Record Reviews

JANA KOUBKOVA ~ BOSA GALEN 19 148 (Barcode: 8594042901576) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 1985 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of a wonderful album by Czech Jazz vocalist Jana KoubkovaFind albums by this artist, which is basically a solo vocal recording using multi-tracked voice and a plethora of magnificent vocalese paraphernalia, with a limited instrumental accompaniment supplied mainly by percussion Master Alan VitousFind albums by this artist (yes the brother of Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist) and involving also pianists Karel RuzickaFind albums by this artist and Zdenek KalhousFind albums by this artist, bassists Alexej CharvatFind albums by this artist and Vit FialaFind albums by this artist and a few others playing percussion instruments as well as a chorus adding "background noises". The album presents seven original compositions by Koubkova and a medley of songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, which is the title track. This remastered edition offers superb sound quality. The music is an absolute revelation, showing the infinite musical potential achievable by using the human voice in an instrumental capacity. Obviously somewhat similar to the work by other Jazz vocalist exploring this direction like Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist and others, Koubkova´s approach is unique in many ways, not only because of the use of percussion accompaniment but also vocally and conceptually. It is perhaps less Avant-Garde oriented than what the a.m. vocalists demonstrated and more melodic, but surely not less challenging or innovative. This album is an important instructional tool for contemporary young Jazz vocalists, who sadly rarely take a step beyond the beaten tracks of standard vocal approach, repeating the tradition ad nauseam rather than exploring new possibilities. It appears that there is much to be learned from the past. The album also demonstrates the incredibly high level of musicianship behind the Iron Curtain, which despite the hardships of censorship and political domination of the Socialist regime managed to flourish, often not less impressively then what was happening in the West. Czechoslovakia and Poland led the evolution / revolution of the European Jazz idiom in Eastern Europe and produced a monumental body of recorded music over time, and contained to do so after the liberation from the Socialist shackles, with a vengeance. Side Note The Czech publishing house and record label GalenFind albums on this label, run by Lubomir HoudekFind albums by this artist, is another player on the local scene, reissuing historical recordings from the deep vaults of the SupraphonFind albums on this label / PantonFind albums on this label labels, supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture. This commendable initiative is a wonderful example of the preservation of Cultural heritage. Hopefully the label's future releases will include information in English in the album's booklets, so that Jazz enthusiasts around the world might be allowed to share the knowledge. For more reissues of Czechoslovak Jazz (and Rock) see also the releases by Indies Happy TrailsFind albums on this label Records.

Updated: 01/06/2020Posted: 01/06/2020

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

NEJTEK / HRUBY / HONZAK / SOLTIS ~ PHOENIX AMPLION 152001 (Barcode: 8594179220021) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a quartet comprising of four experienced Czech Jazz musicians: keyboardist Michal NejtekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Pavel HrubyFind albums by this artist, bassist Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SoltisFind albums by this artist. The concept, conceived by the label’s owner and producer Alexej CharvatFind albums by this artist, was to gather the musicians without any preparation and let them improvise together, creating spontaneous compositions. The album presents nine tracks with eight compositions (one repeated twice), and offers a spectacular sound quality, as usual with recordings made at the SONO Records studio under the supervision of Charvat and help from Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist. Despite the fact that the music is completely improvised and spontaneous, the result offers a remarkable melodic content, which makes listening to the music not only “easier”, but above all instantly acceptable and embraceable. Of course some of the improvisations are pretty “wild”, but the music stays at all times completely coherent and “organized” and even well behaved, which is pretty astonishing, and could be labelled as oxymoronic “Organized Freedom”. In the liner notes of the album all four musicians state their opinions concerning free improvisation, which are very enlightening and to some extent also explain the success of the music making found on this album. Obviously such music requires a lot of mutual respect and complete abandonment of the respective egos, as well as a lot of experience and open-mindedness, all of which can be found here aplenty. Personally I think that everything works so well thanks to Honzak’s incredible performances not only as a virtuoso bassist, but mostly as creator of the adhesiveness that keeps everything together, an invisible “dark matter” without each the universe would collapse. Of course all the musicians contribute absolutely wonderfully, but Honzak is for me the pivotal ingredient. Overall this is a stunning piece of music, which opens a window into the incredible Czech Jazz scene, which has truly a lot to offer and is worth following, same as the Jazz made in its southern neighbor Poland, which gains more worldwide popularity lately. The delicate and deeply European aesthetics that prevails over most of the Czech Jazz is a unique phenomenon deserving a much wider worldwide recognition that it enjoys at the moment, hopefully to be improved in the future. Fans of Improvised Music at its best incarnation should be delighted with this album, which is naturally wholeheartedly recommended.

Updated: 12/02/2021Posted: 12/02/2021

CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend