Record Reviews

MANU KATCHÉ ~ THIRD ROUND ECM 2156 (Barcode: 602527321318) ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz Recorded: 2009 Released: 2010 This is the third album for ECMFind albums on this label by French (born in Ivory Coast) drummer / composer Manu KatchéFind albums by this artist, recorded with a quartet, which features saxophonist Tore BrunborgFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Jason RebelloFind albums by this artist and bassist Pino PalladinoFind albums by this artist and two additional musicians participating on selected tracks: guitarist Jacob YoungFind albums by this artist and female vocalist / trumpeter Kami LyleFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of eleven original compositions, all by Katché, one of which also includes lyrics, written by Lyle. It is pretty obvious from the very first instant of this album that it presents a new concept, different from the two preceding albums, being completely "song" / melody oriented and only marginally Jazzy per se. The eleven tracks are all quite short (around four minutes in duration), very melodic and with limited space for improvisation. I´d speculate that this is probably the most "easy listening" album ever recorded for ECM. But apart from the fact that this is not a Jazz album, all the other aspects of this recording are all positive: the melodies are excellent, the execution perfect and completely professional, as is the usual ECM sound quality. Therefore this album simply should not be judged by the "usual" standards of hard core Jazz and with a little open-mindedness this is a very enjoyable piece of music, which delivers exactly what it aims to do: musical joy and fun!

CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend

JACEK KOCHAN ~ THIRD OF THREE AUDIO CAVE 2014/001 (Barcode: 5902596954734) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is an album by Polish Jazz drummer / composer Jacek KochanFind albums by this artist, one of the most prolific and internationally involved Polish musicians. On the album he presents a trio led by him and also including two pianists: the Italian Mauro SchiavoneFind albums by this artist, who plays acoustic piano and the Polish Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist, who plays the electric piano, both playing side by side with the leader. The trio presents eight original compositions, all by Kochan. All three instrumentalist need little introduction and anybody familiar with the Polish Jazz scene should be aware of Kochan´s achievements since the 1980s. He released close to twenty albums as a leader, many of which feature top Jazz players from around the world. Schiavone has already a proven record as an excellent player and Wania, who is the youngest trio member, is one of the "hottest" Jazz musicians on the Polish scene in the last decade. A trio consisting of a drummer and two pianists is highly atypical and I can´t recall any other example of such musical configuration prior to this one. Consequently the music sounds quite strange and unusual, and takes a while to get used to. The compositions are also eerie, somewhere between industrial and ambient, with twisted melodic contents and jumpy rhythmical patterns, in short definitely not your average easy listening Jazz experience. After a while this strange brew starts to make sense and exposes an exciting listening adventure, which is definitely different from most other stuff one comes across, all for the best of course. Overall this is quite an ambitious piece of music, requiring attentive and repeated listening in order to be truly appreciated. Kochan is to be congratulated for exploring new areas and not standing still, like many other players of his generation. Definitely worth exploring!

Updated: 17/06/2021Posted:

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

SOFT MACHINE ~ THIRD COLUMBIA 30339 (Barcode: 074643033923) ~ USA ~ Canterbury Scene 3rd album from 1970, originally a double LP, now on 1 CD. Expanded line-up including a horn section, creates what is widely accepted as one of the greatest epics of Prog and Canterbury music, with brilliant improvisations and incredibly strong writing. Almost entirely instrumental, with Wyatt`s occasional scatting and imaginative drumming. A landmark recording for both the Prog and the Jazz-Rock genres.

CD 1 Essential Recommend To A Friend

SOFT MACHINE ~ THIRD (EXPANDED EDITION) SONY BMG 687293 (Barcode: 828768729328) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene Recorded: 1970 Released: 2007 3rd album by Soft MachineFind albums by this artist, originally released as a double LP. Although basically a trio at this point (Robert WyattFind albums by this artist, Hugh HopperFind albums by this artist & Mike RatledgeFind albums by this artist) they use a horn-section to expand the sound of the band, which includes among others Elton DeanFind albums by this artist (soon to be a full time SM member) and Jimmy HastingsFind albums by this artist (brother of Pye HastingsFind albums by this artist from CaravanFind albums by this artist). The music is of course one of the most pivotal recordings of the era and widely accepted as one of the greatest epics of Prog and Canterbury music, with brilliant improvisations and incredibly strong writing. Almost entirely instrumental, with Wyatt`s occasional scatting, this album marks the band’s transition from early psychedelic pop / rock to Jazz-Rock and later eventually to free jazz. With constantly changing lineup the band managed in the span of just a few months, between late 1969 and early 1970, to create an entirely new genre in itself, as nothing else done by any other band would ever sound similar to Soft Machine (of that period). This music is as revolutionary and groundbreaking as the stuff Miles DavisFind albums by this artist was creating at the time on the other side of the pond, and equally brilliant. The beautiful new edition adds a full bonus CD, which contains a live recording at the Royal Alert Hall (August 1970), done by the BBC (a trademark of sonic quality), previously unreleased. An absolute masterpiece, beyond essential!

CD 2 Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend