Record Reviews

KRZYSZTOF HERDZIN ~ LOOKING FOR BALANCE UNIVERSAL 602527877860 (Barcode: 602527877860) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 Polish pianist / composer / arranger Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist is without a doubt not only the most versatile musician in his country, but also extremely prolific and obviously accordingly talented. He likes to work with as many different musical settings as possible, from a piano trio to large scale orchestral extravaganzas, seemingly with equal ease and success. This is one of such "out there" projects, which features Herdzin´s original music played by a Jazz ensemble and accompanied by a full scale string and woodwinds orchestra. The ensemble comprises of Herdzin´s regular trio, with bassist Robert KubiszynFind albums by this artist and drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist, and three guests: guitarist Marek NapiorkowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Piotr BaronFind albums by this artist and Swiss harmonica player Gregoire MaretFind albums by this artist (of Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist Group fame), who is the featured soloist. The Sinfonia VivaFind albums by this artist Orchestra is responsible for the orchestral parts. The music belongs broadly to the Jazz & Strings format, which of course was tried many times before. The Jazz ensemble plays a set of very melodic, relaxed and lyrical compositions, taking solos in turn, with Maret being the principle soloist. The harmonica is relatively rarely used as a solo instrument in the Jazz framework and with the exception of a few known cases (most notably the Belgian Toots ThielemansFind albums by this artist) is usually associated with less challenging music. Of course in the hands (and mouth) of a very talented player it can sound quite virtuosic, as is the case here, but it adds another dimension of "sweetness" to the proceedings, which borders with overdoing it. Personally Baron´s contributions on this album are the most interesting, albeit being decisively too limited. The orchestral arrangements are elegant and kept in good taste, playing only the second fiddle (pun intended) in the proceedings. Although excellently played and masterfully arranged, they seem to be merely ornamentation, contributing little to the actual musical content other than setting an atmospheric background. There is definitely a fine balance and cooperation between the ensemble and the orchestra, but full musical integration is not achieved here, perhaps purposely. Herdzin of course proves that he can easily handle the orchestral arrangements any way he pleases. Overall this is a very nice album, which many listeners will find pleasing and enjoyable. For hardcore Jazz fans this might be a bit too sweet to swallow (especially those with diabetes like myself), but nevertheless it is professionally executed classy music, accessible to a wide audience, which definitely has its merits.

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

AZIZA MUSTAFA ZADEH ~ JAZZIZA COLUMBIA 487897 ~ AZERBAIJAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 1997 5th album by Azerbaijani pianist Aziza Mustafa ZadehFind albums by this artist, daughter of Vagif Mustafa ZadehFind albums by this artist who was a visionary pianist / composer and one of the greatest pioneers of Jazz-World Fusion (combining Jazz and Folk music elements from Azerbaijan). Aziza follows on her father´s trail and her wonderfully lyrical piano playing and gentle scat singing brought her recognition and enthusiastic following all over the world. On this album she is accompanied by the great Belgian musicians: Toots ThielemansFind albums by this artist on harmonica and Philip CatherineFind albums by this artist on guitar. This is a kind of album every music lover in the world should listen to at least once!

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JACO PASTORIUS ~ INVITATION ATLANTIC 247909 (Barcode: 093624790921) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1983 Released: 2003 3rd album by Jaco PastoriusFind albums by this artist. Following the recording of his second album Word Of MouthFind albums with this title, Pastorius led a large ensemble during the early 1980’s, which was called by the same name as the title of that album (i.e. "Word Of Mouth"). This album presets a live recording of the ensemble during a Japanese tour, and is considered by many as the best Pastorius recording ever. The band swings and funks superbly, the soloist (Randy BreckerFind albums by this artist, Peter ErskineFind albums by this artist, Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, Toots ThielemansFind albums by this artist and many others) play their hearts out and everybody seems to have a ball. This is obviously one of those “once in a lifetime” moments when everything just clicks together in a musical orgy of sounds. If there is anybody out there, who never heard this album and still considers himself a jazz fan, he is missing a large chunk of his musical education. Well I suppose it’s never too late. Absolutely essential!

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

PATRICK WILLIAMS ~ COME ON AND SHINE MPS 4029759097266 (Barcode: 4029759097266) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 1977 Released: 2014 This is a reissue of a little known early album by the great American composer Patrick WilliamsFind albums by this artist, who is one of the leading cinematic composers for the American movie and TV industries, but also a great Jazz aficionado, especially as a leader of Big Bands and composer of Jazz-Classical Fusion recordings. This album presents not one, but two different Jazz Big Bands, one from the East Coast (NY) and one from the West Coast (LA), performing seven original compositions by Williams, one by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and one standard, all arranged by Williams. The lineups of these bands read like a who´s who of the American Jazz scene at the time and include among others trumpeters Marvin StammFind albums by this artist and Lew SoloffFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Lou MariniFind albums by this artist and Ronnie CuberFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Dave GrusinFind albums by this artist, guitarist Steve KhanFind albums by this artist, bassist Tony LevinFind albums by this artist, drummer Grady TateFind albums by this artist and also the Belgian harmonica virtuoso Toots ThielemansFind albums by this artist. The music is a mixture of Jazz and Funk / Groove, which was at the peak of its popularity at the time, not very ambitious musically but excellently performed and in retrospect still entertaining today. The Big Band arrangements are a classic example of the American school regarding Big Band arrangements. Overall a nice stroll down the memory lane… 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: 27/05/2018Posted: 04/10/2016

CD 1 Slipcase Remastered Recommend To A Friend