Centered around Hungarian master 16-string guitarist Sandor Szabo, the Georgian Contemporary Unit is group concentration and joyful abandon...a deep blend of contemporary classical, Hungarian folk, free jazz, and meditative trance.

13 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Free Jazz, CLASSICAL: Contemporary



Details:
The Georgian Contemporary Unit is Kyle Dawkins and Brian Smith of the Georgia Guitar Quartet, guitarist Colin Bragg, drummer Blake Helton, and H'arpeggionist Erik Hinds, and 16-string guitarist Sandor Szabo of Hungary. Our first album, "The View You Never Get" (www.solponticello.com) is a spiritually rich pairing of trance music traditions with free jazz and modern chamber sensibilities.

-Colin Bragg plays electric and classical guitar in this ensemble. His soaring lines create a nice counterpoint to the bubbling group interaction below. Colin is a gifted composer and conceptualist, equally at home in music and visual arts. He plays a mean country guitar as well.

-Kyle Dawkins composes highly rhythmic and harmonically beautiful music inspired by his childhood in the North Georgia mountains. He uses exceptional classical guitar technique and vivid melodies to transport the listener into new dimensions for solo and group guitar work. Check out his Solponticello album "Conasauga."

-Blake Helton brings a whole new approach to drums in the Georgian Contemporary Unit...quiet in volume but fully charged in energy and execution. His listening skills are finely honed and this is apparent in his choices throughout the music; his piano playing reflects the same commitment to creating sublime and memorable soundscapes.

-Erik Hinds plays the H'arpeggione in this ensemble and brings out repetitive patterns to induce deeper states of awareness throughout. The wooden growl of the instrument nicely compliments the spacious work taking place around it.

-Brian Smith brings his incredible rhythmic sensibilities and classical guitar prowess to the ensemble. He keeps time like a metronome and constructs fantastic melodic phrases to answer Sandor's calls.

-Sandor Szabo is the heart of the Georgian Contemporary Unit. He is a master musician from Vacs, Hungary, and deserving of a wider audience; he is one of only a handful of musicians developing the path started by Bela Bartok. Sandor's 16-string guitar playing transcends the expected and creates an entirely new dimension of sound.