Record Reviews

DEXTER GORDON & SLIDE HAMPTON ~ A DAY IN COPENHAGEN MPS 4029759154815 (Barcode: 4029759154815) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1969 Released: 2021 This is a reissue / remaster of an album released on the legendary MPSFind albums on this label Records, recorded during a session set up in Copenhagen by my Friend and Mentor Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist, which captures a bunch of American Jazz expatriates staying in Europe in the 1960s, headed by saxophonist Dexter GordonFind albums by this artist and trombonist Slide HamptonFind albums by this artist. Also present are pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist and drummer Art TaylorFind albums by this artist, Jamaican trumpeter Dizzy ReeceFind albums by this artist, also living in Europe and the only local guy, brilliant Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted PedersenFind albums by this artist. The album presents six tracks, three of which are original compositions by Hampton, who also arranged all the tunes, and the other three are standards. The album’s booklet includes the original liner notes by Berendt and new liner notes for the remastered edition. The music is pretty straightforward mainstream Jazz, perfectly performed by these great musicians away from home. The sound quality of the original album was excellent and this new remaster adds to the clarity and separation, making it a delightful listening experience for the many Dexter Gordon fans, who is captured here at the peak of his European career. He spent fourteen years of his life in Europe and returned to the US only in 1976. Overall, this is a great reminder of the American expatriate wave, which brought many Jazz musicians to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, greatly contributing to the development of the local Jazz scene, although it was already developing a strong unique form of the genre at the time. 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: 25/03/2024Posted: 25/03/2024

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

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

KARIN KROG ~ JAZZ MOMENTS MEANTIME 12 (Barcode: 7051070000127) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1966 Released: 2006 This is a reissue / remaster of the second album by the Norwegian Jazz singer Karin KrogFind albums by this artist, recorded in 1966 with a fabulous trio: American pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist (resident in Denmark at the time), Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted PedersenFind albums by this artist and Norwegian drummer Jon ChristensenFind albums by this artist. Norwegian saxophonist Jan GarbarekFind albums by this artist guests on three tracks. The original album presented nine tracks, all standards, and this edition adds one alternate take as a bonus track. This album is a wonderful document of the early days of Krog’s career, with her idiosyncratic approach and style already well in place. It also documents the Scandinavian Jazz scene in the mid-1960s, which was developing rapidly, partly due to the fact that many American Jazz musicians settled in Scandinavia at the time, escaping the racist discrimination from which they suffered at home. Krog was always a sublime interpreter of the Great American Songbook, and her highly personal treatment of the standards was always absolutely unique, which is clearly evident on this early album. Of course the performances by the young Scandinavian players are also exceptional. Overall, this is a wonderful trip down the memory line, taking the listener almost sixty years back in time to the steaming Scandinavian Jazz scene, which was exploding with talent and left a sublime legacy, which sounds as good today as it did then. For Jazz singers, this is a highly educational exposure of the Artistry of vocal Jazz.

Updated: 25/03/2024Posted: 16/08/2023

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

KARIN KROG / DEXTER GORDON ~ SOME OTHER SPRING MEANTIME 10 (Barcode: 7051070000103) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1970 Released: 2000 This is a reissue / remaster of the fourth album by the Norwegian Jazz singer Karin KrogFind albums by this artist, recorded in 1970 with a fabulous quartet: American saxophonist Dexter GordonFind albums by this artist and pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist (both resident in Scandinavia at the time), Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted PedersenFind albums by this artist and Norwegian drummer Espen RudFind albums by this artist. The original album presented eight tracks, all standards, and this edition adds one outtake and three alternate takes as a bonus tracks. The music was recorded by the legendary Jan Erik KongshaugFind albums by this artist at his Rainbow Studio. This album is a wonderful document of the early days of Krog’s career, with her idiosyncratic approach and style already well in place. It also documents the Scandinavian Jazz scene in the late-1960s, which was developing rapidly, partly due to the fact that many American Jazz musicians settled in Scandinavia at the time, escaping the racist discrimination from which they suffered at home. Krog was always a sublime interpreter of the Great American Songbook, and her highly personal treatment of the standards was always absolutely unique, which is clearly evident on this early album. Of course the performances by the young Scandinavian players are also exceptional. Overall, this is a wonderful trip down the memory line, taking the listener over fifty years back in time to the steaming Scandinavian Jazz scene, which was exploding with talent and left a sublime legacy, which sounds as good today as it did then. For Jazz singers, this is a highly educational exposure of the Artistry of vocal Jazz.

Updated: 25/03/2024Posted: 17/09/2023

CD 1 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