Yuriy Seredin: Asylum Search
Review by Mery Zimny
Yuriy Seredin
Asylum Search
(LableWhowAble, 2018)
When you take this album in your hand, your eye is immediately drawn to the beautiful, colorful cover. As the title suggests, the picture shows an asylum, one's place on earth, shelter from the whole world, safe, friendly, warm, and cozy. This impression remains largely when we listen to music but it doesn't mean that it's full of melancholy, rather calm and focused on lovely melodies, it's only some part of it. „Asylum Search” represents very open and searching playing and it was recorded by great improvisers led by Ukrainian pianist, composer, and educator Yuri Seredin. He is accompanied by Dutch-born alto saxophonist Ben Van Gelder, two Ukrainian musicians - one of them living in Canada, Bogdan Gumenyuk (tenor saxophone, creator of the label LaberWhoAble), another one residing in Berlin, Igor Osypov (guitar) and also a bass player from Italy, Igor Spallati and American drummer, Nasheet Waits. Yuriy Seredin's breakout, award-winning album 'Asylum Search' it's about the search for solace, internal peace, and a place to be, as he said. He was working on it when his father was about to die and the music he was playing in the studio was about this. It was a personal record about Seredin's dad who introduced him to music and showed the first chords on a piano. His memories drench the compositions like 'Krasne' – the name of the village where his grandmother lived. She was like a second mother to him. The album is full of beautiful and boldly created music and excellent team play. Yuriy doesn't play a leading role here but he leaves a lot of space for his colleagues. The most important here is a common music concept. Listening to this album is a wonderful adventure!