater on the haunting, peace-seeking 'Indifferent World', flamenco guitarist Damian Wright on 'Kintsugi' (the title referencing a Japanese technique for repairing broken pots) and Jennifer Eriksson, whose viola da gamba adds hints of klezmer to 'What If'. The album builds to a narrative close with 'Remedy – A Song of Joy': a track which says that even amid today's global chaos and conflict, there is the chance to heal and become – as Margossian writes in the press notes – "something even more beautiful than before".

KEITH HOWARD

TRACK TO TRY In Flight