The music career of the violinist and singer Jitka Šuranská resembles a spiral motion. More than ten years ago, she chose cooperation in a duo with Jiří Plocek over dulcimer music, in which she was a regular member. After that, she played folk songs alone with a looper, and her first solo album Nězachoď slunečko was truly a solo album but with many guests. And now she is releasing another record. However, this time as a member of a new band, a very compact and bright sounding trio. By the way, the fact that the word TRIO is on the album cover – unlike the names of the band members – in capitals stresses that it is truly a band album and not a solo one. And in this lies both the greatest strength as well as some minor weaknesses of the recording.
Jitka Šuranská knew mandolin player Martin Krajíček from his involvement in the KK Band and Marian Friedl, a versatile contrabassist and small dulcimer and folk brass instrument player, who makes his own folk brass instruments, was referred to her by Emil Formánek from Druhá tráva. Martin and Marian had not known each other before. However, there was allegedly an immediate musical spark within the new trio. For that matter, there were all the prerequisites for the band to enjoy not only the sum of the skills of the individual members, but rather their product. All three of them have experience with various genres and their fusion. Martin plays with the Ulrych Duo and Cimbal Classic but he also focuses on Klezmer and Mexican music. Marian is our leading expert in folk instruments (for both theory and practice), but he is also an excellent contrabass player in the avant jazz band NOCZ. And Jitka – besides all her experience in folk music in various forms – has been a member of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín for years. I am not saying that on the album Divé husy the musicians directly used all of the above experience and arrangement (there is really not much Mexican music there) but various approaches and the acquired erudition always remain within and sometimes indirectly float to the surface.
Unlike the album Nězachoď slunečko, the new album does not contain only folk songs. Marian Friedl contributed several of his own songs. He previously tested this semi-folklore songwriting in his loose band RukyNaDudy. And it is true that especially the title song Divé husy is one of the highlights of the album and it does not particularly stick out of the predominance of the folk songs. However, the majority of the songs on the album are folk-based, although the rate of the songwriters' contribution varies. The inclusion of the mandolin in Moravian folk music itself is a kind of experiment and not only because of the fact that the arranger (sometimes Friedl, other times the whole trio) becomes a co-author. In several cases, the trio plays a de facto new melody using folk text, in other cases (including the video and opening track Jablúška) they connect songs previously unrelated. None of these approaches are unique but their combination resulted in a unique record.
The trio fully used two of their powers which only seemingly contradict: there are "only" three of them, but together they play countless instruments. Only because it is only a trio, the record does not sound overly complicated and with all the used colours, there is still enough space for silence between individual tones and syllables. For example, the beginning of the song U suseda, with a contrabass solo at the beginning and the subsequent Jitka's singing in this bass line, is excellent. In the relatively long – and yet not boring – song Išlo dievča, the dulcimer plays in a long loop, evoking Jitka's experiments with the looper and creates sufficient space for the melody of the violin and singing. By the way, the combination of the dulcimer, mandolin, violin and contrabass sounds great.
Thanks to the musical ability and versatility of the members, the trio did well without any guests, only under the production supervision of Stano Palúch who is the connecting bridge to last Jitka's record. I cannot decipher how major Stano's interventions in the final versions of the songs were, especially since the arrangement is not his work. However, I would dare to say that perhaps also thanks to him the band operates compactly in all moods and instrumental combinations – with minor exceptions. Ivo Viktorin and Petr Vavřík, who recorded music in Studio V in Zlín (Stano Palúch was surprisingly again in charge of the mixing and mastering), also greatly contributed to the good result. And the sound – especially Jitka's voice – is truly wonderful.
If I have some minor complaints regarding the album, they are more associated with my personal taste than any general truths. I have always liked thoughtful, drawn-out positions in folklore better than joyful songs to dance and drink. Therefore, even here the development of the violin melody in the song Išlo dzievča or the brightly, yet appropriately arranged medieval song Ztratilať jsem milého are much closer to me than the playful dialogue in the mix of Manželské písně (while shouting "Zahraj!" ("Play!")) or the whooping song U muziky, in my opinion the weakest song on the album. The attempt at transferring live music-taking into the studio just passes me by. I also have a small problem with songs where the bandleader hands over the signing to her colleague Marian, whose voice is not as distinct as hers. However, it is a rather subjective observation and I understand the efforts to introduce the trio as a solid harmonic band, where multiple members can alternate behind the microphone.
The strength of the album Divé husy lies primarily in the team work, in working with arrangements and in its new, yet non-violent approach to traditional material. It is very good that Jitka Šuranská has moved a little bit higher up her artistic spiral.
Jitka Šuranská TRIO: Divé husy; label: Indies Scope 2016. 11 tracks, overall time: 46:36
