LIVE WITH DAVID CROSS

When Dialeto released their previous album, 'Bart'k In Rock', famed ex-King Crimson violinist David Cross made an appearance on one song, and in my review I said that he had made such an impact I really wish he has played on more. Well, at this concert on 22nd July 2017, he stuck around for way more than just one song. Coming onto stage in time for the sixth number on the CD and staying there all the way through to the end. The Brazilian trio are mostly instrumental, and here they were promoting their last album, which took compositions by B'la Bart'k and then moved them into their own genre, with lots of improvisation. Interestingly, one of the songs featured on this CD is 'Mikrokosmos 78', which Dialeto hadn't worked on, and it was only after the suggestion of Cross that a version was put together especially for this concert.

Cross is a very busy musician, but one hopes that he sticks around for more gigs and recording with the trio, as they all blend their skills so very well together, to create an album that is exciting, invigorating, and just bloody great fun to listen to. The interaction between all four is incredible, as they extend and move away from songs and take them into new areas. The first eight songs are by Diaelto, and then we have four from King Crimson and one from David's own band. 'Starless' is instantly recognisable, and gets a reaction from the crowd; it is the perfect way to close out the concert (with drummer Fred Bayley showing that he is a fine singer, and it is a choice for the band to be instrumental as opposed to lack of skill). But before then everyone has been treated to an amazing concert, with four great musicians bouncing ideas off each other, allowing the music to take them where it needs to go. Dialeto have been building quite a reputation, and deservedly so, and hopefully this work with Cross will see them being recognised by a far wider audience, as it is certainly deserved.

An interesting tribute live album!

In 2017 Dialeto created a wonderful album entitled 'Bart'k in Rock', in which they rearranged several pieces of this legendary composer and morphed them with rock. That same year the band went on tour to promote the album, and in some shows another legendary musician, former King Crimson member David Cross, joined them so together they gave the audience an intimate and ecstatic experience in which the band offered the previously mentioned Bart'k songs, along with some Crimson tunes.

The Brazilian trio opened the show with 4 Bart'k pieces. 'Roumanian Folk Dances 3' is the first and here they bring a somber atmosphere, which curiously has some crimsonian nuances, to my ears. Later it becomes like a doom terror score. Interesting. 'Roumanian Folk Dances 2' has some 30 hesitant seconds and then the music morphs to that rock realm it now belongs. The faster it gets the more interesting, a nice rendition to Bart'k, without a doubt. 'Roumanian Folk Dances 4' is the longest of this Roumanian pieces. Once again there are some soft introductory seconds and then a change. Nice rhythm with bass and drums while guitar plays the notes we will remember.

Dialeto alone continue with 'Mikrokosmos 149', soft bass lines and jazzy drums soon to be complemented by guitar. The sound is catchy, addictive. A very nice adaptation that might in fact be one of my favorite moments in this concert. Then when 'Mikrokosmos 113' is about to be performed, David Cross joins the band and the rest of the concert is made by a quartet. It is evident that the addition of a violin creates a richer sound and can change the atmospheres in a very positive way. The bass lines here are as addictive as the previous track, but now violin and guitar make a perfect duo while unstoppable drums give the energy and even tension the band and audience need. 'Mikrokosmos 78' is the longest of the Bart'k arrangements. It has a somber feeling in the first minutes, Cross is an expert of doing that in the first parts of the songs. After three minutes Dialeto enter and the direction of the piece changes, no more dark atmospheres there, now we can listen to even some gypsy-like nuances along with the evident rock that is inherent in the sound. It progresses and gives us a pretty nice experience.

'An Evening in the Village' and 'The Young Bride' are the last two Bart'k pieces performed in this show. The first one has an interesting rock sound but with a kind of Western sound, maybe produced by the drummer. The second one is much more interesting to my ears, mid-tempo with some guitar explosions and a clear prog rock sound which remind me a bit of Crimson (again) and also After Crying.

Now the second part of the concert is the tribute to King Crimson, or to the same David Cross. The first track performed is the disarming 'Exiles', Dialeto and Cross added some electronic atmospheres that probably worked as hypnotics, and after 3 minutes the heavy part begins so then we can notice this is actually Exiles and not an improvisation. The arrangements by Dialeto are very good, so it is not a simple copycat, is a well-arranged cover that gives us 10 minutes of great music. In fact, the vocal work is also wonderful. Then 'Tonk' was performed, this is not a Crimson tune but one from David Cross' solo catalogue. A short but vibrant piece that originally has the collaboration of Fripp and Hammill, but here Dialeto put their original grain of sand.

Two of the most iconic moments of Cross in KC come next: 'The Talking Drum' and 'Larks Tongues in Aspic Pt. II', as you can imagine, the moments of tension, doubt and power are shared, but with some little different adaptations made by Dialeto. The concert finishes with the mighty 'Starless', sung by Fred Barley in a great form. A piece that belongs to heaven, an extraordinary anthem of progressive rock in which David Cross participated, and now executed with a trio of very talented musicians.

A great concert, to say the least!

DIALETO are a power trio out of Brazil playing in that KING CRIMSON style for the most part. Their lineup has changed over the years but the guitarist Nelson Coelho has remained the constant plus his relationship with Fabio Golfetti who mixed and mastered this one but has played guitar on previous albums. Fabio is from VIOLETA DE OUTONO and the INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET and the drummer of that last band I mentioned is here Fred Barley. The bass player Gabriel Costa is is from VIOLETA DE OUTONO.

On DIALETO's previous studio album I lamented that David Cross was only on one track, well he's on stage with this trio playing on nine of the thirteen tracks. The music of DIALETO here is from their previous album "Bartok In Rock" while the final five songs include four songs from KING CRIMSON and one from a David Cross solo album. So some covers.

The KING CRIMSON songs are awesome and Coelho uses his mellotron guitar on "Starless". This is a powerful band and the vocals sound so authentic too like John Wetton is singing. There is some serious angular guitar on "Talking Drum". Of the band's songs these are "rock" interpretations of Bela Bartok's music, the Hungarian composer and I do like these better than the ones on the studio album.

This is a very strong album and well worth the 4 stars.