Record Reviews

ANTHONY BRAXTON ~ CHARLIE PARKER PROJECT HATOLOGY 612 (Barcode: 752156061229) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1993 Released: 2004 This is a long overdue reissue of the legendary album by American musician / composer / bandleader Anthony BraxtonFind albums by this artist, one of the most iconic figures of the late 20th Century Free Jazz and Avant-Garde music scene and probably the most important Jazz pioneer in the post John ColtraneFind albums by this artist era. The album captures a live recording of the Braxton´s sextet in Switzerland and Germany, with him playing saxophones and clarinet, accompanied by saxophonist Ari BrownFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Paul SmokerFind albums by this artist, pianist Misha MengelbergFind albums by this artist, bassist Joe FondaFind albums by this artist and drummers Han BenninkFind albums by this artist and Pheeroan AkLaffFind albums by this artist (each playing on one of the two CDs). The music is a loving tribute to Bee Bop and includes mostly compositions by the genre´s pioneer Charlie ParkerFind albums by this artist with three tunes by Dizzy GillespieFind albums by this artist and one each by Tadd DameronFind albums by this artist and Miles DavisFind albums by this artist. Braxton re-visits Bee Bop with respect and love, but of course applies his completely unique interpretation of the music, which is, as usual, completely breathtaking. The level of virtuosity in interplay is simply astounding and this album surely deserves an honorable place in any serious Free Jazz collection. The intercontinental meeting of improvising forces and talents works beautifully, soaring to previously undiscovered heights. This is an absolutely essential example of Free Jazz, for those who are connoisseurs of the genre, which is not to be missed, especially for the second time around.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

CD 2 Mini-Sleeve Oversampling Remastered Recommend To A Friend

FRANZ KOGLMANN ~ L`HEURE BLEUE HATOLOGY 571 (Barcode: 752156057123) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1991 Released: 2003 This is a long overdue reissue of the beautiful album by Austrian trumpeter / composer Franz KoglmannFind albums by this artist, one of the most important representatives of European Free Jazz scene. The album includes two separate sessions, one with a quartet, which includes the wonderful veteran British clarinetist Tony CoeFind albums by this artist (definitely one of top world clarinet players), guitarist Burkhard StanglFind albums by this artist and bassist Klaus KochFind albums by this artist, and the other a duet with pianist Misha MengelbergFind albums by this artist. Most of the music is composed by Koglmann with a few compositions by other arranged by him. The album presents a wonderful atmosphere of melodic approach to modern Jazz, mixed with improvised passages and highly individualistic soloing. All the musicians perform beautifully, especially Coe, who has been my favorite for decades. This album is accessible to most Jazz listeners, well beyond the Free Jazz genre, as its gentle approach and deep aesthetics transcendent musical borders. Superb stuff!

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Oversampling Remastered Recommend To A Friend

