Samo Šalamon/Vasil Hadžimanov/Ra Kalam Bob Moses

Dances of Freedom is somewhat of a departure for Samo Šalamon. That’s because the Slovenian guitarist is involved in a three country, two generations improvisation with nine tracks that are closer to fusion that most of his other sessions. Šalamon, 45, who has recorded with everyone from Sabir Mateen to François Houle is more often associated with free music. Here though he’s playing with musicians whose background is more populist. Serbia keyboardist Vasil Hadžimanov, 50, is an educator, also involved in ProgRock and Balkan music as well as Jazz and has composed several soundtracks. American percussionist Ra Kalam Bob Moses, 76, was around for the first stirrings of fusion in the late 1960s with Gary Burton among others.

Accordingly most of the tracks feature tremolo tones from Hadžimanov’s electronic keyboard and ethnic and exotic rhythms from Moses’ collection of percussion implements. While drawn into that orbit, Šalamon introduces idiosyncratic variables by twanging and frailing the strings of a banjo and an acoustic guitar plus on the expected electric guitar. What therefore has become fusion’s clichéd sameness is often avoided, although busy drumming blended with echoing tremolo washes from the keyboard sometimes touches on it. Yet when clanking banjo licks are heard as well as speedy guitar flanges the exposition takes on novel textures.

Shaking additional idiophones and using his palms to slap bongs and congas as well as mallets and sticks for steel pan, marimba, bells and other percussion instruments, Moses’ continuous rhythm interpolations in the main also stay away from common backbeats. Soundtrack-like processed washes resulting from the meld of electric guitar and electric keyboard reverb do detract somewhat from the goal to eschew theatrical build-ups. But sometimes the crescendos include singular flanges and beats to individualize the climaxes.

More crucially Hadžimanov’s turn to acoustic piano on “Dirty Zone” and the concluding “Hapi May” solidify differences between this and a usual fusion disc. The latter tune emphasizes linear motion with clean lines consisting of full keyboard clips, downward string picking and chugging percussion. Meanwhile “Dirty Zone” highlights the full drum kit, unison guitar and piano licks and a theme that’s more South American than anything from the US or Europe.

While additional studio mixing was involved in Dances of Freedom unlike most Šalamon discs it does offer a novel sidebar to his usual acoustic Jazz-directed work.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Cream of Emotion 2. Free Dances 3. Ocean Calimba 4. Dirty Zone* 5. Conga 6. Morphbed 7. Pans 8. Indian Base 9. Hapi May*

Personnel: Samo Salamon (electric and acoustic guitars, banjo); Vasil Hadžimanov (keyboards, piano*) and Ra Kalam Bob Moses (drums and percussion)