Record Reviews

MARCEL BARTA ~ EPISODES FROM THE SPINNING BALL ANIMAL MUSIC 142 (Barcode: 8594211850636) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2025 Released: 2025 This is an album by Czech Jazz saxophonist / composer Marcel BartaFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quintet, which includes trombonist Stepan JanousekFind albums by this artist, pianist Vojtech ProchazkaFind albums by this artist, bassist Milos KlapsteFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan ChalupaFind albums by this artist and the Prague Radio Symphony OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Bastien StilFind albums by this artist. The album presents five tracks, which are parts of a suite composed, arranged and orchestrated by Barta. The album was recorded live during the premiere concert performance of the music. It offers exceptional sound quality, which seems to be always the case by Animal MusicFind albums on this label releases. Barta has been active on the local Jazz scene since several years as a member of a number of leading Czech Jazz ensembles, like VertigoFind albums by this artist and recorded with Stepanka BalcarovaFind albums by this artist, David DoruzkaFind albums by this artist, Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist and others. This is his debut album as a leader. The music is quite a unique amalgam of Jazz and Symphonic music, which is completely integrated with the quintet’s performances, often creating a “wall of sound” effect and acting as imaginary gigantic instrument, which turns the quintet into a “virtual sextet”. This level and sophistication of the integration between the orchestra and the quintet is truly exceptional. The music is based on strictly melodic themes, but there is plenty of instrumental improvisation by the quintet members, all of which are highly skilled and potent musicians. The music flows much like a cinematic score, which might have been an illustration to imaginary scenes, which inspired the musical stream. Overall, this is a highly successful Fusion of Jazz and Orchestral music, which is aesthetically coherent and adventurous at the same time. The music keeps the listener completely enthralled, unable to guess what will come next, which of course is exactly what every composer wishes for. A remarkable debut indeed!

Updated: 29/12/2025Posted: 29/12/2025

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VERTIGO ~ DALEKO ANIMAL MUSIC 081 (Barcode: 8594155999545) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the seventh album by Czech / Slovak Jazz ensemble VertigoFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist / clarinetist / vocalist Marcel BartaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter / vocalist Oskar TorokFind albums by this artist, cellist / vocalist Dorota BarovaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Vojtech ProchazkaFind albums by this artist, bassist Rastislav UhrikFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SoltisFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions; five by Barta, three by Prochazka and one each by Barova (with her lyrics), Torok (with lyrics by Slovak poet Ivan KraskoFind albums by this artist) and Soltis. The music is a highly interesting mixture of contemporary Jazz, Chamber Classical music and some Fusion elements, a wonderfully weird, almost Zappaesque concoction, which offers a superb balance of composed and improvised music and should leave no open-minded listener indifferent. Since I am exposed on a daily basis to huge quantities of new music, it is not surprising that it is very difficult to surprise me ;) However this music is definitely a breath of fresh air with its chutzpah and seemingly complete disregard of conventionalism or populism. As a result the listener gets exposed to something different with each track on the album and yet the entire continuity preserves an aesthetic coherence, despite the diversity. The modus operandi of the ensemble is definitely focused on group performance, with the soloing being rather secondary, which does not however limit the superb individual contributions by all the members, which can be distinctly heard by an attentive listener. The intense ensemble sound dominates the proceedings and interestingly the usage of the human voices as instruments empowers the total result and adds another dimension. This music might require more than one listening session in order to penetrate the complexity and intricacy, but is definitely worth the effort. Personally it´s time for me to dig into the earlier recordings by the group, which are hopefully bearing gifts of the same nature. Overall this is a heck of an album, completely innovative and stunning by its chest of musical treasures, which is wholeheartedly recommended. My respect towards Czech / Slovak Jazz is well justified again and if you are bored by the mundane Jazz albums that clutter our life, this is definitely a fountain of youth ;) Enjoy and well done people (of the universe without plastic)!

Updated: 12/10/2020Posted: 12/10/2020

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

VERTIGO ~ NIC ANIMAL MUSIC 107 (Barcode: 8594211850100) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is the eighth album by Czech / Slovak Jazz ensemble VertigoFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Marcel BartaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Oskar TorokFind albums by this artist, cellist Dorota BarovaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Vojtech ProchazkaFind albums by this artist, bassist Rastislav UhrikFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SoltisFind albums by this artist. The album presents fourteen original compositions; eight by Barta, two by Prochazka, one by Uhrik and three collective improvisations. The music was recorded at the Sono Records studio and engineered by Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist, with the usual stunning sound quality. The music is a sublime amalgam of cross-genre explorations, including contemporary Jazz, Chamber Classical Music, some Rock / Fusion elements and everything in between, completely shunning any simplistic definitions. Perfectly melodic at one moment, it becomes almost Improvised Music at the next, taking the listener on a see-saw journey of epic proportions. This music remains definitely a breath of fresh air with its chutzpah and seemingly complete disregard of conventionalism or populism. As a result, the listener gets exposed to something different with each track on the album and yet the entire continuity preserves an aesthetic coherence, despite the diversity. The emphasis on creating an ensemble sound rather than featuring expressive soloing is typical of contemporary European music, and Vertigo functions perfectly within that realm. The ominous title (“nothing” in English) reflects well the emptiness of the contemporary non-culture, which dominates our lives, and perhaps suggests how the void can be filled by something else, with a tinge of pessimism attached. Overall, this is a brilliant album from start to finish, which continues the Vertigo legacy, now twenty years in existence, filling our hearts with hope for the future. As long as European music has ensembles like Vertigo creating music, not all is lost. This album is well beyond recommendation; it is an absolute must to every true music connoisseur anywhere on this planet, as are in fact all their earlier recordings. This is bloodcurdling (in the best meaning of the word) stuff!

Updated: 05/10/2022Posted: 05/10/2022

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend