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Polish pianist / composer Jan Jarczyk, who lives in the US & Canada since the late 1970s, is fondly remembered as member of the original Zbigniew Seifert quartet, where he played alongside Seifert in the late 1960s / early 1970s, contributing some of his compositions to the quartet's repertoire. The wonderful early recordings by the Seifert quartet ("Nora") were released on the same Gad label, which also released this album. Jarczyk continued his Jazz career in the US & Canada as educator, first at the Berklee Collage of Music in Boston and later at McGill University in Montreal. He also continued to perform and release Jazz albums. Jarczyk met Canadian (of Ukrainian origin) pianist / composer John Stetch twenty years prior to this recording, when Stetch was one of his students. He invited Stetch to play with him a series of concerts in a piano duet setting. These concerts, which were organized to celebrate Jarczyk's 60^th birthday, were recorded and this album now brings these recordings to a wider audience. Of the seven duets included here three were composed by Jarczyk, one by Stetch, one co-composed by the two players and two are standards. The material presents a versatile setting, from ballads to up-tempo compositions, which allows the players to stretch out and exchange licks along the way. The deep empathy, understanding and mutual respect between the two musicians is obvious and plays a major role in the overall music-making / love-making ambience. Although both players are clearly highly talent performers, the duo is stronger that the sum of its individual parts. Stylistically the music moves between straight-forward melodic modern Jazz to mostly improvised stretches, so there are no dull moments here. For piano lovers, this is heavenly stuff, well worth having and of course returning to. Warmly recommended!

 

 

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This is the debut recording as a leader by Israeli drummer / composer Ziv Ravitz, who is one of several Israeli Jazz musicians, which managed to earn respect and admiration on the worldwide scene and become a highly sought after studio figure. His superb ability to play in highly versatile settings as well as his unusual open-mindedness and virtuoso performances justify his reputation completely. His numerous recordings with some of the Jazz most well known names, both in Europe and the US, are all excellent examples of his great talent. His drumming is perhaps the best ever synthesis of the Jazz tradition and the Middle East rhythmic heritage. This wonderful album presents Ravitz in an intimate setting with just two musicians: pianist Omer Klein and trumpeter Avishai Cohen. Of the eleven tracks on the album, ten are Ravitz original and one is an Israeli standard. A female vocalist (Mika Hary) guests on the last track. The music is excellent from start to finish, as are the performances. Strongly influenced by his Israeli musical heritage, as the title suggests, Ravitz unwinds his melodies emphasizing the rhythmic patterns, which are absolutely thrilling and fascinating. The music is very subtle, presented in duo or trio format, which enables the listener to hear every note and leaves no margin for error. In retrospect this is one of the best Israeli Jazz albums recorded in the first decade of the 21^st Century, which sadly slipped unnoticed under the radar, but it is not to late to discover it now – and discovering it is highly recommended for any connoisseur of great Jazz. Most highly recommended!

 

 

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Veteran Israeli singer / songwriter / guitarist Shlomo Ydov (No Names, Tuned Tone) returns with a surprising instrumental album, which features his excellent acoustic guitar playing. Ydov composed ten of the twelve pieces on this album, all of which are beautifully melodic and all are flavored by South American and other World Music influences mixed with Jazzy improvisations and arrangements. Ydov's guitar is wonderfully supported by the bass, played by the veteran bassist Eli Magen. An old friend, flautist Shem Tov Levy, guests on one track; percussionist Roni Ivrin plays on three tracks and bandoneón player Amichay Shalev plays on two tracks. Altogether the album is an intimate meeting between the player / composer and the listener, which should be enjoyable for most music connoisseurs. Ydov's melodies are well crafted and have the ability to remain fresh, even after repeated listening. His guitar playing is very skillful and wonderfully "round", and he avoids any flashy displays of "guitar madness", staying on track with exactly what is required. Definitely worth investigation!

 

 

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Veteran Israeli Jazz bassist / composer Eli Magen started his musical career as the founding member of the Rock group Apocalypse in the early 1970s. Later on he studied classical music and became a member of the Israeli Philharmonic and in parallel became "Mr. Bass" of the Israeli Jazz scene. This album presents the music Magen composed and arranged for the soundtrack of a movie, recorded by a quintet comprising of other veteran Israeli Jazz musicians: trumpeter Yigal Melzer, saxophonist Peter Verthaimer, pianist Adi Renert and drummer Guy Ben Barak. The music is mostly contemporary mainstream Jazz, performed flawlessly and with many splendid solo spots. Magen sings along with his bow solos, which is pretty unusual and the rest of his routine is brilliant, as always. It's always great to have a recording by Magen, as he definitely recorded much less that he should have, in retrospect. Same goes for Verthaimer, who is one of the greatest reed players in Israel, but unfortunately with no recorded output to back up his reputation. A must for Israeli Jazz connoisseurs!

 

 

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This is the debut solo recording by Israeli guitarist / composer Ido Bukelman, one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In contrast to his ensemble recordings or those with the EFT trio (also released on the great OutNow Recording label) where he mostly plays electric guitar, on this album Bukelman opts for the acoustic guitar, except for one track on which he adds electronics. The music is very difficult to describe and belongs to the extreme avant-garde personal statements, which are incredibly difficult to access and assess. If anybody reading this is familiar with the work of the great British guitarist Derek Bailey, one of the Godfathers of the Improvised Music movement, then this might be a starting point. This does not mean of course that Bukelman is imitating Bailey's work, as that would be an oxymoron, but stylistically and sonically the content of this album belongs in the same sphere. Obviously this is a very personal music and the question if it is communicative and transferable to the listener remains open and is largely up to the listener himself. Improvised Music is, after all, a very individual expression of a momentary inspiration. One should of course commend the Artist first for making such individual and unconventional statement and that for bringing it out in the open for others to experience. Hopefully there will be others open-minded enough to enjoy and appreciate this music.

 

 

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This brilliant album is a document of a completely improvised recording session involving three great musicians: drummer / composer Ehran Elisha, legendary clarinetist / composer Harold Rubin and Ehran's father pianist Haim Elisha. The music consists of a series of trio and duo spontaneous improvisations, with Rubin and his clarinet strongly in the limelight as the most dazzling musical personality in the room. After all Rubin is almost singlehandedly responsible for the existence of the Israeli Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene and his genius is unparalleled on the worldwide scale. This is a superb example of such music at its best, which is characterized by the overall feeling that the music was carefully arranged and rehearsed before the recording, where in fact if wasn't at all. Rubin leads the way by suggesting his charming melody lines, which are then masterly supported by Ehran's sensitive drumming and Haim's delicate piano phrases. His ability to weave these incredible melodies out of thin air, which are full of the sadness and joy of Jewish spiritual music, Middle Eastern twists and turns and Rubin's own inventions is always absolutely stunning, even for someone like myself, who has experienced it firsthand for almost thirty years now. The fact that Rubin is not widely known as one of the greatest Jazz musicians that ever walked on this planet is an absolute crime of ignorance. This album might as well serve as a textbook example of what Free Jazz / Improvised Music is all about: individual genius, the ability to combine individuality into group unity, telepathic exchange of ideas on the fly, mutual respect and empathy and a bit of divine intervention, which makes it all happen at a certain place at a certain time. We mere mortals should be only grateful that the music was captured for posterity, for us to enjoy. An absolute must!

 

 

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This is the second solo recording by Israeli guitarist / composer Ido Bukelman, one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In contrast to his ensemble recordings or those with the EFT trio, where he mostly plays electric guitar, on his solo albums Bukelman opts for the acoustic guitar, adding also banjo and some percussion on this one. Of the eleven tracks on this album, all composed by him, the last six are connected into a suite, which gives the album its title. In comparison to his previous solo album ("Solo"), recorded just a few months earlier, this album is much more relaxed and "well behaved", with clear melodic content popping out between and behind the freely improvised passages. Of course this is still very much Improvised Music, very personal and complex, which presents quite a challenge to the listener, but the overall effect of this album is definitely less stressful and estranging. With four albums recorded and released in less than a year Bukelman emerges as a major talent of the local scene, one that deserves to be followed carefully, open-mindedly and openheartedly as a source of some serious musical experiences. Hopefully there will be an audience open-minded enough to enjoy and appreciate this music.

 

 

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This wonderful album by the Polish duo: trumpeter Wojtek Jachna and drummer Jacek Buhl, is a superb example of how Jazz reinvents itself and updates itself constantly thanks to new and talented musicians. Of course the concept of the trumpet-drums duet in Jazz is not completely unusual, with the legendary Don Cherry / Ed Blackwell album "Mu" being an early example. Originally released in 1969 that double LP was a revolutionary step forward, redefining and expanding the genre's borders. In the course of history several other noticeable trumpet-drums duet albums were also recorded. This album, as mentioned above, updates this concept thanks to the new technology available today, which allows electronically generated ambient vistas to be incorporated into some of the tracks, but basically it's up to the two players to create the substance. The music, although mostly improvised and close to the Free Jazz movement, has a strong melodic content and atmospheric / ambient feel about it, which is characteristic of movie soundtracks. Buhl's ability to play the drums as a melodic instrument (as opposed to a purely rhythmic one) is truly remarkable. His extended solo passages never cease to amaze as far as inventiveness and sensitivity are concerned. Jachna's minimalism, combined with his complete command of his instrument is highly effective and artistically sublime. Their duets are wonderful example of two musicians listening to each other at all times, giving up their egos in order to achieve a fusion of their powers and a higher level of unity. This is definitely one of the most interesting Polish Jazz albums I've come across lately and I can't imagine any true Jazz enthusiast not finding this album worthy of their attention. Great stuff!

 

 

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Israeli guitarist / composer Ido Bukelman is one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In addition to his musical activities Bukelman recently combined forces with two other Israeli musicians (saxophonist Yoni Kretzmer and guitarist Yair Yona) and together they launched a new Israeli record label, called OutNow Recordings, dedicated to releasing their own music and other more ambitious and less commercial musical ventures, which otherwise would have very little (if any) chances to see the light of day at all. The label released its first six albums recently, of which this is the first one. Bukelman, who plays both acoustic and electric guitar, records in various settings, which include both solo and ensemble performances. This album finds him as a leader of a quartet, which includes his regular trio members: bassist Assaf Hakimi and drummer Udi Shlomo. Cellist Yuval Mesner joins them to form a quartet. The music, all composed by Bukelman, is surprisingly "well behaved" relatively to a Free Jazz setting, with clear melody lines stated throughout the improvisations. Although there's plenty of freedom for the musicians to express their personal statements, the compositions are noticeably structured, which of course makes the music more accessible to a less experienced listener. In spite its free-spirit character, this music is far from being alienated from the Jazz tradition, which is one of its merits. The level of performances, interplay and personal statements is truly excellent throughout. Bukelman's electric guitar sometimes ventures into Jazz-Rock territory with a slight scent of the free side of John McLaughlin, which I mean as a compliment considering my well known sympathy towards McLaughlin artistry. Mesner's cello, excellent as always, paints a calmer atmospheric background and the rhythm section makes a superb effort to glue everything together, which is successful indeed. Altogether this is a first rate Free Jazz album, which most "regular" Jazz enthusiasts should enjoy as well. This level of musicianship, personal courage and dedication to the music is a heartwarming and one can hope that the future of noncommercial and artistic music in Israel has a new perspective in the hands of a new generation, which will take it further. This is brilliant stuff, not to be missed!

