Record Reviews

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ SARAJEVO (SUITE) HARMONIA MUNDI 13039 (Barcode: 3366750130396) ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 1993 Released: 1994 This is a brilliant and completely obscure European Jazz & Poetry album, which features a large group of creative Artists, dedicated to the commemorative effort of the bombing and destruction of the Bosnian city of Sarajevo during the Yugoslav Wars. The original music accompanies texts by Bosnian poet Abdulah SidranFind albums by this artist. The participating musicians include British Lindsay CooperFind albums by this artist, Phil MintonFind albums by this artist, Kate WestbrookFind albums by this artist, Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist, Chris BiscoeFind albums by this artist, French Henri TexierFind albums by this artist and Louis SclavisFind albums by this artist, German Wolfgang PushingFind albums by this artist, Dutch Willem BreukerFind albums by this artist and many others. The music is absolutely sensational and combined with the deeply penetrating texts offers a shocking protest against war, political extremism, cruelty, intolerance and injustice. Musically it presents mostly contemporary Jazz themes sprinkled with Balkan folkloristic accents, but also some orchestral, Avant-Garde and Classical pieces, all creating a collage of music and words, which is impossible to stay indifferent to. Sadly, this is a rare example of protest in contemporary music, in contrast to what was happening in music in the 1960s, when the social / political protest was deeply intertwined in the music mainstream. Humanity is slowly becoming indifferent and therefore a project like this one is especially important and worth being remembered. Overall, this is an absolutely marvelous piece of music and poetry, which is also an example of Artists unified by a political issue, which needs to tackled. Performed by some of the best European musicians, actors, producers and other creative contributors, this album is as important for its aesthetics as for its moral significance. Sadly, it is extremely difficult to find a copy if this album today, but every effort to do so will be richly rewarded. A true gem of European Culture!

Updated: 25/06/2023Posted: 25/06/2023

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

PHIL WOODS / EUROPEAN RHYTHM MACHINE ~ ALIVE AND WELL IN PARIS EMI 724353965426 (Barcode: 724353965426) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1968 Released: 2002 This is a reissue / remaster of the debut album by the great American saxophonist / composer / bandleader Phil WoodsFind albums by this artist, recorded with his European rhythm section under the moniker European Rhythm MachineFind albums by this artist, which includes Swiss pianist George GruntzFind albums by this artist, French bassist Henri TexierFind albums by this artist and Swiss drummer Daniel HumairFind albums by this artist. The album presents five tracks, two of which are originals by Woods and three are standards. Woods was one of the first American musicians, who discovered Europe as a source of brilliant Jazz musicians, and he toured and recorded in Europe extensively in the late 1960s and early 1970s, after he moved to Paris, where he stayed between 1968 and 1972. Although the music is pretty straightforward mainstream Jazz / Bebop, Woods’s incredible fluency and beautiful tone, and the superb performances by the rhythm section, make this an example of what swinging is all about, leaving everything that happened on the other side of the pond far behind. Gruntz, Texier and Humair are all leaders of the European scene, which was just exploding at the time this album was recorded, and stayed as pillars of the Jazz activity for many years, recording hundreds of brilliant albums in the process. Overall, this is one of the best possible marriages between American and European Bebop ever as are all the albums recorded by this quartet, and all of them lost absolutely nothing of its vitality and pure genius over time. A timeless classic!

Updated: 05/07/2024Posted: 05/07/2024

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend