Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
Just couldn't resist buying this double album for half the price - a generous offer by Dewa Budjana on the occasion of "Uncle Tony" Levin's 72th birthday. I already had "Home" in my collection, which is one of my all-time favorite fusion albums. So if you like fun-packed fusion with fancy compositions and a great deal of virtuosity, hurry up and purchase this album (and maybe more) today or tomorrow with the discount code you get as a follower of Dewa Budjana!
Favorite track: Suniakala.
Carsten Pieper
I already got most of his albums here on Bandcamp and wondered if I really needed one more, but, yes, of course! In my ears, this is his best album to date. World-class players, world-class progressive fusion!
Favorite track: Manhattan Temple.
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New studio album (double cd) by the iconic Balinese guitarist Dewa Budjana, featuring TONY LEVIN, GARY HUSBAND, JACK DEJOHNETTE with special guests TIM GARLAND, DANNY MARKOVICH, GUTHRIE GOVAN, SAAT SYAH, UBIET, RISA SARASWATI, CZECH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
All Compositions by Dewa Budjana.
Produced by Dewa Budjana for Museum Gitarku Bali.
Associated producer Leonardo Pavkovic for MoonJune Music/MoonJune Asia.
Indonesian guitar legend, Dewa Budjana is offering his most ambitious album to date, "Zentuary." Supported by an all-star cast of enormous proportions -- including jazz legend, Jack DeJohnette (over forty years on the ECM label), the iconic progressive bass and stickman, Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel; King Crimson), and the extraordinary superstar sideman talents of Britain's Gary Husband (Allan Holdsworth; John McLaughlin) -- Budjana offers a profusion of cross-cultural delicacies which tease, cajole, enthrall and, ultimately, satisfy listeners. Special guests include guitarist Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats; Steven Wilson, Tim Garland (Chick Corea; Bill Bruford) and Danny Markovich (Marbin).
A veteran player whose career has already been marked by collaborations with a virtual "who's who" of musical luminaries, Budjana still manages to raise the stakes and elevate the level of his game on his fifth solo album.
Aside from his renowned skills on guitar, Zentuary documents Budjana's position as one of the genre's most prolific, accomplished composers and arrangers. The music on this 2-CD set is a magnanimous affair, where its highly skilled participants are given ample space to create and express. The net result is a soaring, synergistic mélange of brilliant, articulate instrumental progressive rock, jazz-rock fusion and world music.
Includes unlimited streaming of Zentuary (HD)
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
New studio album (double cd) by the iconic Balinese guitarist Dewa Budjana, featuring TONY LEVIN, GARY HUSBAND, JACK DEJOHNETTE with special guests TIM GARLAND, DANNY MARKOVICH, GUTHRIE GOVAN, SAAT SYAH, UBIET, RISA SARASWATI, CZECH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
All Compositions by Dewa Budjana.
Produced by Dewa Budjana for Museum Gitarku Bali.
Associated producer Leonardo Pavkovic for MoonJune Music/MoonJune Asia.
Executive producer Bagus WIjaya Santosa.
Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, this time in association with MoonJune Music, continues its long hit streak of discovering and presenting great new six-string talents from across the globe, with the release of the Indonesian jazz and rock guitar icon, Dewa Budjana's sizzling double studio album "Zentuary", his 10th solo release. Boasting a core lineup huge in stature, of undeniable 'beyond legendary' status, Dewa Budjana is joined by the incomparable drummer and occasional pianist Jack DeJohnette (Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis; as well over 40 years of career with the fabled jazz & beyond label ECM, ); bassist / stickman Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Stick Men), and (John McLaughlin's 4th Dimension) keyboardist & drummer, the UK's Gary Husband (a gentleman also well known for his stellar side work with Allan Holdworth, Jack Bruce, Robin Trower and many more).
Although still a relative newcomer to western audiences, in just three short years Dewa Budjana has produced a string of four successful, critically heralded albums on the eclectic MoonJune Records label: "Dawai In Paradise"(2013); "Joged Kahyangan" (2013); "Surya Namaskar" (2014), and "Hasta Karma" (2015) -- quickly establishing a lofty benchmark for South-East Asian progressive music. On his Favored nations debut, the Balinese guitar maestro fuses elements of multiple genres and vast, diverse musical cultures, weaving his magic in a soaring, synergistic mélange of brilliant, articulate progressive rock, nu-jazz, fusion and world music. A veteran player whose 30-year career has already been marked by collaborations with a virtual "who's who" of musical luminaries (Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiuta, Antonio Sanchez, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Haslip, Dave Carpenter, Reggie Hamilton, Ben Williams, Joe Locke, Larry Goldings, Janis Siegel, Dwiki Dharmawan, Ron Thal Bamblefoot, Billy Sheehan, and many others), Budjana provides ample evidence that his star remains very much on the rise.
Augmenting this incredible lineup in spectacular fashion are Dewa's special guests: guitar phenom Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats; Steven Wilson; GPS); UK sax great Tim Garland (Chick Corea; Bill Bruford); the monstrously talented Israeli-born Chicago-based saxman, Danny Markovich (Marbin); as well as cameos from the Czech Symphony Orchestra directed by Michaela Růžičková, the extraordinary Indonesian flutist/vocalist Saat Syah, and Indonesian female singers Ubiet and Risa Saraswati.