GEORGE LEWIS ~ THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE CAM JAZZ 1022 (Barcode: 8052405140654) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1977 - 1987 Released: 2012 This superb Box Set collects all the albums recorded by the legendary American trombonist / composer George LewisFind albums by this artist on the twin Italian independent labels: Black SaintFind albums on this label and Soul NoteFind albums on this label. The set includes five albums he recorded as a leader, heading a range of ensembles between a duo and a sextet and including American and European Avant-Garde musicians. Lewis is best known as a member of the AACM in Chicago since 1971 and a pioneer of incorporating computers in improvised music. He is a prolific recording artist, with an impressive list of albums to his credit, both as a leader and as sideman. The albums included here present his output between late 1970s and late 1980s, all of which is his original music except on the duo album where one piece is composed by his collaborator multi-instrumentalist / composer Douglas EwartFind albums by this artist. These recordings are all excellent examples of his work, which is a completely unique combination of Free Jazz, electronic music and collages of pre-recorded sound effects, spoken word, etc. Lewis collaborated extensively with Avant-Garde musicians in many countries and recorded with them often. The list of the players present on these recordings reads like the Who´s Who of the American Avant-Garde scene and includes saxophonists Roscoe MitchellFind albums by this artist and Steve LacyFind albums by this artist, cellist Abdul WadudFind albums by this artist, pianist Anthony DavisFind albums by this artist and Muhal Richard AbramsFind albums by this artist, violinist Leroy JenkinsFind albums by this artist and synthesizer player Richard TeitelbaumFind albums by this artist as well as Dutch players: pianist Misha MengelbergFind albums by this artist, cellist Ernst ReijsegerFind albums by this artist, bassist Arjen GorterFind albums by this artist and drummer Han BennikFind albums by this artist. The music is absolutely brilliant and fascinating and connoisseurs of Free Jazz / Improvised Music will find it obviously essential. The relatively rare collaborations between American and European Avant-Garde scenes at the time, as documented here, are especially interesting. Remastered, mini-sleeved, and with a great bargain price – this Box Set an absolute must for any serious Jazz collector. Side Note The Italian independent record label Black SaintFind albums on this label was founded by the music critic / author / producer Giacomo PellicciottiFind albums by this artist in 1975. It was taken over by the producer Giovanni BonandriniFind albums by this artist in 1978 and a year later (1979) a sister label, called Soul NoteFind albums on this label, was established. The twin labels were run by Giovanni and later his son Flavio BonandriniFind albums by this artist, until they were sold in 2008 to the Italian KEPACH Music Group, which already owned the CAM JazzFind albums on this label label, and which also bought another Italian independent record label Dischi Della QuerciaFind albums on this label. The mission of the Black Saint / Soul Note labels was to record and document the Free Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde scene, mostly from the US but also from Europe, which continued between mid 1970s and late 1990s and produced a staggering collection of almost 550 albums recorded by world's most important Jazz innovators active at the time, providing an opportunity to American (mostly Afro-American) musicians, who would have never managed to make these recordings at home, ridden by racism, alienation and closed-mindedness. Without these two labels most of this fantastic human creativity would have been never documented. However, the Black Saint / Soul Note Box Sets produced under the CAM JazzFind albums on this label moniker 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 has 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 us to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. These Box Sets have no booklet which presents researched historical background and exact discographical information of the albums included, and most importantly an overview of the music and its meaning and contribution to the Jazz Art form. Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, the information is in most cases too small to be readable at all. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap!

Updated: 12/04/2020Posted:

CD 5 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend

SONNY ROLLINS ~ ROLLINS IN HOLLAND RESONANCE 2048 (Barcode: 712758040589) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1967 Released: 2020 This is an archival album by American Jazz saxophonist Sonny RollinsFind albums by this artist, recorded during Rollins’ tour in Holland in May 1967. The music was recorded in an intimate trio setting, with a young (then) Dutch rhythm section consisting of bassist Ruud JacobsFind albums by this artist and drummer Han BenninkFind albums by this artist. The 2CD album includes a studio recording for the Dutch radio (four tracks) and live club performances (six tracks), three of which last close to twenty minutes each. The album offers splendid sound quality and a massive 100-pages booklet full of interviews, essays and wonderful photographs, as is usual the case with the ResonanceFind albums on this label label releases. There is a big difference between the studio recording, which is kept more or less within the Bebop mainstream, and shows Rollins’ more delicate / melodic facet, and the live recordings, which allow him and the trio to venture into extended, explosive and adventurous improvisations, which are often close to Free Jazz. Although Rollins’ attitude towards Free Jazz was always quite different from that of John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, Ornette ColemanFind albums by this artist or Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, since he never left melody, harmony and rhythm out of the music, which of course does not mean that his explorations of Freedom were less interesting of inferior in any aspect to the Avant-Gardists. There is no doubt that the presence of Bennink both pushed and allowed Rollins to go further outside of the Bebop norms, than he would with American musicians. Bennink at the time of the recording was already deeply involved with the Dutch / European Avant-Garde Jazz scene. Holland was definitely one of the important epicenters of the European Avant-Garde, and Bennink played with all its legendary activists, like pianist Misha MengelbergFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Willem BreukerFind albums by this artist among others. He and Mengelberg took part in recording the legendary Eric Dolphy “Last DateFind albums with this title” album, recorded in Holland in 1964. Bennink’s playing on this album is in every respect as revolutionary and fascinating, as are Rollins’ performances. Overall, this is another wonderful time capsule, which allows the listener to travel back in time to 1967, the year Coltrane died and the epoch of American Jazz domination closed forever, Rock was exploding with unprecedented fertility and Jazz was at a crossroads and about to emigrate across the pond. Rollins, the Saxophone Colossus, one the last great symbols of American Jazz still alive at the time of writing, remains to tell the story.

Updated: 23/05/2025Posted: 23/05/2025

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend