Nik Bartsch's Ronin In Concert In February

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP) Nik Bartsch, piano
Sha, alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Thomy Jordi, bass
Kaspar Rast, drums
Andi Pupato, percussion

Wednesday, February 23 - Oakland, CA - Yoshi's

Friday, February 25 - Portland, OR - Portland Jazz Festival
https://pdxjazz.com/artists/nik-bartschs-ronin

Sunday, February 27 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theater

Tuesday, March 1st - New York, NY - Poisson Rouge
https://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/1774

"The 2010 edition of Ronin's music is well described by the title of this album. The llyria is a recently discovered luminescent creature of the deep ocean". Chris May - AllAboutJazz.com
The third album from one of the most exciting young European bands, "Llyria" follows on from "Stoa" and "Holon", the recordings that established Swiss band Ronin on the international scene. Leader Nik Bartsch's "modular" pieces still define the context of the group's music but the committed input of the individual Ronin members has lifted the work to the next level, blurring the distinctions between composition, improvisation and interpretation. The music has become more open, so much so that Bartsch's old buzzwords like "Zen funk" and "ritual groove music" now scarcely apply and even "minimalism" is only a distant reference. Reed player Sha shines brightly here, and lyrical melodic themes make themselves felt, but perhaps this is, more than its predecessors, a drummer's record, its beats lovingly crafted by Kasper Rast and percussionist Andi Pupato. The album was recorded in the South of France in March 2010, with Manfred Eicher producing.