Lazy Lady Bartha Arnedo Quartet

• 1Lazy Lady03:25
• 2Ich stehe an deiner Krippe05:45
• 3Our Father In Heaven04:27
• 4Nobody Else But Me04:09
• Total Runtime17:46

Info for Lazy Lady

The title song, ‘Lazy Lady’, is a love song dedicated to an alluring and charming young woman. The calypso rhythm provides a cheerful background for the improvisation, and the harmony is based on Gershwin’s ‘I got Rhythm’, aka rhythm changes.

Bartha was commissioned to rearrange a few songs from the protestant hymn book for its 500th anniversary back in 2017. These hymns reflect on his childhood background, making it very personal. The beautiful old melodies deeply inspired him, and he has since incorporated them into his standard repertoire.

‘Ich Stehe an Deiner Krippe’ has a similar form and harmonic progression of a jazz ballad. Matyas contributes to the piece by adding a pedal point at the opening, and unlike the original J.S. Bach version, modulating to the relative major instead of the parallel major.

Martin Luther’s hymn, ‘Our Father in Heaven’ is presented in a powerful 3⁄4 time, bringing us back to the jazz albums of the 60s. The melody and harmony create a certain melancholic mood, which allow the soloist to put a lot of emotion into their musical ideas.

‘Nobody Else but Me’ is a dedication to the great trumpet player Kenny Dorham and composerJerome Kern. Both play an important role in the inspiration and musical growth of the band.

Pol Omedes Casacuberta, trumpet
Matyas Bartha, piano
Zoltán Oláh, bass

Guillem Arnedo, drums

The Bartha/Arnedo Quartet
is a collaboration between the Hungarian pianist Matyas Bartha and the Spanish drummer Guillem Arnedo. They have been playing together since 2015, when Arnedo and Bartha met in New York City. The band features Pol Omedes Casacuberta on trumpet, a successful bandleader with a distinctive musical voice. He recently received the Spanish Prize For Young Talent (Joven Talento) 2020, by the Associació de Músics de Jazz i Música Moderna de Catalunya (AMJM). One can hear how this ensemble loves acoustic sounds and the true, elegant art of swing. They play original music like Guillem’s Lazy Lady, special melodies from composers like J.S. Bach, and lesser-known standards from the Great American Songbook. Together, these musicians create a deep, refreshing sound. For their first recording they chose four delicate songs. There is more to come in the future.

Booklet for Lazy Lady