Record Reviews

JUTTA HIPP ~ THE GERMAN RECORDINGS 1952-1955 SWR JAZZHAUS 423 (Barcode: 730099042352) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1952 - 1955 Released: 2015 This is a brilliant collection of early recordings by the German pianist Jutta HippFind albums by this artist, made in Germany before she left the country to continue her career in the US. The material collects four sessions of radio recordings produced by Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist and Dieter ZimmerleFind albums by this artist. Hipp is accompanied by the best Jazz musicians active at the time in Germany: saxophonists Hans KollerFind albums by this artist and Joki FreundFind albums by this artist, trombonist Albert MangelsdorffFind albums by this artist, guitarist Attila ZollerFind albums by this artist, bassists Franz RoederFind albums by this artist and Harry SchellFind albums by this artist and drummers Karl SannerFind albums by this artist and Rudi SehringFind albums by this artist. There are seventeen pieces in total on this album, most being standards with just a couple of originals, one each by Mangelsdorff and Freund. Hipp plays brilliantly on all these pieces and her presence fully justifies her extraordinary status of the great revelation of early German Jazz. Sadly shortly after her arrival in the US and recording just three albums in 1956, she abandoned music completely and disappeared from the scene. Although the music on this album comprises mostly of American Jazz standards, Hipp has a very unique approach and inserts many peculiar twists and turns, that make these standards sound differently from how they sound when performed by American musicians, which hints as to the development of European Jazz, which was about to erupt just a few years later. The music is wonderfully remastered and sounds fresh and vibrant, which turns this album not only into an important historical document but also a great fun to listen to. This album is warmly recommended to all fans of European Jazz who follow its development closely.

Updated: 31/03/2021Posted: 03/06/2016

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

JUTTA HIPP ~ THREE CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 498 (Barcode: 5036408174420) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1956 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the three albums by German pianist Jutta HippFind albums by this artist, which were originally released on the Blue NoteFind albums on this label label in the mid 1950s. Hipp grew up in Nazi Germany and started to listen and pay Jazz secretly, as it was fiercely banned by the regime. After the WWII ended she was very active on the German scene, playing with the best German Jazz musicians, who were just starting their careers, like brothers: Emil MangelsdorffFind albums by this artist and Albert MangelsdorffFind albums by this artist, Austrian Hans KollerFind albums by this artist, Hungarian Attila ZollerFind albums by this artist (both resident in Germany) and others. Hipp moved to NY in 1955, with the help of the legendary Jazz critic Leonard FeatherFind albums by this artist, and recorded the three albums included here, after which she left music entirely, for reasons unclear. The first two albums: "Live At The Hickory House Volume 1Find albums with this title" and "Live At The Hickory House Volume 2Find albums with this title" both originate from a live recording at the Hickory House club in NY. Hipp is accompanied by British bassist Peter IndFind albums by this artist and American drummer Ed ThigpenFind albums by this artist. Together they perform ten standards on each of these albums. The third album "Jutta Hipp With Zoot SimsFind albums with this title" is a studio recording of a quintet which places her along American Jazz players: trumpeter Jerry LloydFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Zoot SimsFind albums by this artist, bassist Ahmed Abdul-MalikFind albums by this artist and drummer Ed Thigpen. The quintet performs six compositions, four of which are standards and one each is by Lloyd and Sims. The astounding thing about this music is the fact that although modern European Jazz was not yet born, Hipp plays these commonly known standards with a twist, which puts her already at that time apart from the American pianists. She is way more original, inventive and elegant than the pianists who in many cases wrote these standards. Her European piano mannerisms, for which she was severely criticized by American Jazz players, an experience which probably was the reason why she gave up music, were already very distinctive and pointed out towards the rift that was about to happen between American and European Jazz just a few years later. Anybody listening to these albums must realize that the criminally limited recorded legacy Hipp left us with is just a tip of an iceberg of an enormous talent which alas we´ll never witness. European Jazz lovers and connoisseurs of the twisted path European Jazz followed to differentiate itself from the American tradition will find this music absolutely indispensable. An absolute must for Jazz piano enthusiasts! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 18/05/2016

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

HANS KOLLER ~ KOLLER PLAYS KOVAC EMARCY 013961 ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz This is a reissue of an ultra-rare 1957 LP released on the Austrian Amadeo label by Hans Koller and his New Jazz Stars, recorded live in 1955. By the time this material was recorded, Koller was already world famous, with his 1952 release on the US Discovery label receiving a five star rating in “down beat”, an unprecedented event for an European recording, considering the fact that European jazz was “non-existent” to most American critics (and still is to this very day to some extent). Following the departure of German pianist Jutta HippFind albums by this artist from Koller’s quintet, she was replaced by the Austrian composer / arranger / pianist Roland KovacFind albums by this artist, who was to become the source of most of the material the new quintet would play – hence the name of the album. The quintet perfected the “cool” jazz idiom, which was influenced by American players like Lee KonitzFind albums by this artist, Chet BakerFind albums by this artist and Gerry MulliganFind albums by this artist (Kovac played with them all when they visited Europe) and expanded it by adding classically influenced compositions and European scales and harmonies. This “transfigured“ cool jazz should be fascinating to true connoisseurs of the genre and the album is a most important document of the development of European jazz in general.

Updated: 28/05/2016Posted:

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend