Büdi Siebert
Bridges

Budi Siebert is a semi-unknown author in Italy (if not to a very niche audience), and is part of the German instrumental/fusion music circle along with other musicians like Friedemann, Ralf Illenberger, and Martin Kolbe, produced by labels such as Biber, Inakustik, or the more famous Narada.

The album is from 1988, although it presumably entered the non-German market only about ten years later. Siebert is a talented multi-instrumentalist (he plays saxophone, marimba, vibraphone, keyboards, and other wind instruments), and has collaborated on world tours with the great harpist Andreas Wollenweider.

That said, "Bridges" is a very varied and interesting album, it's very rhythmic instrumental music with jazz-fusion accents. The tracks have a descriptive connotation, so much so that in the magical booklet included with the CD (indecipherable if you don't know a bit of German), Budi describes the inspirations that led him to write the pieces. The opening track is a frenzied whirl around a nice loop of keyboards and percussion, with a well-judged intervention from Illenberger's semi-acoustic guitar. The sound collage of "Ein Sonntagmorgen" fades into Alsace, a beautiful piece inspired by the eponymous French region, where the string arrangements then give way to a more strictly fusion composition.

"Into it/intuit", as well as "Sing" are more traditional tracks, the first characterized by a nice piano loop and the intervention of the flugelhorn, the second featuring Budi's sax and more electronic arrangements; "Wintertanz" is perhaps the most minimal track (sax-piano-guitar) while "Waiting for the Storm" and "Hard Times", feature a richer and more varied sound, both with a beautiful initial harmonic keyboard loop that captures attention.

"Herzeleid" is the album's masterpiece: the initial introduction with the drum's "snare" gives way to a catchy track, perfect for listening to on the beach, with appealing rhythmic cadences. Finally, the album closes with a dance that makes the combination of bass and marimba its strong point, up until the fading end. The two central tracks, perhaps the slightly less successful but still highly appreciable ones, are an attempt by the author to approach Latin, sometimes Caribbean, sounds.

Beyond the individual tracks, Bridges is an album to be appreciated as a whole for the richness of instrumental nuances, for the orchestral arrangements that are never pedantic and in a seventies style, for the great care of sound and sound effects, for the summer yet complex rhythms. It is recommended to all those who love modern instrumental music, being an album that does not aim to be too cultured but to intrigue the listener with numerous twists. It represents the attempt of many modern authors to combine their classical background with jazz improvisations, yet not renouncing pop/rock melodies and Latin influences: in short, crossover.