Record Reviews
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  | KRUZENSHTERN & PAROHOD ~ SONGS
AURIS 004 (Barcode: 7290011216047) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2004 Released: 2004
2nd album by the amazing Israeli trio Kruzenshtern & ParohodFind albums by this artist, slightly more mature than the debut album, but loosing nothing of the charm, humor or brilliance. In spite of their young age they create some of the most imaginative music ever made in Israel and surely will reach international audiences big time one day. This is also the best ever CD cover art done in Israel - absolutely delightful and elegant design!
| | | CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
  | KRUZENSHTERN & PAROHOD / VIALKA ~ KRUZENSHTERN & PAROHOD / VIALKA
AURIS 011 (Barcode: 7290011216115) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2005 - 2006 Released: 2006
This is a shared release by two of the most interesting experimental / RIO ensembles: the Israeli group Kruzenshtern & ParohodFind albums by this artist (4 tracks) and the French duo VialkaFind albums by this artist (5 tracks). As these musicians share the musical direction and also perform and tour together, this cooperative release is quite natural in their case. Vialka are a guitar / drums duo, playing music somewhere left of MagmaFind albums by this artist and resembling (mainly because of the use of vocals) some earlier French and UK RIO groups. The fact that they are only a duo makes their music even more amazing, since they sound as a full ensemble and their music is complete and utterly overwhelming. Kruzenshtern & Parohod are basically a trio, but here add an accordion player to extend the scope of the overall sound. Their amazing mixture of rock, jazz, klezmer music and humor is surely some of the best stuff in circulation today and I am pretty surprised they are not as worldwide known, as they deserve to be. Well good music never is, as we all know. This is music for the adventurous listeners, who are afraid of nothing and appreciate the unexpected.
| | | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | PENTTI LAHTI / AHVENLAHTI – OJANEN / MIRCEA STAN / JUKKA RUOHOMAKI ~ JAZZ LIISA VOL. 11 & VOL. 12
SVART 036 ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1974 Released: 2016
The "Popstudio" / "Jazzstudio" broadcasts were usually dedicated to one band / artists, but in some cases two acts were combined into one show, which allowed each of them just about twenty minutes to perform, as is the case on these two sessions.
Saxophonist / composer Pentti LahtiFind albums by this artist was one of the modern Finnish Jazz pioneers and a prominent figure on the local scene. The band captured on this live radio broadcast finds him playing alongside trombonist Mircea StanFind albums by this artist, pianist Olli AhvenlahtiFind albums by this artist, bassist Ilkka WillmanFind albums by this artist and drummer Tapani IkonenFind albums by this artist. They perform two standards and an original composition by Stan, all kept pretty much close to mainstream Jazz with a bit of World Music tinge on the piece by Stan, who immigrated to Finland from Romania and incorporated some Romanian folklore influence in this tune.
The piano duo comprising of Olli Ahvenlahti and Eero OjanenFind albums by this artist is a classic example of the "Art of the Duo" and their mutual affinity and wonderful interplay are captured perfectly on this live radio broadcast. They perform two compositions, one an original by Ojanen and the other a Keith JarrettFind albums by this artist piece, which is then partly repeated again as an encore.
The quintet led by trombonist Mircea Stan is basically identical to the one led by Lahti on the first radio broadcast included here, except for the bassist Pekka SarmantoFind albums by this artist. This time they perform three original compositions by Stan, with some Romanian music influences but also including Latin and Hard Bop stylistics, typical of his work. This music is less mainstream oriented than the Lahti session and includes many open, Free Jazz oriented parts.
The synthesizer player Jukka RuohomakiFind albums by this artist combines electronic music and Jazzy improvisation sharing forces with trombonist Mircea Stan, moog player Olli Ahvenlahti and synthesizer player Erkki KurenniemiFind albums by this artist. Together they perform just one extended piece, co-composed by all four players and basically collectively improvised.
Overall this is some of the most staggering music created in Europe in the early to mid 1970s that one is able to hear and for European Jazz connoisseurs this is an absolute must have!
Side Note
The Finnish independent label SvartFind albums on this label Records released an unprecedented series of albums called Pop Liisa and Jazz Liisa, which present priceless historical recordings of Finnish Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz-Rock Fusion and Jazz music, recorded live and broadcasted from the Liisankatu Studios in Helsinki under the "Popstudio" and "Jazzstudio" monikers between 1972 and 1977. The studios were owned by the YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), a public broadcasting service, which not only allowed the burgeoning Finnish music scene at the time to be exposed but also carefully archived the recordings for future generations. All this incredible music was previously unissued and collectively is probably the most important document of Finnish music from that period ever assembled.
The music was released on 36 LPs (Pop Liisa Vol. 01 to Vol. 18 and Jazz Liisa Vol. 01 to Vol. 18) and on 18 CDs with every two consecutive volumes combined on one CD.
The sound quality is absolutely superb, often better than the sound quality on the LPs released by these artists at the time. Many of the groups appearing on these albums never managed to record an album and these recordings are the only recorded legacy in existence of their activity. The released are accompanied by well researched and intelligent liner notes.
