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Bartók Jazz album cover

Album guide

Bartók Jazz

Tomás Improta

Composer
Bartók
Released
1995
Label
Leblon Records
Forces
Piano, Saxophone, Trombone
Personnel
Quinteto Tomás Improta: Tomás Improta keyboards, Fernando Trocado tenor and soprano saxophones, Lulu Pereira trombone, Ronaldo Diamante bass, Xande drums, with Marcos Suzano percussion

Tomás Improta first encountered Bartók as a child, when he learnt the piano from Mikrokosmos. He later returned to its third book for Bartók Jazz, attracted by rhythms, harmonies and modal melodies that he felt were particularly open to jazz.

Improta’s keyboards lead an ensemble of saxophones, trombone, bass and drums, with percussion added on selected tracks. Bartók’s teaching pieces retain their compact proportions, but Improta turns them into ensemble music, expanding a brief exercise through repetition, improvisation and groove.

Hear both

The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.

The originalsBartók · classical source works

The classical player has twelve videos for all fifteen tracks: one recording of Mikrokosmos No. 82 serves tracks 1 and 2, while one of No. 87 serves tracks 7, 8 and 9.

Jazzed upTomás Improta · 1995
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Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.

Source works

The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.

  1. Scherzo, Pt. 1Mikrokosmos No. 82, Scherzo
  2. Scherzo, Pt. 2Mikrokosmos No. 82, Scherzo
  3. Terças Versus SoloMikrokosmos No. 67, Thirds against a Single Voice
  4. Dança HungaraMikrokosmos No. 68, Hungarian Dance, for two pianos
  5. Dasnça dos DragoesMikrokosmos No. 72, Dragons’ Dance
  6. Pequeno EstudoMikrokosmos No. 77, Little Study
  7. Variações, Pt. 1Mikrokosmos No. 87, Variations
  8. Variações, Pt. 2Mikrokosmos No. 87, Variations
  9. Variações, Pt. 3Béla Bartók, Mikrokosmos Sz. 107, Vol. III, No. 87, ’Variations’
  10. Estudo de AcordesMikrokosmos No. 69, Study in Chords
  11. Canção da RaposaMikrokosmos No. 95, Fox Song
  12. CromatismoMikrokosmos No. 91, Chromatic Invention (I)
  13. Sextas e TríadesMikrokosmos No. 73, Sixths and Triads
  14. Escala PentatônicaMikrokosmos No. 78, Five-Tone Scale
  15. Homenagem a R. SchumannMikrokosmos No. 80, Hommage à Robert Schumann