Nothing is lost when Nik Bärtsch, bandleader, becomes Nik Bärtsch, solo pianist. It’s still captivating music, only played through the single vessel of piano.

There’s a record for every corner of fusion, from minimalism to funk-jazz to jam band, on S. Victor Aaron’s final Best of 2018 list.

It’s a somewhat revamped Ronin, but Nik Bärtsch saw opportunity with those changes and exploited them. ‘Awase’ can move both your mind and your soul but the deceptively fresh approach it takes to get under the skin like that is the brilliance of Bärtsch and his Ronin quartet.

That Nik Bärtsch can apply his innovations so effectively with a bass-less combo and even with a small string section further validates the soundness of this unique approach.

<<< Part Three, Whack Jazz In the final piece of these exhaustive, four-part salutes to the top releases of 2012, the fusion jazz records are surveyed. You May Also Like: Jeff Lorber: The Albums That Shaped My Career Jeff Lorber Fusion – ‘The Drop’ (2023) Jeff Lorber Fusion – ImpactRead More

Nik Bärtsch calls a concert a “meditative and explosive form of collaboration,” but exactly the same can be said about his and his band Ronin’s self-described “ritual groove music.” You May Also Like: Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin – Awase (2018) Nik Bärtsch – ‘Entendre’ (2021)

by Pico It’s ritual groove music time again. The Swiss pianist and bandleader Nik Bärtsch has broken musical ground with his Ronin outfit, pioneering jazz that’s melodically sparse and rhythmically robust. Not dance music but very funky, not piano bar jazz but very soothing, Bärtsch and his crew create paradoxesRead More

The composer and pianist from Zurich by the name of Nik Bärtsch and his band Ronin have just this week released their second major-label record. And even with having had the benefit is listening to Holon for a few weeks, now, it’s hard to tell if this record is supposedRead More