Record Reviews

EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE ~ 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR KONNEX 5078 (Barcode: 718751297425) ~ GERMANY ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 1996 Released: 1997 This is a live recording by the European Jazz EnsembleFind albums by this artist, a collective of European Jazz musicians run by German bassist Ali HaurandFind albums by this artist since 1976, which included in its ranks the absolute crème de la crème of instrumentalists, like German saxophonists Ernst-Ludwig PetrowskyFind albums by this artist and Gerd DudekFind albums by this artist, British saxophonist Stan SulzmannFind albums by this artist, Dutch trumpeter Jarmo HoogendijkFind albums by this artist, Danish trumpeter Allan BotschinskyFind albums by this artist, German trumpeter Thomas HebererFind albums by this artist, Dutch pianist Rob van den BroeckFind albums by this artist and British drummer Tony LevinFind albums by this artist. For the 20th anniversary Tour the nonet was expanded by nine additional musicians: American (resident in Europe) saxophonist Charlie MarianoFind albums by this artist, German pianist Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist, Italian trumpeter Enrico RavaFind albums by this artist, German trombonist Conrad BauerFind albums by this artist, Czech flautist Jiri StivinFind albums by this artist, German trumpeter Manfred SchoofFind albums by this artist, Swiss drummer Daniel HumairFind albums by this artist, Hungarian saxophonist Tony LakatosFind albums by this artist and German clarinetist Rolf KuhnFind albums by this artist. Just reading these names should make any Jazz enthusiast dizzy, and I have had the pleasure to know all of them and attend this gig. The album presents just four lengthy tracks, featuring a long series of dazzling solos. The music is kept in the form of a typical at the time European Big Band, which took a basic melodic theme and expended it, allowing many individual solos as well as collective improvisation, which of course was but a breeze for these superb musicians, who could find themselves at any musical environment with ease and elegance, and who respected each other immensely at all time. What could have developed into a cacophonic catastrophe, turned out to be a beautiful, completely well behaved display of Modern Jazz, which inspired all the musicians and the audience alike. Sadly, such meetings of musicians of this scale are hardly possible any more, with the constantly diminishing public support for music in Europe and the decline of the appreciation of Art and Culture and a constant race after basic survival, which many of today’s musicians experience at all time. I have been lucky to live through the 1970s / 1980s / and to some extent 1990s, where public financial support enabled many musical (and other artistic) happenings, like the one captured on this album. Overall, this is a brilliant and quite unique album, which presents an all-star (although nobody felt like a star) Jazz gathering of sublime talent, which produced heavenly music, captured herein. O tempora, o mores! – those were the days and “to se ne vrati…”

Updated: 17/04/2025Posted: 17/04/2025

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE ~ MEETS THE KHAN FAMILY M.A MUSIC 807 ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1992 Released: 1992 This is a live album by the European Jazz EnsembleFind albums by this artist, a collective of Jazz musicians led by German bassist Ali HaurandFind albums by this artist (who died in 2018), which included in its various configurations since 1976 the absolute crème de la crème of European Jazz representatives. The lineup on this album comprises, in addition to Haurand, of trumpeters Thomas HebererFind albums by this artist, Manfred SchoofFind albums by this artist and Rainer WinterschladenFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Ernst-Ludwig PetrowskyFind albums by this artist, Gerd DudekFind albums by this artist and Stan SulzmannFind albums by this artist, guitarist Philip CatherineFind albums by this artist, pianists Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist and Rob van den BroeckFind albums by this artist, vocalist Uschi BruningFind albums by this artist and drummer Tony LevinFind albums by this artist (of the twelve musicians two are British, one Belgian and one Dutch, and the rest are Germans). On this album they invited three Indian musicians, members of the extended Khan family: Ustad Zamir Ahmed KhanFind albums by this artist on sitar, Irshad Hussain KhanFind albums by this artist on tabla and Ustad Munir KhanFind albums by this artist on sarangi. The album presents four tracks, two lasing over fifteen minutes and two over twenty minutes, one each composed by Danish trumpeter Allan BotschinskyFind albums by this artist (a former member of the ensemble), Sultzmann, Kuhn and Schoof. The music is a wonderful example of Jazz-World Fusion, with the entire ensemble and the guests offer a group improvisation based on pre-composed themes, but expanding the music way beyond the original melodies, as expected. The ensemble plays some parts in a Big Band manner, but most of the time the music involves group improvisations between the ensemble members and the guests, often flying far and away from the initial source. Since all the musicians on this album are superb instrumentalists, the level of the performances is nothing short of stunning. All the albums by this ensemble are excellent documents of the diversity and complexity of the European scene, and here they are able to create new cross-genre musical explorations. Overall, this is a very interesting and rather unique Jazz-World Music album, which presents a meeting between Big Band Jazz and Indian traditional music, which usually is performed in a much more intimate lineup. These musicians prove again that music has no stylistic borders, and gifted musicians are able to communicate within any musical environment without any obstacles. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 17/08/2024Posted: 16/08/2024

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

AKI TAKASE ~ PLAYS FATS WALLER ENJA 9152 (Barcode: 767522915228) ~ JAPAN ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2003 Released: 2004 This is an album by Japanese (resident in Germany) pianist / composer Aki TakaseFind albums by this artist, recorded with an excellent team of German musicians: bass clarinetist Rudi MahalFind albums by this artist, trombonist Nils WogramFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Thomas HebererFind albums by this artist, drummer Paul LovensFind albums by this artist and American vocalist / banjoist / guitarist Eugene ChadbourneFind albums by this artist. The album presents fifteen, mostly short tracks, and as the title suggests most of which were composed by the great American pianist / composer Fats WallerFind albums by this artist, with six original compositions by Takase also included. The music moves constantly between the Stride Jazz, associated with Waller, and the completely modern / Free Jazz, which is the usual modus operandi of the musicians playing on the album, creating a wonderful stylistic see-saw and a brilliant musical experience. People expecting to hear here straightforward interpretation of Harlem Jazz from the 1920s and 1930s are in for a real big surprise ;) Takase transforms Waller’s smoothly into the 21st Century, ignoring stylistic constrains and seeming “ignoring” the traditions, but of course a trained ear easily hears the genius involved. It’s not a coincidence that Takase has been one of my all-time favorite pianist and bandleaders, and this album is a perfect example of her super-human abilities. Obviously it takes some intellectual effort to recognize the manipulations applied to the original compositions and the transformation path they go through herein, but the satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed. Overall, this is a brilliant example of Takase’s genius, and her unique way of treating the Jazz tradition, bringing them into contemporary Jazz. The excellent team stands up to the challenge without a hitch and this music, despite its curves and twists, is a highly aesthetic journey into the unexpected. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 16/12/2023Posted: 16/12/2023

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend