Record Reviews

ALF CARLSSON / JIRI KOTACA QUARTET ~ OUR STORIES ANIMAL MUSIC 123 (Barcode: 8594211850377) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is the 2nd album by the quartet co-led by Swedish guitarist Alf CarlssonFind albums by this artist and Czech trumpeter Jiri KotacaFind albums by this artist, with bassist Peter KormanFind albums by this artist and drummer Kristian KurucFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, four by Carlsson, three by Kotaca, one co-composed by them both and finally one improvised by Korman. The music was beautifully recorded at the Sono Records studio by Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist. The music is a splendid collection of modern Jazz pieces, which combine deep Nordic melancholy and East European lyricysm, performed with finesse and obvious talent by all four musicians. The rather unusual guitar – trumpet front line works beautifully together, and the rhythm section is fully integrated in the common creative process, providing smooth quidelines for the two soloist to fill them with their improvisations. Carlson offers a wonderfully diverse stylistics, switching intelligently between playing chords and individual notes, as well as between soloing and accompanying, with remarkable dexterity and skill. His guitar playing is subtle and non-aggressive, and yet very well-articulated at all times, and I wish more guitar players would adopt this attitude. He is definitely a player worth keeping an eye (ear) on. Kotaca also offers outstanding trumpet performances, with brilliant technique and precise, clear peach, all full of romanticism and melodic fluidity. His sound is somewhat different from most Jazz trumpeters, which is quite rare these days, and he is, as well, definitely worth following. From what I see on the web, he also leads a Big Band, but I have not heard any of that stuff! Overall, this is an excellent Jazz album, which should satisfy even the most demanding listeners, which offers great compositions, highly elegant performances and truly breathtaking sound quality, i.e. everything one might desire in a piece of music. Not to be missed!

Updated: 26/05/2024Posted: 26/05/2024

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COTATCHA ORCHESTRA ~ BIG BAND ELECTRONICS BIG ROUND RECORDS 8963 (Barcode: 300844060353) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by the Czech Jazz Big Band, called Cotatcha OrchestraFind albums by this artist, led by trumpeter Jiri KotacaFind albums by this artist and comprising of young Czech, Slovak, Austrian and Hungarian Jazz musicians. The orchestra is conducted by Juraj ValencikFind albums by this artist, and features two guest musicians: vocalist Lenka DusilovaFind albums by this artist and Dutch trombonist Ilja ReijngoudFind albums by this artist, each appearing on one track. The album presents nine tracks, seven composed by the Big Band’s pianist Martin KonvickaFind albums by this artist and one each by Kotaca and Czech pianist / composer Jiri LevicekFind albums by this artist. The album offers a sublime sound quality, and is one of the best-sounding Big Band recordings I have come across in a while. Despite the album’s title, the music is completely acoustic, and the “electronics” is used only as a series of delicate background interludes between the tracks. The music is stunningly beautiful, highly melodic and brilliantly played by the Big Band, which epitomizes the European approach to Jazz Big Band, which becomes an organic expanded one multi-instrumental body, rather than a group of musicians accompanying soloists. There are of course also excellent soli found herein, mainly by Kotaca, who is the leading soloist. But the entire orchestral sound of the Big Band is one continuous delight from start to finish, and a perfect example of what modern Jazz Big Bands should sound like. Konvicka, who composed most of the music on this album, also emerges as one of the heroes, supplying the wonderful melodic content, full of delicate lyricism and non-trivial harmonic buildup, which makes listening to this album a truly delightful experience. Overall, this is a sublime Jazz Big Band album, very unique and brilliantly put together, offering a total musical experience, which combines great compositions and first-class performances, rarely encountered on record these days. This is, of course, beyond recommendation, simply a must to all true orchestral Jazz lovers anywhere on this globe. Hats off!

Updated: 09/08/2024Posted: 09/08/2024

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