This archival project is an outstanding example of how Cultural Legacy should be treated as well as of exemplary dedication to record producing professionalism.
| | Updated: 10/06/2020Posted: 10/06/2020 | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | OHO ~ OKINAWA (EXPANDED EDITION)
ROCKADROME 028 (Barcode: 858581028018) ~ USA ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1974 Released: 2010
Obscure US Prog band OHOFind albums by this artist made very little impact originally, when they released three albums in the 1970s, but as it often happens their highly unusual and quite brilliant output was discovered decades later and achieved a legendary status. This was their debut album which now appears remastered and in much expanded form which doubles the original playing time and number of tracks. The music is a "crazy" collage of great instrumental work, insane vocals and background noises, which belongs to the same class as the early work of Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist and other musical pioneers and prophets. It probably sounded completely outlandish at the time of its release, but today makes perfect sense, which simply proves it was way ahead of its time. The thirty relatively short tracks move rapidly from one musical idea to another, but there is definitely a unifying stylistic and aesthetic sense behind the music, spiced with Psychedelics and a crazy humor. In short a little known gem, that deserves to be discovered by a much wider audience. An absolute must to Prog / Psych lovers!
| | | CD 1 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | REUTER / MOTZER / GROHOWSKI ~ SHAPESHIFTERS
MOONJUNE 103 (Barcode: 692287910327) ~ GERMANY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020
This is an album by a trio comprising of German touch guitarist Markus ReuterFind albums by this artist and American guitarist Tim MotzerFind albums by this artist and drummer Kenny GrohowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents four "instant compositions" recorded live and credited to all three members of the trio.
The music is exactly what one might expect from three free spirited musicians, who engage into a conversation, which has no pre-conceived subject matter, other than the collected musical experience each of these musicians brings with him into the melting pot. The four instantly created pieces of music are a snapshot of the event, which enable the listener to probe the musical universe created at the spur of the moment and make from it whatever his mind is capable to encompass.
Considering the fact that these musicians have a "past" connected to what for lack of a better definition can be labeled as Rock, the resulting music is a form of Free Rock, quite similar in concept to the modus operandi of Free Jazz, at the time it was first encountered in the 1960s. The existence of contemporary technology, electronics and the entire paraphernalia at hand expands of course the possibilities that were available to John ColtraneFind albums by this artist while playing his saxophone, or Jimi HendrixFind albums by this artist playing his guitar for that matter, but the process of "letting go" of the methodical "playing" and shifting the process of creating sound into the spiritual / metaphysical plane is in fact similar.
This music is first and foremost associative, or more exactly extrovertly associative, since all brain activity is a priori associative, and so is the process of listening to this music. Nobody can be teleported back within the space-time continuum back into the venue where this music was recorded in order to experience the music at first hand, so the only option left is let one´s brain to react to whatever enters via the ears and create one´s own "music", which is what happens anyway while listening to music, but this time without the availability of familiar patterns we already associated with music earlier on.
This music is obviously not for a wide audience. Playing and recording this kind of sonic creations has serious intrinsic limitations as far as communication with audiences is concerned. Sometimes this kind of music can work live but only very rarely it is able to be "frozen" in recorded form and preserve its ability to communicate while reproduced at the listener´s home. There is no way to measure the rate of success of such endeavors, but it certainly is limited. Therefore I can only state that this particular shapeshifting attempt works splendidly in my case, but how other will react I have no clue. Kudos to the shapeshifters for the courage and open-mindedness!
| | Updated: 28/09/2020Posted: 28/09/2020 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
  | KEITH TIPPETT / JULIE TIPPETS / LUIS MOHOLO / CANTO GENERAL ~ VIVA LA BLACK LIVE AT RUVO
OGUN 020 (Barcode: 5020675572201) ~ UK ~ Big Band Jazz
Recorded: 2004 Released: 2007
This is an album, which documents a live performance captured at the Ruvo Festival in Italy, which features the British Jazz couple: pianist / composer / conductor Keith TippettFind albums by this artist and vocalist Julie TippettsFind albums by this artist, and the drummer Luis MoholoFind albums by this artist, who arrived in UK from South Africa, accompanied by the Italian Jazz Orchestra Canto General, which includes also a vocal sextet. The album presents twelve tracks, seven of which are composed by Keith Tippett, two including lyrics by Julie Tippetts, one is a traditional tune and the remaining four are by other South-African expatriates, who were an integral part of the British Jazz scene: Harry MillerFind albums by this artist, Dudu PukwanaFind albums by this artist and Mongezi FezaFind albums by this artist, sadly no longer with us.
The music is absolutely fascinating in every respect and the magic of the live performance is perfectly captured by this magnificent recording. The Orchestra features some top Italian Jazz players, like saxophonist Roberto OttavianoFind albums by this artist, who get a chance to solo throughout the proceedings, and Julie’s vocals are as captivating as always. The focal point of the album is a performance of Keith’s “Septober EnergyFind albums with this title” suite, which gets here a sublime reading by all the musicians involved.
Although based on melodic themes, the music ventures into extensive improvisations by the instrumentalists, never actually losing any of the coherence, which Keith looks after as a conductor. The music offers some of the most intensive Jazz Orchestra moments ever captured on record, which lovers of that particular idiom should cherish.
The album pays a great tribute both to the contribution by the South African Jazz musicians to the development of the modern British Jazz, as well as the sublime compositions by Keith Tippet, which sound absolutely divine in this orchestral form.
Overall, this is a magnificent album, full of great music and wonderful performances, with extraordinary Orchestral Jazz rarely heard at such intensity. For Keith’s and Julie’s fans this is an absolute must of course, the same goes to all British Jazz lovers, but every true music lover on this planet should enjoy this beautiful album in full. Great thanks to Hazel MillerFind albums by this artist and her OgunFind albums on this label Records for releasing this music for everybody to enjoy!
| | Updated: 21/03/2023Posted: 21/03/2023 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
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