Record Reviews

JOHNNY GRIFFIN ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.11 POLSKIE RADIO 1630-1631 (Barcode: 5907812246303) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 Released: 2014 This is the eleventh installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here on two CDs presents recordings made in 1963 at the sixth Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw by the legendary American saxophonist Johnny GriffinFind albums by this artist and his quintet. Prior to this recordings Griffin, like many of his Afro-American colleagues, moved to Europe, where Jazz was experiencing an explosive development and was considered an Art Form and racial discrimination was almost completely absent. The quintet includes fellow American pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist, who settled in Europe a couple of years earlier, Dutch guitarist Wim OvergaauwFind albums by this artist, Dutch bassist Ruud JacobsFind albums by this artist and another American, drummer Robert Joseph (real name Robert Joseph Durham or Bobby DurhamFind albums by this artist as he was known to all – Polskie Radio should have known this). In fact the quintet never actually performed as a quintet, but rather as two quartets, one with guitar and without drums and the other with drums and without guitar. The two CDs, spanning well over two hours, present only nine tracks, all of which are Jazz standards, all running between ten and almost thirty minutes, with extended improvisations, mostly by Griffin, but also some mighty fine work by Drew. Stylistically this is almost all Bebop at its finest and most sophisticated revelation. Griffin was at his absolute peak at that time and his playing is nothing short of stunning. His technical proficiency and superb feel for the music is simply breathtaking. Drew´s subtle accompaniment and beautiful solos are also priceless. All the rest of the crew is also outstanding. In retrospect this music is simply divine from start to finish, a painful reminder that they don´t make music like this any more. This is definitely one of the finest recordings by Griffin, and one of the best volumes of this series. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Updated: 01/06/2018Posted:

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

OSCAR PETERSON ~ EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY FRIENDS MPS 4029759103257 (Barcode: 4029759103257) ~ CANADA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 - 1971 Released: 2015 This Box Set presents the reissues of the six albums ("ActionFind albums with this title", "Girl TalkFind albums with this title", "The Way I Really PlayFind albums with this title", "My Favorite InstrumentFind albums with this title", "Mellow MoodFind albums with this title" and "Travelin` OnFind albums with this title") recorded by the legendary Canadian pianist Oscar PetersonFind albums by this artist between 1963 and 1968. The music was recorded at the private villa owned by German music producer Hans Georg Brunner-SchwerFind albums by this artist during a series of house concerts entitled "Exclusively For My Friends", which were recorded using the private studio located in the villa. When Brunner-Schwer started the now legendary MPSFind albums on this label label in 1968, he released these six albums on his new label with great artistic and commercial success. The Box Set also includes two later releases, which collect previously unreleased material from these sessions, as well as from later sessions by Peterson recorded for MPS, entitled "The Lost Tapes 1Find albums with this title" & "The Lost Tapes 2Find albums with this title". Most of the music was recorded in a classic piano trio format and features bassists Ray BrownFind albums by this artist and Sam JonesFind albums by this artist and drummers Ed ThigpenFind albums by this artist, Bobby DurhamFind albums by this artist and Louis HayesFind albums by this artist, except for "My Favorite Instrument", which is a solo piano album and a couple of tracks on the "The Lost Tapes 2" which feature other players. Although Peterson is often considered as "one of the greatest Jazz pianists", mostly by American Jazz critics and writers, this is definitely a big exaggeration. He was undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient Jazz pianists and was loved by many Jazz fans for his smooth and accessible approach, but in retrospect, his decision to say deeply within the Jazz mainstream during the period when Jazz was moving rapidly forward, made his overall contribution to Jazz rather marginal. His style was always flashy and extremely pretentious, which was sometimes hard to bear. These splendidly recorded albums and their perfect execution did not save the music from aging rather ungracefully, and today they sound sort of banal and a bit dull overall. Of course connoisseurs of classic piano trio Jazz recordings will find here plenty of satisfying moments, but more up to date listeners might find this quite passé. Take your pick! Side Note The legendary German MPSFind albums on this label (Musik Produktion Schwarzwald) label, founded by Hans Georg Brunner-SchwerFind albums by this artist (HGBS) in 1963, first as SABAFind albums on this label Records and later on from 1968 as MPS Records, was the most important independent European record label, which had an enormous contribution to the development of European Jazz. For many years MPS cooperated with the legendary German producer / author Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist, my Friend and Mentor, whose visionary approach and open-mindedness brought the crème de la crème of the Jazz (in the broadest meaning of the word) musicians from all over the world to the label. Between 1963 and 1983 MPS produced about five hundred albums, many of which are among the most important Jazz recordings on this planet. In 1983 the MPS catalog was sold to UniversalFind albums on this label, which sadly resulted in all those artistic treasures to almost disappear from the face of the earth – a situation not only tragic but culturally criminal. Universal reissued a part of the MPS albums (probably 128 titles) on CD between 1999 and 2011 under the "Most Perfect Sound Edition" moniker. Since 2008 the German Promising MusicFind albums on this label label released some of the MPS recordings, but at a very slow pace. In 2014 the German company Edel AG bought the MPS catalogue from Universal and released a series of 25 MPS albums on CD with a new slipcase graphic design, which brought all those excellent albums back to life. In 2015 Edel AG started to record and release new albums under the MPS moniker. In 2016 Edel AG released a series of 10 classic MPS albums on CD, which were beautifully remastered and re-packaged, presenting the original artwork and liner notes, as well as new liner notes and photographs. An obvious labor of love, these reissues are what the MPS catalogue truly deserves. This project was continued in 2017 with another series of 10 classic MPS albums released on CD. In later years some new reissues were released sporadically. Over the years many SABA / MPS albums were reissued in Japan, which is often the only available source for these albums today, but that is a story in itself.

