“Mark's ambient explorations invoke the ancient traditions of
trance-ritual and embody a sacred musicality rarely heard in Western
cultures.”
Bill
Laswell
Musician, Producer, Audio Alchemist.
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The extraordinary resonant sound of the Bazantar, whether bowed or plucked, is different from anything else you have heard. Whether the bass half of this symbiotic creature is growling in the contraoctave, or singing two to three octaves higher up, there is an unsurpassed richness in sound. This is due to the ringing of the sympathetic strings but also to the tuning of the bass itself and indeed the construction of the entire instrument, which its inventor describes as energy conserving and tension-minimizing. Another part of the secret is that Mark plays not in tempered tuning, but drawing from a number - in fact, no less than 66 - of other harmonically resonant divisions of the octave, which are tabulated in the accompanying booklet. The booklet also contains Mark's composer's notes to help the listener comprehend the structure of "Fool...". A 3-page fold-out, graphic display representing the piece illustrates the evolution of "a being that is wise enough to be a fool - a fool for something, be it art, music, science, or love," from its conception to its death or transformation. Space does not permit me to go into detail here, but the various movements, alternately played on the sitar and Bazantar, are associated with characters, emotions or concepts such as contemplation, meditation, renunciation, the cosmos, truth and absurdity. Some of these particular predicates apply to "The Sword of Damocles," the work's central movement. I highly recommend this recording, both for the opportunity to experience this new instrument, as well for its musical content. The music is clearly India-inspired, but through the Bazantar it becomes something unique, promoting a wonderful sense of relaxation and mental peace. Ture Damhus |
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"The music is sublime - it moves you into the stratosphere and beyond."
Eileen R. Mackevich
President & Executive Producer,
Chicago Humanities Festival
"What Mark has done really expands the horizon of the bass. The sound created on the Bazantar is like nothing ever heard before. He's done an extraordinary job and opened the windows for all bass players to explore other avenues not limited to Western music. One of the groundbreaking developments that Mark has worked out is the broadening of microtones to sixty-six notes to an octave. Every once in a while, someone comes along and blows doors off what is being done and that is what Mark has done with the Bazantar."
Eric Harris
Principal Bassist, St.
Louis Symphony
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"Mark confidently combines traditional structures of Western classical music with the contemplative precision, melodic mantras and tonal characteristics of Indian traditional music, and the vibrant openness of jazz improvisation. Like the late bass virtuoso, Jaco Pastorious, Mark Deutsch is a bassist who can carry not only the rhythm, but the harmony and melody as well ... His playing is wrenchingly emotional and evocative, conveying pathos, fervor, and undying conviction ... (Mark) has produced an album which is a totally involving experience. It is an expression of the depth and beauty of life, where each track has a sense of dignity and tenderness that is genuinely touching. An album to listen to with your ears connected to your heart." Ben Kettlewell |
"Mark Deutsch's Bazantar is an amazing instrument. An intelligently developed combination of the pure singing qualities of the sitar and the expressive richness of the doublebass, the Bazantar is a very particular bowed string instrument. Its clear and exceptionally precise sound is masterfully used by Mark in creating a very uplifting spiritual music. For me, Mark Deutsch's instrument and music are one of the most interesting developments in string music, world wide, in this generation."
Barre Phillips
Avant-garde jazz bassist
"Mark Deutsch has created exploration into the depths of sound where the roots of tonality beneath Eastern and Western systems are one.
This historic tone poem bridges the dark opulence of tone to
the high visionary sounds of the spirit. A must for all sonic
adventurers."
Don Campbell
Author of The Mozart Effect®
Mark Deutsch's Fool... is a complex composition of solo works for sitar and bazantar, an instrument of Deutsch's own invention which modifies a five-string acoustic bass with four additional drone strings and 29 sympathetic strings. The development and schematic outline of the piece are explained in detail in Deutsch's liner notes, accompanying diagrams and grids, and its fundamental concept is described as being that "of respiration, which manifests as the interplay between pairs of opposites". The composition adopts an arch structure, with the third movement, inspired by the legend of The Sword of Damocles, acting as the kernel and principal source of harmonic and thematic derivation.
Deutsch's diverse musical background is reflected in the wide range of Western and Eastern idioms tapped in this work. The introductory Iacta Alea Est uses Tibetan balls and Chinese gongs to great effect, while the final Lunatic Fringe is scored for chimes, glockenspiel and triangle. Deutsch's impressive artistry on sitar is demonstrated in Orchid's Womb, the peaceful Chrysanthemums and Orchids and especially in the tripartite Persival. His exploitation of the bazantar is especially innovative, treading the line between refreshing and bizarre. The instrument's remarkable tonal range is skilfully displayed throughout - whether in The Painted Bird, The Sword of Damocles or the ethereal Lux aeterna and exultant Allegro of Kundalini Rising - but it is especially demonstrated in the two contrasting sections of Avodah. A revolutionary disc and a must for experimentalists.
Robin Stowell
Double Bassist Number 11, pg. 62
"Mark Deutsch is a mesmerizing virtuoso on his Bazantar that sounds like many instruments woven into one surprise."Yusef Komunyakaa
Pulitzer-Prize winning poet
"It is genius what Mark has done with his invention, totally unique. I have never seen a layman come up with something like this before. A lot of times musicians will come to me with ideas for new instruments or modification, and they often turn out to be gimmicks or a waste of time. I definitely can see the instrument being used in a variety of repertories in the near future."Rob Wilucki
Luthier for Goez Instruments
"The Bazantar ... sounds like more than one instrument. When Deutsch
strikes it hard, he seems to invoke an entire string section of a
symphony; it sounds like a host of overdubs. ... When bowed, the sound
is monstrous, symphonic in its complexity and dominance. You first hear
the sound of the bow caressing the bass strings, and then, in reaction
to the vibrations this action creates, the 29 sympathetic strings begin
to make their presence known and a swirling, controlled chaos rings and
hums. ... What's obvious about Deutsch's invention, though, is that it
has arrived at a logical time. As the world 'gets smaller' and cultural
boundaries disappear or are co-opted, the Bazantar combines two
traditions that have normally kept a safe distance from one another -
Western and Eastern."
Randall Roberts
Music Editor, The Riverfront Times
"The delicate, slightly delayed response of the the sympathetic strings creates a sense of breathing and pulsing life, while the possibility of simultaneous voices, colours and textures within an organic whole gives it an orchestral quality, but at the core it retains the deep fundamentals and Expressive richness of the bass."Tina Frost
Double Bassist magazine