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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Maxim Lubarsky - Gabriela Martina

Explorations in Sound

Review by Gary Hill

This is an unusual album. It’s performed by Maxim Lubarsky on piano and Gabriela Martina providing her vocal talents. It’s largely improvised. It’s not progressive rock at all. It is however, art music and leans toward the avant-garde. I’ve seen this listed with Martina’s name first, but I’ve included it in the order in which they are shown on the cover. This is not for everyone, but it has its charms. It’s also definitely a work of art.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
Track by Track Review
One Note

Featuring piano and non-lyrical vocals, this is an intriguing and experimental piece. It has a good energy and some intriguing shifts and turns.

The Rose

This starts with that experimental sort of non-lyrical vocal and piano arrangement. It shifts to the song proper from there as the vocals take on lyrics. Yes, this is that “The Rose,’ song, but while it’s recognizable, they definitely riff on the song.

In Momentum

More energetic jazz jamming on piano is the backbone of this. The non-lyrical vocals at times sound like a cat to me. At other points they take on a growling bluesy vibe. There are some lyrics later, but they aren’t really clear. They are more instrumentation in a lot of ways. This thing gets really crazed at times.

Nostos

Building and growing, there is a freeform jazz vibe to this. The vocals have lyrics.

For Anna

The piano work on this is particularly powerful and evocative. There is a lot of classical music built into it, but it’s still jazz. The vocals, not in English, are both classical and almost operatic.

Crazy

Acapella scat singing gets this underway and holds it. Eventually piano is added to the mix as it continues, but that piano is sporadic. Eventually, though, it takes its place alongside the vocals and both gets more and more crazed. This is a bizarre and energetic piece of avant-garde music. Some of the vocals later are lyrical, but not in English. This turns rather playful later.

Exactly Like You

More traditional jazz piano gets us underway here. The vocals come in and really add to the effect. Martina’s voice delivers English lyrics on this track. More mainstream jazz, this includes some killer piano work and also some whistling later.

Letter to Grämlis

Both the piano and the vocals lend a real classic sound to the piece. This is one of the more mainstream numbers here. It’s quite pretty and evocative. This also includes some whistling.

Gertrud Stein Poem

Piano and poetry reading is the concept here. This thing gets pretty crazed at times, though. It’s not the kind of sedate, super mellow thing you might expect. It has some sung non-lyrical sections, too.

 
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