The album comprised several hits familiar to the “Alissid Jazz” concert visitors in 2002-2004, which have never been recorded before. For instance “The Bat” (“Thisa Bata” version) or “Acid River”. All these things are presented in a suddenly unusual arrangement.

The album also included the “Condrashkin’ Blues” theme, undeservingly forgotten by Aliss at some point and then brought back with the use of contemporary technologies.

The album is also based on such fresh compositions as “Snakes”, which Aliss calls “one of the best creations of the recent time”. The main line of this play is an Indian raga (Part I) growing in Part II into a peculiar hindoo drum’n’base thanks to 15/8 drum beat and the bass guitar imitating the sounds of the Indian percussion instrument – “tabla”. Other new compositions also represent peculiar fusions of contemporary rhythm and various ethnic tunes…

     Aliss, the project leader and founder:

“…I think I am a researcher in music – from destroying the diatonic and jazz harmonization habitual to a European listener”. I build my own laws but I try not to overcomplexify the music perception. Where my research ends is in discovery of states and conditions – spiritual, emotional and physical – of the player, as well as of the listener.

…I am just a mirror that reflects everything it sees and feels…”

ON ALISSID JAZZ PROJECT

The music of this project is a most demonstrative example of advanced intellectual live improvisatory acid-jazz-vanguard with ethnic (Russian, Mongolian-Siberian, Indian and Arabic) elements. The music is remarkable for its elegance and ingenious harmony, imagery and high emotional content.

This is fusion of ethnic background with intellectual approach to harmonization, together with spontaneous and often aggressive improvizations based on modern ideas and rhythm (IDM, drum’n’base, break beat, jungle). The “Alissid Jazz” style may be defined as “new fusion” that relates to the terms “new improvization music”, “new jazz”, which have recently come to be frequently used in the modern music.

Each live concert of “Alissid Jazz” differs from all others due to changes in the project composition and drastic changes in arrangements; but the music playing principle stays the same – it is a live and spontaneous improvization filled with emotions and deep sense ….

The project founder – Aliss – the author of idea, arrangements and songs for the entire project.

Aliss (Alexander Alekhin) was born in the Urals (Chelyabinsk) and lived in Belgorod and St. Petersburg. At present his main residence location is Moscow. In the 90s he founded an improvisational jazz movement in Belgorod where he was president of a legendary art-club. Multi-instrumentalist. He started with bass guitar, keys and clarinet. Now he prefers to play various types of flutes (bema, recorders, bansuri), didgeridoo, bari- and soprano- saxophones, sings overtone and subtone. Sometimes (not often) he may perform as an eccentric singer. Besides, he is well familiar with all contemporary technological fads utilizing computer equipment, and is successfully using this knowledge in his arrangements. Aliss is the author of over 100 compositions of which the most popular are: "Druids’ swing" (1989), “Condrashkin’ Blues” (1989), “Hunter” (1994), and some acid jazz compositions (“The Bat”, “Acid River/Yauza”, “Lion’s Rhythm”, “Factory”, etc. (2002-2004)).