Dang Hyang Story (from "Joged Kahyangan" album, MoonJune Records)
DEWA BUDJANA
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From the album DEWA BUDJANA "Joged Kahyangan"
MoonJune Records, 2013
http://www.moonjune.com/mjr_web_2013/catalog_mjr/059_DEWA-BUDJANA_Joged-Kahyangan_MJR059
https://moonjunerecords.bandcamp.com/album/joged-kahyangan
DEWA BUDJANA: guitars
LARRY GOLDINGS: Hammond organ, acoustic piano
BOB MITZER: soprano & tenor sax, bass clarinet
JIMMY JOHNSON: bass guitar
PETER ERSKINE: drums
with Special Guest:
JANIS SIEGEL: vocals (Track 4)
All compositions by Dewa Budjana. Produced by Dewa Budjana.
Recorded in Pasadena, Los Angeles, CA, by Grammy award winning engineer Rich Breen at Firehouse Studio, July 2012..
Executive production by Leonardo Pavkovic.
Boasting a stellar lineup of modern jazz icons Larry Goldings, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Johnson and Peter Erskine (and featuring guest vocalist, the fabulous Janis Siegel), Indonesian guitar maestro Dewa Budjana's sixth solo album -- his second for MoonJune Records -- is a progressive jazz master-class session of huge proportions. Overflowing with moments of elegance, grace, depth and invention, Joged Kahyangan is Dewa's musical interpretation of the beauty of heaven.
Featuring eight exquisitely-crafted, -arranged and -executed gems, Budjana and friends have raised the bar for the genre; each song is performed with a profound sensitivity and diction unquestionably worthy of the project's lofty ambitions. The scope of this album is reflected in the album's liner notes, from quotes from the Bali native, himself:
Kahyangan is the Indonesian word for "heaven." Naturally, it is believed to be a place of great beauty. (... and, for me, Indonesia is Kahyangan!) This album, Joged Kahyangan ("Dances of Heaven"), is my musical interpretation of this beauty; it is a music that is shaped by my native cultural roots.
My vision for this album was to collaborate with some renowned musicians in the US, whose work I have long admired, and capture their spontaneous interpretations of these songs, heavy with jazz flavorings and nuance -- incorporating their cultural roots.
Fusing elements of Dewa's Indonesian roots with advanced melodic and harmonic sensibilities and subtle-yet-sophisticated, organic arrangements, Joged Kahyangan, once again, showcases the multifaceted character of his extraordinary talents as a composer and arranger, as well as a world-class guitarist [as did his previous album (his fifth solo album and MJR debut), this year's magnificent Dawai In Paradise (MJR051)]. The album finds all of its legendary participants in exceptional form, with understatement and reverence of the moment clearly trumping any thought of flaunting chops. (... and this is a collection of superlative, articulate musicians who clearly have huge respective vocabularies from which to draw.)
Joged Kahyangan solidifies Dewa Budjana's rightful place among the world's most elite musicians and the genre's most original and compelling newly-emerging voices. It is an intricately-woven tapestry of supreme modern jazz, eclipsing borders as it transports listeners to truly heavenly destinations. This is an album not to be missed for any fans of modern jazz, progressive and world music ... it simply doesn't get any better.