Record Reviews

ROBERT BACHNER / HELMAR HILL ~ EIN FEINER ZUG ATS 0644 (Barcode: 9005216006441) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2005 Released: 2007 This is the debut album by the duo comprising of Austrian Jazz musicians: trombonist / composer Robert BachnerFind albums by this artist and pianist / composer Helmar HillFind albums by this artist. The album presents six (one being a three-part concerto for trombone and piano) original compositions, three each by the duo members. Bachner and Hill, who are among the busiest players on the local scene, are both members of the splendid Upper Austrian Jazz OrchestraFind albums by this artist, but also record with their own ensembles as well as play in many other outfits. This album beautifully emphasizes their abilities both as talented composers and superb instrumentalists, presenting a masterpiece recording in the "Art of the Duo" Jazz idiom, which always was one of my favorite Jazz facets. It is intimate and demanding, showing perfectly the interplay and communication between the two musicians and their telepathic coordination, and allowing a proper display of their individual chops, which are spectacular indeed. The compositions are all wonderfully melodic, exhibiting the typical European melancholy, especially so in the case of the concerto composed by Hill, which combines several musical themes and an almost Classical compositional approach. This album is a perfect example of the "less is more" principle, which albeit its seemingly limited instrumental possibilities proves that two great musicians can be no less effective than a much larger ensemble. The elegance, finesse and astounding musicianship offered by the duo attest to the strength of the European Jazz scene, which has no reason to display any inferiority complex in reference to Jazz musicians from across the pond. For European Jazz lovers who are not familiar with the Austrian scene, this album is a great introduction both to the local talents and the vitality of the music being performed there. For "Art of the Duo" enthusiasts, this is an absolute must have. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 01/02/2020Posted: 01/02/2020

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IDO BUKELMAN ~ CRACKED SONG OUTNOW 001 (Barcode: 7290011216955) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 Israeli guitarist / composer Ido BukelmanFind albums by this artist is one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In addition to his musical activities Bukelman recently combined forces with two other Israeli musicians (saxophonist Yoni KretzmerFind albums by this artist and guitarist Yair YonaFind albums by this artist) and together they launched a new Israeli record label, called OutNowFind albums on this label Recordings, dedicated to releasing their own music and other more ambitious and less commercial musical ventures, which otherwise would have very little (if any) chances to see the light of day at all. The label released its first six albums recently, of which this is the first one. Bukelman, who plays both acoustic and electric guitar, records in various settings, which include both solo and ensemble performances. This album finds him as a leader of a quartet, which includes his regular trio members: bassist Assaf HakimiFind albums by this artist and drummer Udi ShlomoFind albums by this artist. Cellist Yuval MesnerFind albums by this artist joins them to form a quartet. The music, all composed by Bukelman, is surprisingly "well behaved" relatively to a Free Jazz setting, with clear melody lines stated throughout the improvisations. Although there´s plenty of freedom for the musicians to express their personal statements, the compositions are noticeably structured, which of course makes the music more accessible to a less experienced listener. In spite its free-spirit character, this music is far from being alienated from the Jazz tradition, which is one of its merits. The level of performances, interplay and personal statements is truly excellent throughout. Bukelman´s electric guitar sometimes ventures into Jazz-Rock territory with a slight scent of the free side of John McLaughlin, which I mean as a compliment considering my well known sympathy towards McLaughlin artistry. Mesner´s cello, excellent as always, paints a calmer atmospheric background and the rhythm section makes a superb effort to glue everything together, which is successful indeed. Altogether this is a first rate Free Jazz album, which most "regular" Jazz enthusiasts should enjoy as well. This level of musicianship, personal courage and dedication to the music is a heartwarming and one can hope that the future of noncommercial and artistic music in Israel has a new perspective in the hands of a new generation, which will take it further. This is brilliant stuff, not to be missed!

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IDO BUKELMAN ~ SOLO OUTNOW 005 (Barcode: 7290011216962) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the debut solo recording by Israeli guitarist / composer Ido BukelmanFind albums by this artist, one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In contrast to his ensemble recordings or those with the EFTFind albums by this artist trio (also released on the great OutNowFind albums on this label Recording label) where he mostly plays electric guitar, on this album Bukelman opts for the acoustic guitar, except for one track on which he adds electronics. The music is very difficult to describe and belongs to the extreme Avant-Garde personal statements, which are incredibly difficult to access and assess. If anybody reading this is familiar with the work of the great British guitarist Derek BaileyFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of the Improvised Music movement, then this might be a starting point. This does not mean of course that Bukelman is imitating Bailey´s work, as that would be an oxymoron, but stylistically and sonically the content of this album belongs in the same sphere. Obviously this is a very personal music and the question if it is communicative and transferable to the listener remains open and is largely up to the listener himself. Improvised Music is, after all, a very individual expression of a momentary inspiration. One should of course commend the Artist first for making such individual and unconventional statement and that for bringing it out in the open for others to experience. Hopefully there will be others open-minded enough to enjoy and appreciate this music.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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IDO BUKELMAN ~ THE DOOR KADIMA COLLECTIVE 33 (Barcode: 7290011216009) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is the second solo recording by Israeli guitarist / composer Ido BukelmanFind albums by this artist, one of the most prolific musicians on the local Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. In contrast to his ensemble recordings or those with the EFTFind albums by this artist trio, where he mostly plays electric guitar, on his solo albums Bukelman opts for the acoustic guitar, adding also banjo and some percussion on this one. Of the eleven tracks on this album, all composed by him, the last six are connected into a suite, which gives the album its title. In comparison to his previous solo album ("SoloFind albums with this title"), recorded just a few months earlier, this album is much more relaxed and "well behaved", with clear melodic content popping out between and behind the freely improvised passages. Of course this is still very much Improvised Music, very personal and complex, which presents quite a challenge to the listener, but the overall effect of this album is definitely less stressful and estranging. With four albums recorded and released in less than a year Bukelman emerges as a major talent of the local scene, one that deserves to be followed carefully, open-mindedly and openheartedly as a source of some serious musical experiences. Hopefully there will be an audience open-minded enough to enjoy and appreciate this music.

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ELAINE DELMAR ~ SNEAKIN` UP ON YOU VOCALION 8437 (Barcode: 765387843724) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1968 Released: 2007 British singer / actor Elaine DelmarFind albums by this artist is a prominent figure on the local entertainment scene, with several decades of activity on stage, cinema and recording studio. Delmar started her career as a Jazz singer in the mid 1960s, recording several albums for Denis PrestonFind albums by this artist, and then signed with the CBSFind albums on this label label, on which she released just the one album, now reissued on VocalionFind albums on this label. As opposed to her early strictly Jazz recordings, on this album Delmar presents repertoire drawn from the cinema and stage as well as contemporary songbook. Of course her Jazz inclinations are still very much audible, as are her natural charm and talent. The music is superbly arranged and the orchestral accompaniment perfectly executed, with that marvelous 1960s sound. In many respects this album is a perfect example of vocal albums made in Britain in the late 1960s / early 1970s, where arrangers and orchestra conductors were an integral part of the final result and the overall result full of brilliant details, both vocal and instrumental. They don´t make music like that any more, that´s for sure. This is a most pleasant trip don the memory lane, which lost nothing of its charm over time.

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ELMA ~ AD REM HEVHETIA 0113 (Barcode: 8588005257657) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2016 This is the second album by Polish Jazz vocalist ElmaFind albums by this artist, but in fact it could be viewed as the second part of Elma´s debut album, as it presents material recorded at the same recording session as the material released on the debut. A conscious decision was made at the time to collect the "song oriented" material on the debut and the improvised material on this second album The album was recorded by a quartet, which features Elma with Finnish trumpeter Verneri PohjolaFind albums by this artist and Polish pianist Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist and bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and was recorded at the Studio Tokarnia and engineered by Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist. The music on this album comprises of twelve improvised pieces; a prologue and then an eleven-part suite. Except for the first part of the suite which is credited to Elma and Pohjola, the rest of the music is credited to all four participants. Although the Improvised Music is enjoying a spectacular Renaissance in the last few years, it is almost always completely instrumental and does not involve the human voice. The glorious days of the vocal Improvised Music are sadly completely gone and pioneering vocalists like Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist, Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Jay ClaytonFind albums by this artist, Bobby McFerrinFind albums by this artist and others are either forgotten or changed their field of interest. Therefore Elma can be considered as the torch bearer of this fantastic tradition into the 21st Century. Elma treats her voice as an instrument, which has always been the basic rule of great vocalists. Since the human voice is limited only by the vocalist´s imagination, it is the most versatile and virtually unlimited instrument, a fact which becomes plainly evident to anybody listening to this music. With the incredibly compassionate accompaniment Elma receives from her three partners, the resulting music is one of the most unique musical creations recorded in the last few years. The importance of this music is twofold; firstly it is breathtakingly beautiful, emotionally intense and aesthetically stunning and secondly it is intellectually courageous and fascinating. Elma is not regressing to the 1970s to create more of the same vocal Improvised Music created then, but takes the tradition right up to date, moving forward and updating the concept, adapting it to contemporary Jazz language, sound and vision. Her vocalese and other tricks of the trade, most of which she invented herself or expanded from earlier examples, is a completely new language in itself, which enables her to go where nobody went before; an extremely rare quality these days. The contributions of the three instrumentalists present here is simply outstanding. They all manage to contribute to the music without overshadowing the focus of the vocals and their empathy and ability to communicate with Elma almost telepathically is simply phenomenal. This is indisputably one of the most important albums released on the Polish Jazz scene in the last decade and as far as vocal Jazz is concerned, also on a world scale. There is no other vocal Improvised Music of this intensity and innovative authority anywhere else at the moment, which makes this album simply a one of its kind. To say the truth, this album should be studied by every vocalist in the world, Jazz and otherwise, just to make them aware of what the human voice (and mind) is capable of. This might of course make some of them stop singing, which would be of great benefit of course. Absolutely essential item in every serious record collection!

Updated: 29/02/2016Posted: 29/02/2016

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ELMA ~ HIC ET NUNC IMP 101 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by female Polish Jazz vocalist, who hides behind the pseudonym ElmaFind albums by this artist, recorded with Finnish trumpeter Verneri PohjolaFind albums by this artist (son of the Finnish Jazz legend Pekka PohjolaFind albums by this artist) and two great polish musicians: pianist Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist and bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, seven of which are by Elma, three by Garbowski and the remaining one by Pohjola. The album was recorded at the legendary Studio Tokarnia, with Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist presiding, and with spectacular, as usual, sonic results. To put things straight, vocals in this case mean vocalese, i.e. wordless vocal phrases, which basically represent the human voice as just another instrument, placing it on the same level as the rest of the musicians involved. Stylistically the music is much more organized and melodic than one might expect by reading the liner notes, which basically suggest a lot of spontaneous improvisation, which is definitely present here but does not dominate the proceedings. On the contrary the majority of the music consists of clearly defined musical themes, which must have been rehearsed before the actual recording. Of course there is nothing wrong with such approach. Musical birds tell me that large part of the recorded music stays unreleased, so perhaps this album includes the more melodic content and the forthcoming one will present the spontaneously improvised pieces? Elma seems to be more involved in vocalese than any other female Polish Jazz vocalist at the moment, most of which use vocalese sparingly and prefer singing lyrics. Personally I always preferred the instrumental approach to human voice and therefore this album is a breath of fresh air in that department. Elma uses a wide variety of vocal paraphernalia, moving between scat, modulation, syllables or simply singing notes. The actual tone of her voice is perhaps an acquired taste, but the overall result is very unique and enjoyable. The instrumentalists are all quite spectacular, which in their case is not surprising. Wania arises as one of the absolute best Polish Jazz pianists and everything he touches simply turns into the proverbial gold. Garbowski, who is one of my personal favorites since quite a while, also delivers some incredible bass lines, which keep this music afloat, especially in a drumless environment. Pohjola plays some tasty trumpet solos, but his input is a bit too predictable for me personally, although many listeners addicted to the Nordic Jazz sound will surely love it. This is definitely one of the most interesting debuts (so far) in 2014 and deserves a lot of love and attention, simply to show daring musicians that conventions mean very little as far as good Art is concerned. Of course similar attitude towards vocals was already displayed several decades ago, including those of Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist in Poland, but hearing someone trying to revive such experimentation is truly refreshing. I´d love to hear more from Elma and this quartet, hopefully in a not too distant future. Well done indeed!