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: 20/05/2018

CD 8 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.13 POLSKIE RADIO 1663 (Barcode: 5907812246631) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 Released: 2014 This is the thirteenth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here presents a second volume of recordings made in 1963 during the sixth Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw. It starts with two lengthy tracks, both treatments of classic Jazz standards, by the legendary American saxophonist Johnny GriffinFind albums by this artist and his quartet. Prior to this recordings Griffin, like many of his Afro-American colleagues, moved to Europe, where Jazz was experiencing an explosive development and was considered an Art Form and racial discrimination was almost completely absent. The quartet includes fellow American pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist, who settled in Europe a couple of years earlier, Dutch guitarist Wim OvergaauwFind albums by this artist and Dutch bassist Ruud JacobsFind albums by this artist. Followers of this series are of course aware of the fact that the eleventh volume already presents a double CD with material recorded by Griffin at the same festival with the same musicians. Personally I´d have preferred to have that release expanded into a triple CD set and have all the Griffin sessions together, but I´m not the series´ editor. Next come three tracks by the Danish trumpeter Allan BotschinskyFind albums by this artist and his quintet with American born saxophonist Ray PittsFind albums by this artist, who moved to Denmark in 1962, pianist Atti BjoernFind albums by this artist (name most probably miss spelt), bassist Benny NielsenFind albums by this artist and American drummer Robert Joseph (real name Robert Joseph Durham or Bobby DurhamFind albums by this artist as he was known to all – Polskie Radio should have known this, especially since I already made this comment / correction on the a.m. Griffin album – please read people! The music is all original and includes two compositions by Pitts and one by Botschinsky. It is typical bee bop, well played, especially by the leader who was a first rate trumpeter, but not extraordinary in any sense. The two tracks closing the album are the most interesting for the Polish Jazz fans and they present the Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist quartet with pianist Wlodek GulgowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Tadeusz WojcikFind albums by this artist and drummer Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist, the same quartet that would record several months later in Britain the legendary album "LolaFind albums with this title", the first significant exposure of Polish Jazz behind the Iron Curtain. Both are original compositions by Namyslowski, the first would be the title track of the British LP and the second seems to be the only appearance of this composition on record. These are the initial steps of the first golden decade of Polish Jazz, and as such their documentation is priceless, as is the music. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend