Record Reviews

ROLF KUHN ORCHESTRA ~ SYMPHONIC SWAMPFIRE MPS 602527221205 (Barcode: 602527221205) ~ GERMANY ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 1978 Released: 2009 This is a reissue / remaster of an album by the German clarinetists / composer / bandleader Rolf KuhnFind albums by this artist, recorded with a large orchestra and soloists, which include some of the best European Jazz musicians active at the time, like his younger brother pianist / composer Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist, American (resident in Germany) saxophonist Charlie MarianoFind albums by this artist, Belgian guitarist Philip CatherineFind albums by this artist, Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted PedersenFind albums by this artist, Belgian drummer Bruno CastellucciFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents five tracks, two of which are parts of a suite, which gave the album its title, all composed by Rolf Kuhn. The album is an outstanding example of European Orchestral / Big Band Jazz, which took the seeds of American Big Band tradition and transposed it to entirely another plane, way more sophisticated, Artistic and imaginative. The performances are blood-chilling and absolutely unique, in many ways probably exposing the very peak of the Jazz creativity, which to be honest never managed to climb much higher than what can be heard here. The music is based on strong melodic themes, wonderfully arranged for the orchestral environment, multilayered and even multi-rhythmic, emphasizing the complex sound of the orchestra as a complete music-making unit, rather than mostly just accompanying the soloists. By the time this music was recorded, European Jazz was heavily involved with Fusion, which is superbly incorporated within the orchestral sound, with electric guitar and keyboards being an integral part of the ambience. For guitar lovers, this is one of the finest albums featuring the brilliant guitar artistry of Catherine, as well as the electric side of Joachim Kuhn. Rolf Kuhn emerges here as a brilliant composer and arranger of orchestral Jazz, as well as a musician able to develop in time and embrace new trends and expand his horizons constantly, which characterized him for his entire lifetime, which I was lucky to follow for many years during our friendship. Overall, this is one of the most interesting orchestral Jazz albums in European Jazz, despite the fact that it is only known by relatively very few Jazz listeners. I have owned a copy since day one and listened to this album countless times in the almost fifty years since it was released, and each and every time I managed to discover something new in the music. I can only hope some more listeners will discover it one day, although admittedly it is quite difficult to find a copy. 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: 31/07/2024Posted: 18/07/2024

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