Record Reviews

PER HUSBY ~ DEDICATIONS HOT CLUB 21 (Barcode: 7029660010412) ~ NORWAY ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 1985 Released: 1990 This is an insanely beautiful album by Norwegian pianist / composer / arranger / bandleader Per HusbyFind albums by this artist and his Orchestra / Big Band, which features the vocal talents of Norwegian singer Karin KrogFind albums by this artist and British singer Georgie FameFind albums by this artist, my favorite Jazz singers in the whole world. The Orchestra includes the absolutely best Scandinavian players and the British guests: trumpeter Martin DroverFind albums by this artist and saxophonist John SurmanFind albums by this artist. The album is dedicated to the American pianist / composer Tadd DameronFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, five of which are compositions by Dameron, two by Husby and one is a medley of a composition by Swedish Jazz composer Lars GullinFind albums by this artist and a composition by Husby dedicated to Gullin. The music was recorded at the fabulous Rainbow Studios and engineered by the legendary Jan Erik KongshaugFind albums by this artist. The album is full of brilliant arrangements and superb performances by the instrumentalists, which are nothing less than astounding, and the entire Big Band sound is just breathtaking. The vocals are the proverbial cherry on top. This has been one of my favorite albums since the date it was released but I managed to get a copy of the CD only recently after a long hunt ;) This project has a twin album called “If You Could See Me NowFind albums with this title”, recorded a year later by the Husby / Krog / Fame team, this time with an American Big Band. The comparison between the two is a true lesson in the differences between American and European Jazz, especially in the Big Band idiom. Overall, this is a classic album both for Big Band Jazz lovers and Jazz vocals lovers, which has but a few competitors. Sadly, it is rather obscure despite its sublime class and aesthetic values, but hey this is the fate of so many great albums produced outside of the mainstream American Jazz machine. Wholeheartedly recommended to all true Jazz lovers.

Updated: 29/03/2023Posted: 29/03/2023

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HANS KOLLER / FREE SOUND ~ PHOENIX MPS 602498134382 (Barcode: 602498134382) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1972 Released: 2003 Hans KollerFind albums by this artist was the most internationally famous Austrian jazz musician. Born in 1921, he was active on the European scene since the mid-1940’s, playing mostly jazz modeled on then contemporary American jazz. However by the mid-1950’s Koller already established a new European jazz vocabulary, like some of his pioneering European peers: Lars GullinFind albums by this artist in Sweden, Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist in Poland, Martial SolalFind albums by this artist in France and many others. By the end of 1950’s Koller almost completely removed himself from the musical scene, devoting his life to painting, which was his alter-ego vocation. Only a decade later, when the free jazz movement started to spread in Europe, he returned to active performing and recording, finding this new style challenging enough for him to contribute his input. This album, recorded 1972, marks his return to full-time jazz duties and is a pivotal step not only in his personal career, but also in the entire European free jazz movement. Koller clearly defines the basic difference in approach to free jazz between the American “school”, which is highly emotional, wild and often purposely excessively chaotic and extremist, and the European “school”, which is more subdued, elegant, delicate and firmly connected to melodic structures. The entire quartet – sax / piano / bass / drums - (with three musicians much younger that the leader) performs music composed mostly by Koller and bassist Adelhard RoidingerFind albums by this artist, which retains enough melodic contents to be coherent, but adds incredible intensity and tension. A true must for serious jazz connoisseurs. 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: 28/05/2025Posted:

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PARONI PAAKKUNAINEN ~ BARITONE DRAGON ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2001 Released: 2002 This is a beautiful album by Finnish baritone saxophonist Paroni PaakkunainenFind albums by this artist, recorded with Finnish bassist Pekka SarmantoFind albums by this artist, drummer Reino LaineFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Tero SaartiFind albums by this artist and Swedish baritone saxophonist Peter GullinFind albums by this artist, pianist Lars SjostenFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip AugustsonFind albums by this artist and drummer Bosse SoderbergFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven tracks, seven of which are studio recordings by the Finnish Radio and four are live recordings. Seven of the tracks are original compositions by Paakkunainen, one is by Sjosten and three are by the great late Swedish saxophonist Lars GullinFind albums by this artist and father of Peter Gullin. Paakkunainen is one of the Godfathers of modern Finnish Jazz and he participated in many groundbreaking Jazz recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also very active on the Finnish Progressive Rock scene. Sadly, his solo recording output is rather limited and this is one of the few examples of his work as a leader. The music on this album is all Jazz oriented and reflects the excellent level of Scandinavian Jazz, which was already highly developed by the 1960, mostly due to the fact that many American Jazz musicians visited often and played in concert halls and local clubs, which is also widely documented by many recordings made by American Jazz stars in Sweden. Finnish Jazz developed on a more independent path, always centered on originality and search of new routes to be explored, which in retrospect produced some of the finest early modern European Jazz, including explorations of Free Jazz and Improvised Music. However, this album is mostly highly melodic mainstream Jazz, which focuses on the excellent compositions by Paakkunainen and the wonderful interplay between these matured and highly experienced musicians. Overall, this is an excellent opportunity to get exposed to a great Finnish musician, who was usually behind the scenes. Lovers of the baritone saxophone and Scandinavian Jazz should find this album very rewarding.

Updated: 29/07/2023Posted: 29/07/2023

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