Record Reviews
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  | BILL EVANS ~ SYMBIOSIS
MPS 4029759115489 (Barcode: 4029759115489) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion
Recorded: 1974 Released: 2016
This is a reissue of the seminal album by American pianist / composer Bill EvansFind albums by this artist, which was his only album for MPSFind albums on this label, recorded with his trio featuring bassist Eddie GomezFind albums by this artist and drummer Marty MorellFind albums by this artist and accompanied by an Orchestra conducted by the legendary German composer / arranger / conductor Claus OgermanFind albums by this artist, who also composed and arranged the two-movement concerto performed by the trio and the Orchestra. The Orchestra included members of the New York PhilharmonicFind albums by this artist and many top American Jazz musicians, like saxophonist Phil WoodsFind albums by this artist, flautist Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Marvin StammFind albums by this artist and many others.
The music is a sensational example of early Jazz-Classical Fusion, combining elements of Twentieth Century European Classical Music and Jazz, masterly composed and arranged by Ogerman, who was one of the greatest orchestrators of his time and who boldly combined Classical music with Rock, World Music and Jazz, like no others before him and was revered by many musicians and music lovers around the world.
Evans, who was the greatest Jazz piano player ever, was a natural choice to become a part of this cross-genre project, as his enormous sensitivity and sublime virtuosity was always soaked with typical European melancholy and harmonic structures. His performances on this album, which is by far his most atypical recording, prove that his open-mindedness and vision allowed him to cope effortlessly with the unusual orchestral ambience this music required of him. His acoustic and electric piano sounds perfectly right every time it is heard on this album, creating an integral part of the overall orchestral reverberation.
The magnificent bass playing by Gomez is always side by side with Evans, who is known to have developed symbiotic relationships with his bassist over the years. Morell keeps a wonderfully precise and delicate time during the trio parts, as he always did with Evans. Since this was the Evans´ longest-lasting and most stable trio, no wonder their performances together are simply marvelous.
This awe-inspiring album lost absolutely nothing of its intrinsic beauty and expressiveness over the time, au contraire it still remains as one of the most perfect Jazz-Classical Fusion recordings ever, certainly as far as aesthetics, intelligence, sophistication and inspiration are concerned. Although probably Evans´ least know album, surely in America, it is definitely one of his most auspicious achievements, certainly more important from the historic point of view than his less ambitious, albeit always brilliant, albums recorded for the American market.
This is an absolute gem and an essential piece of every decent collection of good music. It is certainly wonderful to have it back in circulation.
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: 28/05/2018Posted: 30/11/2016 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend |
  | FREDDIE HUBBARD ~ FIRST LIGHT
CTI 512790 (Barcode: 5099751279020) ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1971 Released: 2001
This is Freddie HubbardFind albums by this artist`s 3rd album on the CTIFind albums on this label label with the same players (more or less) as the two previous albums, except this time accompanied by an orchestra (which also includes many famous jazz players, like Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist). The intricate orchestral arrangements (by the legendary Don SebeskyFind albums by this artist, who did arrangements for many CTI albums) add another aspect to the music, which is more mellow than the previous albums, but remains interesting and still definitely swings. Hubbard delivers some great solos on muted trumpet and this is probably one of his strongest recordings ever.
| | | CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | SERGIO MENDES ~ ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES
RHINO 081227975166 (Barcode: 081227975166) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz-World Fusion
Recorded: 1964 - 1968 Released: 2011
This Box Set collects the five albums by Brazilian pianist / composer Sergio MendesFind albums by this artist, released by AtlanticFind albums on this label Records between 1964 and 1968. During that same period Mendes also released albums for A&MFind albums on this label Records, mostly with a vocal group, which were much more popular and commercially successful. The Atlantic albums are more Jazz oriented and are one of the earliest examples of Jazz-World Fusion.
Mendes gained popularity as one a several Brazilian artists, who swept the American music scene in the mid 1960s, popularizing the wonderful bossa nova movement. He combined his own composition with those of dozens of great bossa nova songwriters in Brazil, popularizing them in the USA. His various group included mostly Brazilian players, such as bassist Sebastiao NetoFind albums by this artist and drummers Chico BateraFind albums by this artist and Chico De SouzaFind albums by this artist, but he was often supported by top American Jazz players like trumpeter Art FarmerFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Phil WoodsFind albums by this artist, flautist Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist and many others. Sometimes he also used extensive orchestral arrangements, which of course sounded pretty kitschy at times.
In retrospect Mendes and other Brazilian musicians / composers were responsible for opening up the American musical scene to new sonic and rhythmic vistas, which also invigorated the American Jazz scene immensely at the time. These albums include many of the classic bossa nova evergreens, and still are great fun to listen to, even if they sound somewhat outdated due to relatively simplistic production and problematic sound quality. For bossa nova fans these are absolute classics, others might like to take a trip down the nostalgia lane; whatever the reason, this music still has a lot of charm and zest. Recommended!
Side Note: The "Original Album SeriesFind albums with this title" by Warner Bros.Find albums on this label and the "Original Album ClassicsFind albums with this title" by SonyFind albums on this label are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases have been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard to the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires as to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. The Box Sets produced under these monikers have no discographical information whatsoever about the lineups, musician names, composers, lyricists, dates and places of recording, original release data and even basic copyright data (the last is strictly illegal BTW). Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, they are often edited and information (which would be in most cases too small to be readable) is removed. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap. Considering the fact how many times this music has been sold over and over again by the labels, this is a crying shame!
| | Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: | CD 5 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | HERMETO PASCOAL ~ HERMETO
FAR OUT 07 (Barcode: 5065007965214) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz-World Fusion
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2023
This is a reissue / remaster of the debut album as a leader by the Brazilian Jazz multi-instrumentalist / composer / bandleader Hermeto PascoalFind albums by this artist, recorded in NY with some top American Jazz musicians, like woodwinds players Joe FarrellFind albums by this artist and Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist, trumpeters Thad JonesFind albums by this artist and Ernie RoyalFind albums by this artist, bassist Ron CarterFind albums by this artist and the Royal Brazilian Jazz couple: vocalist Flora PurimFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Airto MoreiraFind albums by this artist, who moved to the US in the late 1960s, and who also co-produced the album. The album presents eight tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Hermeto Pascoal and one is by his older brother Jose Netto PascoalFind albums by this artist, all brilliantly arranged and orchestrated by Hermeto Pascoal, who plays keyboards and flute.
The music is a divine example of early Jazz-World Fusion, with brilliant and intricate orchestral arrangements, which were completely different from what the usual American Orchestral Jazz sounded like. The sophistication and wild imagination that Pascoal incorporated in his music amazed the American musicians who were exposed to it, including Miles DavisFind albums by this artist, who regarded Pascoal as a musical genius, and rightly so.
The album sounds amazingly fresh and contemporary, despite the fact that it is more than five decades old, and still offers today much to be learned from, not to mention of course an exquisite listening experience, full of sublime melodic themes, typical Brazilian touches and superb soloing by the players.
Overall, this is a true classic Jazz-World Fusion album, which deserves to be heard and remembered, and which offers exceedingly original musical approach to orchestral Jazz. It is great to see the album available again, and hopefully it will be discovered by new generations of listeners. Personally I just can’t get enough of this music, with the CD playing on “repeat” mode. Kudos to Far Out Recordings for bringing this gem back to life!
| | Updated: 22/04/2023Posted: 22/04/2023 | CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | JACO PASTORIUS ~ JACO PASTORIUS
EPIC 64977 ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1976
1st album and one of the most revolutionary and influential Jazz debuts of all time. It takes about 10 seconds into the first track to understand that the role of the bass as an instrument and perhaps the entire Jazz idiom will not stay the same after this music hits the ears of the listeners. But it is not only the virtuosity of Jaco PastoriusFind albums by this artist as a player and his Promethean approach to playing the instrument, but also his skills as a composer and arranger, all these at the age of 25, that make this album and the man so unique. Pastorius presents here a widely diverse set of compositions, ranging in style from Soul / Rock to Classical, all perfectly crafted and surprisingly mature. A long list of superb Jazz players (Wayne ShorterFind albums by this artist, Michael BreckerFind albums by this artist, Don AliasFind albums by this artist and Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist to mention but a few) and classical string players were involved in making of this album, but the most sympathetic and supportive role was played by pianist Herbie Hancock, who is the main soloist – often more dominant than Pastorius himself. This album shook the entire Jazz (and Rock) world and it is no wonder that as a result Pastorius was asked to join the best band on the scene at that time – Weather ReportFind albums by this artist – where he stayed for about six years as an equal partner and a third lead voice alongside Joe ZawinulFind albums by this artist and Wayne ShorterFind albums by this artist. What a tragedy it was to hear about Jaco’s death in 1987 just over a mere decade after this masterpiece was recorded, mentally ill and addicted to drugs. This album belongs to the Pantheon of Jazz recordings and is an absolute must!
| | | CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend |
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