Record Reviews
8 Reviews Found. Use search to find more reviews or follow the links in the review text.
  | MORDY FERBER ~ ALL THE WAY TO SENDAI
ENJA 6030 (Barcode: 063757603023) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1990 Released: 1990
This is the debut album as a leader by Israeli guitarist / composer Mordy FerberFind albums by this artist, recorded with a spectacular international lineup, which includes Japanese trumpeter Tiger OkoshiFind albums by this artist, American saxophonists Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, keyboardists American Brad HatfieldFind albums by this artist and Swiss Matthias GohlFind albums by this artist, bassists Czech Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist and French Gildas BocleFind albums by this artist, American drummer Marty RichardsFind albums by this artist and Brazilian percussionist / vocalist Nana VasconcelosFind albums by this artist. The album presents six tracks, all of which are original compositions by Ferber.
Ferber, born in 1958 near Haifa, was one of the many young Israeli musicians, who frequented my home while growing up and getting into Jazz, partly under my influence. By the end of the 1970s and in early 1980s Ferber became a most sought after Israeli session guitarists and took part in recording many legendary albums at the time. He left to study at Berklee, like many other Israeli Jazz musicians, and decided to stay in the US, visiting Israel occasionally.
The music floats between melodic contemporary Jazz and some more Fusion influenced pieces, all beautifully put together and performed by this highly talented team. His guitar performances are nothing short of stellar and the entire album is a great piece of delightful music, which sadly never achieved the proper attention on the US scene, which has always been flooded by way too many mediocre releases. He recorded several more albums but his output sadly does not reflect his great talent, which is a great pity.
Overall, this is a beautiful album, full of great music and spectacular playing, which is criminally little known both in Israel and on the global scene. Of course guitar enthusiasts should be primarily happy with this music. A great piece of personal nostalgia for me.
| | Updated: 11/08/2024Posted: 11/08/2024 | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | JOACHIM KUHN ~ NIGHTLINE NEW YORK
IN-AKUSTIK 869 (Barcode: 4001985008698) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1981 Released: 2000
This is a reissue / remaster of the album by German Jazz pianist / composer / bandleader Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist, recorded in NY with an all American team, which included saxophonists Michael BreckerFind albums by this artist and Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, bassist Eddie GomezFind albums by this artist and drummer Billy HartFind albums by this artist. Percussionist Mark NauseefFind albums by this artist guests on two tracks. The album presents five tracks, all composed by Kuhn.
The music is a brilliant display of modern Jazz, performed by some of the best American Jazz musicians active at the time, and highly charged by the presence of Kuhn, who is taking both the music and the performances on a completely new lever both energetically and aesthetically.
The music is based on solid and beautifully melodic themes, and performed within the standard Jazz framework, but Kuhn’s piano playing is well beyond the ordinary and fills the aural space with incredibly dense arpeggios and sophisticated harmonics. The combined result of the “well behaved” Americans and the “wild” European, who originates from far-out Avant-Garde but proves that he can be seemingly as “tamed” as the best traditionalist, is simply epic.
In many respects this album is a classic example of the colossal difference between American and European Jazz, a dissonance which Kuhn manages to put to work together perfectly. In culinary terms it’s a bit like adding pepper to chocolate, which might have been shocking and unthought-of, when proposed for the first time, but soon found many admirers.
Overall, although being a rather singular episode in Kuhn’s extraordinary recording legacy, and probably one of his most obscure albums, this is a superb piece of music and a highly educational document of the Euro-American Jazz relations. It is, of course, an absolute must to all serious Jazz lovers.
| | Updated: 22/02/2025Posted: 22/02/2025 | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | ROLF KUHN ~ INTERNAL EYES
INTUITION 750447332829 (Barcode: 750447332829) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2000 - 2001 Released: 2001
This is a fine album by German clarinetist / composer Rolf KuhnFind albums by this artist, one of my all time favorite musicians, recorded with members of the younger generation of the German Jazz scene: organist Frank ChastenierFind albums by this artist, bassist Detlev BeierFind albums by this artist and drummer Wolfgang HaffnerFind albums by this artist and several guest stars: American saxophonist Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, Swedish pianist Claes CronaFind albums by this artist, French pianist Martial SolalFind albums by this artist, American guitarist Chuck LoebFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter ErskineFind albums by this artist. Together they perform ten tunes, five of which are originals by Rolf Kuhn, three are by Mintzer and the remaining two are standards. The album was partly recorded by the legendary sound engineer / producer Walter Quintus and the sound quality is of course excellent.
The music on this album is mostly mainstream Jazz, which pays tribute to the American Jazz tradition, with elegant and sophisticated touches of European Jazz. When Mintzer plays up front, everything sounds American and when Kuhn plays up front everything sounds European, which is hardly surprising. Same can be said about Crona and Solal, who come from two very different Jazz environments. The two tracks that feature Loeb are Fusion oriented. In short this album embraces both the traditional approach and the modern one, treating them both with respect and as a result presents Kuhn as a versatile, relevant figure despite his advanced age.
Kuhn´s clarinet sound, which has been his trademark for decades, is absolutely unique, combining the traditional Jazz approach originating in the early Jazz days and European modernism. Kuhn, who often joins forces with his pianist brother Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist, produced a substantial and consistently excellent body of recorded work over time, which in retrospect is an integral part of the European Jazz and one of its finest facets.
This is one of the most accessible and straightforward albums that Kuhn recorded during his extended career and as such is highly recommended to listeners who are not familiar with his work, perhaps serving as an introduction to the Rolf Kuhn universe, which is vast and versatile. Definitely worth exploring!
| | Updated: 05/02/2016Posted: 05/02/2016 | CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
  | ARTURO SANDOVAL ~ DEAR DIZ
CONCORD 33020 ~ CUBA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012
This is a wonderful tribute album to the legendary trumpeter / composer Dizzy GillespieFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of Bebop and Jazz most important innovators. This loving project is executed by Cuban trumpeter / composer Arturo SandovalFind albums by this artist, who always considered Diz as a father figure. Sandoval expressed his gratitude to the man is his book "Dizzy Gillespie – The Man Who Changed My Life" and this album is in many respects an extension of this book. Diz of course helped Sandoval to escape from Cuba and move to the US and later in the process of establishing a name for himself on the US scene.
Sandoval selected ten Jazz standards, nine of which were composed or co-composed by Diz and added a song especially written by him for this album. All the music was arranged in contemporary fashion, using many different settings, utilizing an orchestra and even a string quartet. The players are simply the crème de la crème of the American scene and the special guests / soloist include many legendary Jazz giants, such as vibraphonist Gary BurtonFind albums by this artist, organist Joey DeFrancescoFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist and many more.
All this music is obviously timeless, but hearing it in these beautiful arrangements and in contemporary sonic setting gives them a new dimension and sounds simply marvelous. I can´t imagine any Jazz connoisseur not enjoying this music, even if it is somewhat retro oriented. After all this is a tribute to the sublime Jazz tradition, which still sound as perfect as it did decades ago. Brilliant!
| | | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | MIROSLAV VITOUS ~ UNIVERSAL SYNCOPATIONS II
ECM 2013 (Barcode: 602517183575) ~ CZECHOSLOVAKIA ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion
Recorded: 2004 - 2005 Released: 2007
This album, subtitled "Music for ensemble, orchestra and choir", is the second project by Czech virtuoso bassist / composer Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist recorded at the Universal Syncopation Studios in Italy, hence the title. However, the music is quite different from what the previous album offers, being much more contemporary Classical inclined, as well as using certain World Music elements, all pre-composed and arranged. The cast consists of nine musicians playing in defferent settings, with saxophonists Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, Gary CampbellFind albums by this artist and Bob MalachFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Randy BreckerFind albums by this artist, bandoneón player Daniele Di BonaventuraFind albums by this artist, singer Vesna Vasko-CaceresFind albums by this artist, drummers Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist and Adam NussbaumFind albums by this artist and Vitous on bass. Serious music lovers will find this very interesting for sure, and I recommend some intense listening here, but all well rewarded. Warmly recommended!
| | | CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend |
|