 

 

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Israeli saxophonist / composer Yoni Kretzmer is one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In addition to his musical activities Kretzmer recently combined forces with two other Israeli musicians (guitarist Ido Bukelman and guitarist Yair Yona) and together they launched a new Israeli record label, called OutNow Recordings, dedicated to releasing their own music and other more ambitious and less commercial musical ventures, which otherwise would have very little (if any) chances to see the light of day at all. The label released its first six albums recently, of which this is the second one. Kretzmer, who leads several different ensembles, recorded this album with his quartet, which also includes bass clarinetist Nitai Levi, bassist Shai Ran and drummer Haim Peskoff. The music, all composed by Kretzmer, is a prime example of contemporary Free Jazz, which is still very much linked with the Jazz tradition. The musical conversations between the two reedmen / soloists, which are prominent throughout the album, are the basis for extended individual solos. The rhythm session is an essential part of the collective improvisation and continuous stability, although enjoys a fair measure of musical freedom as well. The overall atmosphere of the album harks back to the early heydays of the genre, with Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman spiritually present in the recording studio. The leader's virtuosity is plainly evident from the very opening of the album and never ceases to amaze the listener. It is heartwarming to see such level of overall musicality on the local Israeli scene and although many of our musicians share their time between Israel and the European / American scene, they are after all "ours". With such players around, the Israeli Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene is alive and kicking with hardly any inferiority complexes around. This is a superb piece of music, from start to finish and an absolute must to every Israeli Free Jazz connoisseur!

 

 

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The Israeli experimental trio EFT (Electro Free Trio), which consists of guitarist Ido Bukelman, electronics manipulator Daniel Davidovsky and drummer Ofer Bymel, released its debut album recently on the excellent OutNow label. Probably the most adventurous music ensemble on the local scene, the trio presents a completely unique amalgam of Noise, high power distorted Rock, Jazzy improvisations and a plethora of electronically generated sounds, all these spontaneously created during a process of telepathic musical conversation. Although basically belonging to the Improvised Music genre, the music is somewhat different from the typical IM setting, which usually originates in Jazz, as it is more related to Rock and its experimental area. Of course the nature of such personal and intimate music is often completely impenetrable and remains valid mostly to its creators. The music presented here, although often difficult and definitely nontrivial, manages to be communicative to those, who are ready to make the intellectual effort and open their ears and minds. One must of course commend the courage and determination of these young musicians to create such highly distinctive music, risking alienation and misinterpretation by critics and audiences alike. It's great to have such music recorded and released, against all odds, and hopefully in time the circle of connoisseurs able and willing to make an intellectual effort it requires will steadily grow. This is an album definitely worth investigating, especially for those more adventurous listeners out there!

 

 

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This wonderful album by drummer Ehran Elisha and trumpeter Roy Campbell is a sort of tribute to the early Free Jazz Giants like Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Bill Dixon and others. Elisha and Campbell collaborated and recorded together in the past and their musical dialogue if full of mutual friendship, respect and admiration. All the music on the album is composed or co-composed by them. The title track refers to the fact that Elisha, while being a student and later a friend of the legendary drummer Ed Blackwell, often watched cartoons with the master in order to relax before the lessons. Of course the concept of the drums-trumpet duet in Free Jazz is not completely unusual, with the legendary Ed Blackwell / Don Cherry album "Mu" being an early example. Originally released in 1969 that double LP was a revolutionary step forward, redefining and expanding the genre's borders. In the course of history several other noticeable drums-trumpet duet albums were also recorded. The idea behind this album is an imaginary double LP project, which embodies a series of imaginary duets between Blackwell and other Free Jazz Giants. Both Elisha and Campbell are already established names on the scene and Free Jazz connoisseurs most probably already came across their work – if not it's about time to remedy that mistake. Elisha's ability to play the drums as a melodic instrument (as opposed to a purely rhythmic one) is truly remarkable. His extended solo passages never cease to amaze as far as inventiveness and sensitivity are concerned. Campbell's minimalism, combined with his complete command of his instrument is highly effective and artistically sublime. Their duets are wonderful example of two musicians listening to each other at all times, giving up their egos in order to achieve a fusion of their powers and a higher level of unity. I can't imagine any Free Jazz enthusiast not finding this album worthy of their attention. Great stuff!

 

 

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This is an album by a French trio Mix City led by keyboardist Jean-Patrick Cosset with bassist Simon Mary and drummer Patrick Jouannic, which plays a great set of original compositions, mostly by the leader. The keyboardist plays mostly the Hammond organ and the sound is pretty retro, so overall the album sound like it was recorded way back in the 1970s, which of course is a good thing. Very Jazzy, groovy and often Canterbury-esque, this is a very unusual album for the splendid Soleil Zeuhl label, but certainly one that is worthy of serious investigation. Highly recommended!

 

 

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After almost ten years of silence, the great French group One Shot, one of the best Zeuhl acts around, returns with another live recording, this time recorded in Japan. Although the group's members visited Japan before as members of Magma, they never played as One Shot there. This recording features the new keyboards player Bruno Ruder, who replaced the founding member Emanuel Borghi and who is of course the current Magma keyboards player. They play a set of original compositions, mostly by bassist Philippe Bussonnet, and as usual the improvisations are stellar. The usual mixture of Prog, Fusion and Zeuhl that works for them always certainly works wander this time as well and every Zeuhl fan will enjoy this album immensely! A must!

 

 

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This is the 1^st album by the great French Zeuhl group Eider Stellaire, led by drummer Michel Le Bars, which is often considered as one of the true gems of the genre. It embodies the Zeuhl spirit, presenting music which combines elements of modern European Classical music, Rock and Jazzy improvisations. The band often played at the same venues as Magma of course. The great instrumental work and the vocalese female vocals are, as usual, quite irresistible. This is also one of the rarest albums around, with the original vinyl only pressed in 300 copies and now being and ultra-rare collector's item. This new edition adds a great bonus track, but most importantly brings to life one of the greatest European Prog gems. Absolutely essential for every Zeuhl fan!

 

 

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This debut album by Polish ensemble Light Coorporation is a stunning revelation of musical genius present among the new generation of European musicians. Led by guitarist / composer Mariusz Sobanski, who composed all the music, the ensemble also includes saxophonists Michal Fetler (baritone and alto) and Michal Pijewski (tenor), violinist Robert Bielak, bassist Tom Struk (fretless bass) and drummer Milosh Krauz. Keyboardist Marcin Szczesny sits in as a guest musician. The music is a completely unique brand of RIO / avant-garde Prog, which is deeply rooted in the beginning of the movement (Henry Cow) but successfully updated to contemporary standards, both sonically and conceptually. Superbly matched and combined acoustic sounds of the reeds and electronic distortion from the guitar and keyboards, hypnotic rhythmic patters (similar to the Zeuhl movement) and dark melodic vistas create an overwhelming effect, which is completely fresh and unparalleled. Considering the fact that these are very young individuals and this is their debut recording one must wander about the possibilities of these gifted musicians in the future. No wander the prestigious ReR label released this album worldwide, especially since this kind of material suits their catalogue as a glove. On the band's site we can learn that their performances are usually accompanied by screening of video material, which seems highly appropriate, as this music has a very strong atmospheric / ambient content as well, which is usually ideal to be combined with visual material. But listening "only" to the music is also an immensely powerful and invigorating experience of rare magnificence and depth. I listened to the album for three consecutive times, being completely enchanted by it. I'm pretty sure the same will happen to most of the listeners. Of course such music requires repeated listening sessions to be discovered and uncovered in depth – as all great music does. It is rather obvious that this music is well beyond being recommended – it would (literally) be a crime if any serious music lover, regardless is he's a Prog or Jazz or RIO or Zeuhl fan if he was to miss this album! Such gems are so rare, that we must make everything in our power to make the world listen, especially since I can't recall hearing such great music in a very long time! This is a brilliant piece of intelligent music - chapeau Mariusz & co.

 

 

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This is the brilliant debut album by the Norwegian Prog group Wobbler, which definitely was one of the most significant Symphonic Prog releases of the last decade. Wobbler is a quintet based primarily on the extraordinary work of keyboardist Lars Fredrik Froislie, who plays an enormous array of keyboard instruments, including the mellotron and moog. The other members are lead singer Tony Johannessen, guitarist Morten Andreas Eriksen, bassist Kristian Karl Hultgren and drummer Martin Nordrum Kneppen. Several guest musicians also participate in the recording. The music is typical Scandinavian Prog, with dark atmosphere; long instrumental keyboards dominated passages and ornamentations by flute and other instruments. Altogether this is quite retro, but extremely well done and interesting. Followers of Scandinavian Prog will have a field day with this, as albums in this style are quite rare these days. An absolute must to any true Prog fan!

 

 

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This is the excellent debut album by the US Fusion band Bad Dog U, led by guitarist Ernie Denov with keyboardist Rick Snyder, bassist Dave Farley and drummer Rick Vitek. The album consists of new material recorded at the time of the album's release, as well as some of the demo material recorded earlier by the group. Of the nine tracks present, Denov composed six and the rest are by Snyder. The music is an excellent example of Jazz-Rock fusion, presenting great compositions and perfect execution. Although almost completely obscure, this album deserves a much wider recognition than it ever received, as very few contemporary Fusion albums are as good as this one. A must to all Fusion fans!

 

 

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This is the 4^th and last album by the great Japanese proto-Prog group Happenings Four, which was definitely one of the most interesting and revolutionary Japanese groups of the late 1960s / early 1970s. Led by the brilliant keyboardist Kuni Kawachi, the group also included vocalist Tome Kitagawa, bassist Pepe Yoshihiro and drummer Chito Kawachi. On this album the band was expanded to a quintet with the addition of the guitarist Mizutani Kimio. The music is a wonderful mix of early Prog, Psychedelia, complex vocal arrangements and improvisational instrumental passages. In retrospect this stuff sounds absolutely superb and lost nothing of its beauty and fascination. An absolute must to all Japanese Prog fans and everybody interested in the early days of the genre. A true gem!

 

 

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After five years of silence the veteran US Prog group Djam Karet returns with a new album, which proves their relevancy again beyond a shadow of a doubt. The double-guitar lead by Mike Henderson and Mike Murray, keyboards by Gayle Ellett, bass by Aaron Kenyon and drums by Chuck Oken create powerful vistas between Fusion and Ambient, but completely uniquely Djam Karet, as always. The music was composed collectively by the band members, except for one tune borrowed from the legendary Richard Pinhas. This is altogether another triumphant piece of this band's musical heritage, which is paralleled by no other. Most warmly recommended!

 

 

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This is the 3^rd album by excellent US Prog / Fusion band Helmet Of Gnats, which is one of the best and sadly little know groups of their kind. It took them six years to come up with this superb follow up to their previous eponymous album, but the long wait was truly worth it. The music, which includes the almost 40 minutes long epic title track, is fantastic, as are the performances by guitarist Chris Fox, keyboardist Matthew Bocchino, bassist Wayne Zito and drummer Mark Conese. The recording and sound quality is also spectacular. An absolute must for all Fusion fans!

 

 

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As a result of the passing of original Soft Machine member Hugh Hopper, the Soft Machine Legacy group needed to update their membership, replacing him with another legendary bassist and ex-Soft Machine member Roy Babbington. The remaining three musicians, saxophonist Theo Travis, guitarist John Etheridge and drummer John Marshall continue the mighty quest of keeping the music and the memory of the original Canterbury heroes. The music is mostly new, but some older pieces are obviously played with new arrangements. The album was recorded live during the band's European tour and this music is after all always better when played live. Essential for Soft Machine and Legacy fans!

 

 

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This is an excellent debut album by US Prog / Fusion trio Fibonacci Sequence, led by guitarist Michael J. Butzen who also wrote most of the all original music, with keyboardist Jeffrey Schuelke and drummer Thomas Ford. Several guest musicians also lend them a hand. The music is fresh and full of energy and the trio plays the music with vigor and elegance. They are definitely one of the very few contemporary bands that have originality and a sense of direction. Definitely worth investigating!

 

 

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This wonderful box set brings back to life a set of four albums and one EP by the Israeli singer Oshik Levy, who played a major role on the local Rock / Prog scene in the formative years of the genre. These are "A Little Quiet!", "Oshik Levy", "Where Did We Go Wrong" and "New And A Bit Old", recorded between 1970 and 1979. The songs were composed by the best songwriters of the time, like Shalom Hanoch, Matti Caspi and later on Naftali Alter and the players include the legendary Churchills and most of the other famous musicians of that period. Some of Israeli early Rock and Prog best material is included on these albums. The newly remastered mini-sleeve edition is an absolute must for every fan of Israeli music!

 

 

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This is the 2^nd album by Israeli Prog group Melechet, which follows the debut released four years earlier. Again this is a concept album, and as the title suggests just the first part of an even bigger project. Complex instrumentation, mostly acoustic and subdued (male and female) vocal parts unveil a somewhat somber atmosphere, but the album is beautifully melodic and interesting enough to require repeated listening. In many respects the album is representative of the contemporary Israeli Prog scene, which returns to the old values of good melody and delicate delivery. Israeli Prog fans will find it definitely interesting.

 

 

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The tiny British Trunk Records label (owned by Jonny Trunk) is an endless source of discovery for a serious collector, specializing in unearthing ultra rare (or rarer) recordings and bringing them back to light. For specialist in British Jazz Trunk Records have some incredible offers, like the lost album by pianist / composer Michael Garrick, called "Moonscape". This album offers another Garrick gem, the impossible to find "A Case Of Jazz" EP, recorded at the same year and performed by the Garrick quartet with trumpeter Shake Keane, bassist Coleridge Goode and drummer Bobby Orr, which is a superb example of the early Garrick as well as the early British modern Jazz. In addition, another EP, which was never released commercially, includes four tracks by Keane, two recorded with a choir and two with an Orchestra, both highlighting his incredible tone and feel, unparalleled by any other British player since. Together these eight tracks are a wonderful document of the era and an indispensable part of any serious British Jazz collection!

 

 

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The tiny British Trunk Records label (owned by Jonny Trunk) is an endless source of discovery for a serious collector, specializing in unearthing ultra rare (or rarer) recordings and bringing them back to light. For specialist in British Jazz Trunk Records have some incredible offers, like this incredible long out of print album by saxophonist / composer Kenny Graham, who was one of the great leaders of the British scene in the 1950s and early 1960s. This album presents two suites composed by Graham and performed by his expanded Band, which included some of the greatest players on the scene, like pianist Stan Tracey, drummer Phil Seamen and many others. The first of these suites is based on the music of the eccentric American composer Moondog, and the second is Graham's "answer". The music is absolutely superb, eons ahead of their time and so unusual that one tends to check the recording date repeatedly in disbelief. What a surprising piece of the British Jazz history. This album is a wonderful document of the era and an indispensable part of any serious British Jazz collection!

 

 

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The tiny British Trunk Records label (owned by Jonny Trunk) is an endless source of discovery for a serious collector, specializing in unearthing ultra rare (or rarer) recordings and bringing them back to light. For specialist in Jazz Trunk Records have some incredible offers, like this incredible privately recorded album from 1968, which includes the music by Jonathan Klein – a seventeen years old youth at the time, performed by an incredible ensemble of leading American Jazz players: trumpeter Thad Jones, saxophonist Jerome Richardson, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Grady Tate. Klein plays French horn and is the last member of the sextet. The music was conceived to be performed at a synagogue and was accompanied by singers singing verses from the Bible. Musically it is an incredible piece of modern Jazz, performed by the best musicians at the time. But the album is so completely obscure, that none of the discographies of the Jazz Giants involved lists it. So, as Jonny himself puts it, "Hallelujah", prize the Lord for making such a recording at the time and now having it back in circulation! Incredibly wonderful stuff!

 

 

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Profesjonalizm is the name of the new sextet created and led by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Marcin Masecki, one of the greatest talents on the local scene in the recent years and the enfant terrible / eccentric artiste spearheading the Jazz anti-establishment, a role that fits him like a glove. During my recent visit in Poland I was lucky to be invited to the concert the band performed in a dinky Warsaw restaurant called Mozaika, which remarkably managed to sustain the atmosphere (and look, not to mention the service) of the 1970s Socrealizm, completely oblivious to the changes around. The concert celebrated the release of this album, so the music was simply a live version of what is included here, in its entirety. I must say that I was completely unaware of what was about to happen musically and therefore the experience was a total culture shock, even though I am a difficult man to surprise in view of the heavy burden of my age upon me. Masecki and his cohorts: trumpeter Kamil Szuszkiewicz, saxophonists Michal Gorczynski and Tomasz Duda, bassist Piotr Domagalski and drummer Jerzy Rogiewicz played a stunning set of outlandish music (all composed by Masecki), which is so original, unique and devilishly clever that one's mind is completely boggled. How the hell did they manage to do it at all (live!) is beyond comprehension, but nevertheless they did it with a spectacular result. Listen to the studio version herein and imagine this being played live to get the scope of the task ahead. As to the music itself, I'm not even trying to start describing it, as it is well beyond the scope of words (as most great music is). Suffice to say that it is a suite of sorts, in seven parts, which tells the story of Jazz from its earliest days (Ragtime) to now, flowing like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie, constantly (and unexpectedly) changing rhythms and scales, themes and patterns, but remarkably and completely coherently keeping a brilliant sense of unity. The rhythm section is absolutely dazzling, managing the impossible task of gluing this passionate and untamed music together. Masecki's piano work is a chapter in itself, which is worth studying separately, but it serves the role of the thematic / melodic beacon pointing the way ahead for of this music. During a short chat before the concert I asked Masecki about his musical influences; he mentioned some usual suspects but emphasized Thelonious Monk and Conlon Nancarrow, two superb examples of total non-conformism, suiting Masecki's image perfectly. The problem with non-conformism is often that eccentric artists become often self-centered and completely uncommunicative, which luckily enough does not apply to Masecki. In spite of all the lunacy herein, this is (amazingly) quite an easy album to listen to, against all odds. When I asked Masecki as to the nature of his music, he replied: "We are playing entertaining music" – well, he was after all right, in his own crazy way. Now if anybody is wandering about the album's title, I must assure you that the album has absolutely nothing to do with the great Polish National composer Frederic Chopin. This is one more of Masecki's clever stunts, expressing his disgust and ridicule of the Polish Jazz scene's exploitation of Chopin's music in the recent years. Using this tongue in cheek / sarcastic reference Masecki protests against the "One can't go wrong by playing Chopin" attitude, where in fact one can go wrong and as the plentitude of available recorded evidence proves one does in most cases. So what do we have here: a work of a mad genius, a wizard, a prophet? Who am I to judge? Suffice to say I love this music, every note of it and most of all the chutzpah and complete disregard of convention – exactly the qualities I admire in Artists. Bless you, Marcin Masecki!

 

 

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This is the debut album by Polish Jazz quartet Biotone, led by trombonist Michal Tomaszczyk, who also wrote all the music present herein. The other members of the quartet are saxophonist Przemyslaw Florczak, bassist Andrzej Zielak and drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski. These four young musicians are all typical examples of the new generation, which is slowly establishing themselves on the, rather crowded one must say, Polish Jazz scene. This scene was always exploding with talent and is now overflowing, unfortunately not being developed enough, dynamic enough and flexible enough to contain all that incredible influx of talent flowing in at an ever increasing paste. One must admire Tomaszczyk for his self-confidence, as a trombone-led quartet is a very uncommon phenomenon in Jazz history. Even the greatest trombonists were usually satisfied with the role of a sideman, but Tomaszczyk boldly presents his approach, and shows us all an upper hand. The quartet has a fresh, well balanced sound and all the members play excellently throughout. The rhythm section is inventive and fully participates in the music-making process together with the two front soloists. The compositions are also very good, both melodically and rhythmically, presenting an interesting compositional palette, which at this stage already shows individuality and character. But of course the key point of the album is the solo work of the leader, who manages to make the most of his difficult and often ungrateful instrument. His performances are absolutely first class from top to bottom and as someone, who has a lot of trombone "mileage" (after producing several trombone-centered albums) I can definitely say this is first class work and more importantly a great promise for the future. Altogether a superb debut, worth investigating!

 

 

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