Record Reviews

AMIT GOLAN ~ I DECIDED! NOT ON LABEL ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2007 Released: 2007 1st album by Israeli pianist / composer / teacher Amit GolanFind albums by this artist. Although active on the local scene for some time, this is Golan’s debut release. He leads a quintet with fellow Israeli players (Asaf YuriaFind albums by this artist – tenor sax, Gilad AbroFind albums by this artist – bass and Doron TiroshFind albums by this artist / Yonatan RosenFind albums by this artist – drums) and the guest US trumpeter Joe MagnarelliFind albums by this artist. Golan composed all the wonderful music (except one standard), which sounds remarkably like something taken directly from the 1960s at the peak of the Hard Bop era. The entire album could be easily mistaken for a “lost” Blue NoteFind albums on this label album by Horace SilverFind albums by this artist, and I bet a lot of people would have never guessed this is a contemporary recording by a bunch of Israeli players. And I mean absolutely no criticism by that, on the contrary, being able to reproduce that sound and feel is quite remarkable. Considering that Jazz in Israel was almost nonexistent in the 1960s, this is a most beautiful way to pay the dues. I can’t imagine any Jazz fan around the world not liking this stuff – it is absolutely perfect in what it stands for – solid mainstream jazz at its best with a nostalgic wink. I feel really proud that our tiny Jazz scene is capable of producing such mature and technically perfect piece of music. The recording quality is also remarkable, considering that most of the music was recorded live. Mr. Rudy Van GelderFind albums by this artist would be undoubtedly smiling if he ever got to listen to this one. How about you?

Updated: 12/06/2018Posted:

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DARIUSZ HERBASZ ~ JOY OF FRIENDSHIP MULTIKULTI 024 (Barcode: 5907529223246) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz saxophonist Dariusz HerbaszFind albums by this artist and his double tenor saxophone quintet, which also includes saxophonist Tomasz GrzegorskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr ManiaFind albums by this artist, bassist Adam ZuchowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Tomasz SowinskiFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of six original compositions, all by Herbasz and was recorded at the superb Studio Tokarnia with engineer Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist presiding. If I would have been subjected to listening to this album in a blindfold test situation, I would be sure this is an unknown recording of mid 1960s Blue NoteFind albums on this label period, as this music has the distinctive feel of modern mainstream, which flourished at the time and was captured for posterity by Rudy Van GelderFind albums by this artist. The warmth and presence of the overall sound and the crisp piano sound are quite remarkable. But of course there is also the music, which stylistically returns to that wonderful period that summarized the Jazz tradition bringing it to sheer perfection on one hand and opening doors for the free form just wide enough to make it interesting on the other hand. These wonderful compositions are truly grand on every level; there are some beautiful melancholic melodies, several great vamps, and a strange feeling of familiarity even upon the first hearing. I must admit that it´s been a while since I´ve heard a collection of such superbly crated tunes on one album. Herbasz takes a considerable risk with the double tenor saxophone frontline, since such setting is often prone to clashes and outright contest rather than cooperation, but also opens intriguing opportunities of harmonizing and completing each other. It´s a pleasure to hear how well this situation was handled here, enabling both players to solo as well as play together in a variety of quite distinct musical surroundings and atmospheres. Both saxophonists [lay remarkably well, both when simply stating the lyricism of a melody or venturing into almost free form excursions. The rhythm section is excellent as well, providing the ideal support for the soloists and framing the musical expressions with just the right amount of direction, allowing space for less constrained experimentation at times. The pianist is an ideal harmonizer and his vamping is a classic form obviously learned from the best. Bass is round, clear and worm and the drums play exactly the amount of time keeping to keep everything tick, with some great topping of inventive drumming. The overall dynamic sensitivity of the entire rhythm section is simply just what the doctor ordered to make the music perfect. This is a remarkable debut and a brilliant Jazz album, which comprises of everything that makes Jazz such a great music: it´s interesting, artistic, intelligent, well played and above all honest, simply stating the artist´s credo and not trying to be something it isn´t. Well done indeed!

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OLA MONKO ~ WHEREVER YOU ARE SOLITON 846 (Barcode: 5901571098463) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Polish pianist / composer Ola MonkoFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and American (resident in Poland and married to Monko) drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine compositions, eight of which are originals composed by Monko and one is a standard, all of which were arranged by Monko. The album offers a warm clear sound, which fondly resembles the famous Blue NoteFind albums on this label Records sound created by the legendary Rudy Van GelderFind albums by this artist. The music sits comfortably within contemporary mainstream Jazz, which is not surprising considering that Monko spent thirteen years living and playing Jazz in the US, where she was exposed to what the best American Jazz has to offer. Her compositions are all well built and offer solid melodies and coherent harmonic structures, which results in them sounding as good as any Jazz standard played today. All the members of the quintet are veteran players with years of experience behind them and as the result the music flows smoothly and elegantly from one tune to another and the album seems to be over in a flash. All three soloists contribute inspired solo parts and the rhythm section keeps the music streaming in an amicable fashion. Overall although not innovative as far as the Jazz idiom is concerned, this album offers splendid mainstream Jazz experience and presents an excellent collection of original tunes, which prove that the Polish Jazz musicians can play American mainstream as well as their counterparts across the pond and compose wonderful heartfelt tunes. For mainstream Jazz lovers this album is a gem from start to finish and a most pleasant listening experience. Congratulations go to Monko for finally making her statement, hopefully only the first of many. Go Girl!

Updated: 27/10/2018Posted: 27/10/2018

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