Tin-Tin Quartet – “Útközés / Confrontation”
(Periferic BGCD 039, 1994/2000, CD)

Tin-Tin Quartet – “Árnyjátékok / Plays of Shadows”
(Periferic BGCD 075, 1996/2001, CD)
These two CDs by Hungarian ethno-jazz ensemble Tin-Tin Quartet (also known as Tin-Tin Quintet and Tin-Tin Q) originally appeared in Hungary on the Ananda Sounds label. Periferic Records has licensed them for distribution abroad, which means that those of us on this side of the Atlantic should now find them slightly less difficult to obtain. The band members are all multi-instrumentalists who play familiar instruments like guitar and marimba as well as exotic ones like kalimba, mbira, and sansa (different types of African thumb-pianos); kaval, nay, fujara, and dvojnice (traditional East European and Middle Eastern flutes); ektar and gadulka (unusual stringed instruments from the Balkans and India); and a host of world percussion.
On Útközés,the band’s lineup consists of Szabolcs Szöke, András Monori, Gábor Juhász, and Gergely Borlai. Guitar, kaval flute, and the violin-like gadulka are the dominant instruments here. The main melodic ideas are usually delivered by two voices in tandem, with a third musician offering counterpoint— or, occasionally, laying down a second percussion line overtop of the tabla rhythms established by Borlai. The CD’s seven tracks are composed, with clearly defined sections and transitions within them (some, like disc opener “Tavasi Teker”, even seem suitelike), but the tracks are long, with lots of room given for all four musicians to solo. (Five pieces are 9+ minutes long, and three are over 13 minutes). The music is all-acoustic and tends to be relaxing and calming. However, these aren’t just mellow chill-out tunes. Many (most notably “Pa-Pa-Hua” and “Szaggatott Vonalak”) have swelling crescendos and steady tempo increases in their mid-sections that work their way up to momentary climaxes before dropping off again (and in some cases, before building up to another climax).
Árnyjátékok is in the same vein as Útközés, but with three key differences. First, there’s a small personnel change: percussionist Gergely Borlai is out, and Péter Szalai is in. Though Szalai, like Borlai, plays a lot of tabla, he also makes substantial contributions on the kalimba and its variants, which means that there are more passages where he’s plucking out melodies rather than pounding out rhythms. Secondly, and perhaps more subtly, the compositions here are shorter, averaging only about seven minutes long. This means that they are more tightly structured, with more emphasis on concise ensemble arrangements and fewer solos. Finally, the gadulka, so prevalent on the last album, is wholly absent here, with a flute or thumb-piano often appearing in its place. As on Útközés,the overall style here is world-inspired acoustic jazz. Fans of Do’A, Shakti, and maybe even Embryo’s more ethnic-leaning material should really enjoy Tin-Tin Quartet.

Jim Chokey