Cross-Platform Interchange Misha Mullov-Abbado

• 1 Shanti Bell 03:48
• 2 No Strictly Dancing 06:28
• 3 Waves 11:10
• 4 Gromit's Grand Outing 05:12
• 5 Still, Hidden Morning 07:21
• 6 Pure 100% Nunnery 07:06
• 7 Cross-Platform Interchange 07:48
• 8 Hair of the Bop 07:31
• Total Runtime 56:24

Info for Cross-Platform Interchange

London based bassist and composer Misha Mullov-Abbado burst onto the scene in 2015 with a debut album that prompted a stream of plaudits from international press and fans alike. New Ansonia, released on Edition in Sept 2015 and featuring wunderkind Jacob Collier, was described by the Daily Telegraph as an ‘unfailingly inventive, artfully produced, and delightfully sunny debut’ whilst Concerto Magazine in Austria commented ‘...this is the kind of album I expect of musicians who’ve spent more than 40 years on the Jazz stages of the world… Sensational debut !!!”. As the son of the late great Italian conductor Claudio Abbado and Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova, there was great anticipation about the album. Misha not only exceeded expectations but demonstrated that he is an instrumentalist and composer in his own right.

Cross-Platform Interchange, Misha’s second album, not only confirms his promise as a musician and composer of real depth and vision, but demonstrates his intention to do things his own way. Playing on his love of trains as well as the reciprocity and stylistic openness within his music, the album title perfectly symbolises the interconnectivity of inspiration in his life and music. With a commanding bass sound and bank of influences at his disposal, Misha has produced an album that will elevate his international career and generate a global fanbase. Bringing in producer Duncan Bridgeman has been a significant step in shaping the music. As Misha explains: ‘Bringing Duncan on board opened up a new world for me to develop ideas of using the studio more in the compositional process, achieving a warmer and more controlled sound as well as adding further elements, such as the additional percussion recorded in Israel that wouldn’t be there in a live context. For me this album represents that discovery, bringing together my inspirations into one world’.

Drawing on this broad palette of styles, influences and inspirations Cross-Platform Interchange is a summary of the musical cosmos that is Misha Mullov-Abbado. Take the opener: ‘Shanti Bell’, a playful yet commanding introduction to Misha’s unique outlook on the world, with strong Avishai Cohen-esque bass figures. Gromit’s Grand Outing, leaves the listener in no doubt about the sense of joy present in his music. Or ‘Waves’: full of delicately intertwined melodies with warm chord progressions and inventive soloing. Misha has the unique gift of writing songs that you seem to know even as they’re being played.

Second album syndrome was clearly no issue for Misha. With apparently effortless grace he has produced an album that stands as a mature, high quality and masterly production, an album that shines a light on his own vision and musical perspective. Misha is an artist with a long career ahead of him and there is no doubt that Cross-Platform Interchange will be a significant staging post in this journey.

"Mullov-Abbado need not fear being constantly compared with his parents...he is an instrumentalist and composer in his own right." (Rondo Magazine)

Misha Mullov-Abbado, double bass
James Davison, trumpet
Matthew Herd, alto saxophone
Sam Rapley, tenor saxophone
Liam Dunachie, piano
Scott Chapman, drums
Elad Neeman, percussion
Additional musicians:
Nick Goodwin, acoustic guitar (on tracks 2, 8)
Rob Luft, electric guitar (on tracks 3, 5, 7)
Matthew Barley, cello (on track 3)
Yusuf Narcin, bass trombone (on track 7)

Produced by Duncan Bridgeman and Misha Mullov-Abbado
Executive Producer: Dave Stapleton

Misha Mullov-Abbado
is a musician who combines great imagination, raw talent tempered by a clear vision, and a colourful character. Son of the Italian conductor Claudio Abbado and Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova, Misha showed early musical promise but was keen to follow his own path and became intent on developing a career in jazz. A 2014 City of Music Foundation Artist, an in-demand bass player, composer and arranger based in London and winner of the 2014 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize, Misha Mullov-Abbado releases his self-composed debut album with his quintet on Edition Records in September 2015.

Misha has performed at many of London’s top jazz gigs including the Vortex, 606 Club, Pizza Express and Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room (as part of the BBC Proms Late series), as well as venues throughout the UK and Europe. Misha is an experienced composer: he won the 2014 Dankworth Prize for jazz composition and writes for a variety of jazz groups including the quintet, as well as various classical soloists and ensembles, and his influences include jazz, classical and pop music.

After graduating from Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, where he studied music and composition with Robin Holloway and Jeremy Thurlow, Misha received a scholarship to study double bass at the Royal Academy of Music on the prestigious masters jazz course (alongside Jasper Høiby, Tom Herbert, Michael Janisch and Jeremy Brown). During his final year at the Academy Misha formed his quintet and has been performing with it regularly since. As well as gigging on the double bass Misha is also an experienced horn player and has played in many ensembles as a student, performing works such as Schumann’s Konzertstück, Britten’s Serenade and Bach’s Mass in B minor on the natural horn.

Since leaving the Academy, Misha has performed with a variety of musicians including Stan Sulzmann and Enzo Zirilli (Misha’s a fixture (on horn too) in Enzo’s quartet Zirobop). He co-runs the Patchwork Jazz Orchestra, an exciting new big band in London that plays original compositions, and plays as a sideman in various projects such as the Tom Green Septet, Ralph Wyld’s Mosaic, the Tom Millar Quartet and the Liam Dunachie Quartet. Misha has had his compositions performed by London-based groups The Hermes Experiment and Sinfonia D’Amici in venues such as King’s Place, the Royal Ballet School and recently the Royal Albert Hall. He also had his Clarinet Concerto premiered in Cambridge by Joseph Shiner.

This album contains no booklet.