Sound Liberation - Elegy (2025) [Hi-Res]

Led by guitarist Gene Pritsker, the band Sound Liberation comes across as more of a worldview than just a bunch of musicians getting together to record. The songs, recorded in various studios and “live” venues, features a rotating team akin to characters in an Agatha Christie mystery, coming in and out to contribute their part. The main characters include Clemens Rofner-Philipp Moll-Amanda Ruzza/b, Stefan Kemminger-Raffael Auer-David Cossin-John Ferrari/dr, Oliver Mer Marec/sax, Franz Hackl-Peter Oswald/tp, Greg Baker/g, Lara St. John/vi, FlorianReider-Geoffrey Burelson/key along with Pritsker directing traffic and a guest list of various singers, poets and rappers.

Some of the pieces such as “Source” and “Elegy” feature Pritsker in a rhythmic and bluesy atmosphere, with Marec’s mellow reed gliding over the pulse, and tasty cymbals guiding the stream of musical flow. On the more artsy side ”Cauldron” includes not only a poem by Robert C. Ford but some almost operatic vocals from the crystal clear Adriana Valdez over the nifty bass line supplied by Ruzza, and then you’ve got a hip hop rapping “Strive” featuring Pritsker alongside three other gents getting urban and street level around Hackl’s imbibing Miles Davis’ plugged in years. Most alluring is the enchanting voice of Chanda Rule coaxed on by Lara St. John’s violin and Pritsker’s understated phrasing in a delightfully autumnal “Portrait” and a dreamy “TMI” that has the leader casting pastel colors around Marec. Most energetic and all encompassing of Pritsker’s vision is a gig at Joe’s Pub NYC that has a mix of Pritsker rapping and Imelda O’reilly narrating alongside the accompanying voices of Adrian Valdes and Charles Coleman in a chant and charge on the upbeat and anthematic “Brahm’s Infinity”. Pritsker’s band is Wagnerian in its concept and ecumenical in delivery, inviting all to join on stage for the journey to freedom.