Featuring music as ambitious and achieving as its participants, the result is a prodigious, high-altitude sonic adventure unlike any you've ever experienced! Imaginative, daring and 'just baked' fresh, "Zentuary" ranks as one of 2016's most ambitious, 'immediately essential' albums!
"Guitarist Dewa Budjana’s 'Zentuary' stands as his best to date. It’s not just the addition of exceptional, top-quality players such as Tony Levin, Gary Husband, Jack DeJohnette, Tim Garland and Guthrie Govan, that makes this double album so memorable. Budjana himself delivers the kind of lithe and melodically incisive playing that ensures this double album is a noodle-free zone that delivers elegant compositions in a sumptuous, high-value production. Powerful and rather special"
– Sid Smith, Postcards From The Yellow Room, music critic
“With 'Zentuary', Indonesian guitar maestro Dewa Budjana takes the art and sounds of progressive world jazz fusion to the clouds and beyond. With the likes of Tony Levin, Gary Husband, Jack DeJohnette, and other guest stars backing him up, Budjana and his new release could very well shoot to the mainstream in the States.” – Raymond Benson, New York Times best-selling novelist, film & music critic
"Offering a cross-cultural blend of songs which excite, engage, and enthrall listeners (...) synergistic mixture of brilliant instrumental progressive rock, jazz-rock fusion and world music."
– Wesley Derbyshire, Mediaversal
credits
released October 14, 2016
DEWA BUDJANA all guitars, soundscapes
TONY LEVIN electric upright NS Design bass (all tunes; except 6 on Disk One and 6 on Disk Two), Chapman Stick (tune 6 on Disk One)
GARY HUSBAND drums (tunes 1, 2, 4 & 6 on Disk One; 1, 4 & 5 on Disk Two), keyboards & acoustic piano (all tunes; except 5 & 6 on Disk Two)
JACK DEJOHNETTE drums (tunes 3 & 5 on Disk One; 2 & 3 on Disk Two), acoustic piano (tune 5 on Disk 2)
DANNY MARKOVICH curved soprano sax (tune 2 on Disk One; 4 on Disk Two) • TIM GARLAND tenor sax (tune 2 on Disk Two)
GUTHRIE GOVAN guitar solo (tune 4 on Disk One) • SAAT SYAH custom made Indonesian suling flute (tune 6 on Disk One; 3 on Disk 2)
UBIET vocals (tune 3 on Disk One) • RISA SARASWATI vocals (tune 6 on Disk One)
CZECH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA conducted by Michaela Růžičková (tune 4 on DIsk One; 6 on Disk Two)
2CD version:
Disk 1: Tracks 1-6: Disk 2: Tracks 6-12
All tracks composed, arranged and produced by Dewa Budjana (except track 6 on Disk One, composed by Markus Reuter & Tony Levin).
Tony Levin's lyrics (track 6 on Disk One) translated from English to Sundanese by Risa Saraswati.
Recorded by Matthew Cullen at Dreamland Recording Studio, West Hurley / Woodstock, NY, January 19 & 20, 2015, except sax overdubs by
Danny Markovich (Chicago) and Tim Garland (London), post-production keyboards overdubs by Gary Husband (London), guitar solo by Guthrie
Govan (London), vocals by Ubiet (Jakarta) and Risa Saraswati (Bandung), and Czech Symphony Orchestra (Prague). Suling flute by Saat Syah
and additional post-production and soundscapes by Dewa Budjana were recorded at Temple Island Studio in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Executive Producer IGN Bagus Wijaya Santosa for Museum Gitarku, Ubud Bali, Indonesia.
Mixed/ Mastered by: Robert Feist, Ravenswork Studio, Ojai, CA, between March and April 2016.
Cover artwork by Aga Dilaga. Photos of musicians by Scott Forman, John McGuire, Tony Levin, Leonardo Pavkovic.
International management by Leonardo Pavkovic, MoonJune Music, [email protected].
Indonesian management, press and publicity coordination by Joe Mailuhu on behalf of Dewa Budjana & MoonJune Asia, [email protected].
Dwiki Dharmawan's brand new album (2018). Drawing from both his extensive jazz influences and his rich cultural heritage, the Indonesian piano maestro delivers yet another spellbinding masterwork! Dewa Budjana
Serbian piano/keyboards icon's new album with progressive ethnic jazz-fusion roots with jolting doses of rock, R&B, funk, avant garde, psychedelia, electronica and more Dewa Budjana
supported by 366 fans who also own “Zentuary (HD)”
How can music be this good? It's both unlike anything else and such a great example of jazz at its height. With Stavi and Sirkis, Dharmawan has a core trio with an all star pedigree, supported by equally powerful featured artists. Peter Jones
supported by 347 fans who also own “Zentuary (HD)”
A solid "fusion" album that flirts a bit with most of the jazz styles from the 40s on and somewhat heavily with free jazz. Not so much that it's going to have you rummaging through the medicine cabinet for the ibuprofen or that it's going to take you half a dozen listens to get it but just enough to add a pleasant, artsy complexity to things.
...An excellent album by some masterful, experienced musicians. rick-taylor
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