Updated: 29/02/2016Posted:

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ELMA ~ LICENTIA POETICA HEVHETIA 0232 (Barcode: 8588005259286) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the long awaited third album by Polish Jazz vocalist ElmaFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Elma KaisFind albums by this artist) recorded live with American guitarist Knox ChandlerFind albums by this artist, Australian (resident in Berlin) bassist Daigo NakaiFind albums by this artist and German drummer Klaus KugelFind albums by this artist. The album presents thirteen original pieces, all co-composed by the four musicians. The music is spontaneously improvised, although obviously somewhat pre-conceived, and as such could be classified as Improvised Music or Free Jazz, but honestly it makes no sense to apply any definitions to it, as it is as free-spirited as humanly possible. Although Elma’s vocal parts are obviously in the center of the listener’s attention, the music is collaborative and involves all four musicians at the same level of creativity. Elma continues her wordless vocalese / “voice as instrument” approach, which she demonstrated on her two earlier albums, but takes it further out into the truly virtuosic sphere, which sets her in a separate universe from almost all Jazz vocalists active today, continuing the vocal Jazz revolution started in the 1970s by European vocal pioneering female vocalists like Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist, Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist, Mirka KrivankovaFind albums by this artist and several others. On contemporary Polish Jazz scene, she seems to be almost completely solitary, except for the work of Anna GadtFind albums by this artist. There is no doubt that this album is completely unique, as far as vocal Jazz is concerned, and Elma’s talent shines ever so brightly, fulfilling gracefully all the great hopes she stirred with her earlier albums. The music she creates with her colleagues hits the listener straight between his eyes, shocks and uplifts on a truly spiritual level, which happens only very rarely with new music that arrives on my desk. Considering the fact that Elma practically reinvents the approach to vocal improvisation, throwing away all pre-conceptions and limitations, she is able to cross into uncharted territory. We often tend to think that “everything was already done” in music (or otherwise), but that is a defeatist approach and life proves that there a possibility for progress. Overall, this is a shockingly beautiful, uplifting musical experience, which happens extremely rarely. As pompous as this might sound, this is probably the most perfect Polish Jazz vocal album of all times, a creation of unprecedented courage, inventiveness and free-spirited exploration. Yes, yes I see all the sceptics shrugging…

Updated: 21/05/2022Posted: 21/05/2022

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GILAD HEKSELMAN ~ HEARTS WIDE OPEN LE CHANT DU MONDE 2037 (Barcode: 3149024203725) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the 3rd album by the sensational Israeli guitarist / composer Gilad HekselmanFind albums by this artist, who resides in NY since 2004, as do many other Israeli Jazz players. Hekselman quickly established himself as one of the top guitar players on the NY scene, a fact that is not a result of any publicity stunts but simply his incredible talent. With his tone very similar to early Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist, he is often compared to Metheny, but that kind of comparison is somewhat superficial. Hekselman is much more Jazz oriented than Metheny ever was in fact. Critics and more importantly fellow musicians agree unanimously that Hekselman was blessed with exceptional talent and his meteoric rise to fame is fully justified. This album, recorded with Hekselman´s regular trio: bassist Joe MartinFind albums by this artist and drummer Marcus GilmoreFind albums by this artist and with guest appearance on four tracks by saxophonist Mark TurnerFind albums by this artist, presents eight original compositions, which are all ideal vehicles for the leader´s display of his guitar magic, which is pretty amazing from start to finish. Clear, elegant, pure and melodic, his playing is always right on top of what is best for the music at any particular moment. Never clotted or overcrowded by too many notes, which usually plagues guitar players, he dances on his strings like leaves on a spring breeze, as if fingers and brain commands had nothing to do with it. But honestly, and most importantly, this is 100% unadulterated Jazz, free of any attempts whatsoever to become a neck-breaking Fusion trip, another plague of today´s guitar players. If this is what Hekselman is capable of at the tender age of 28, his future seems to be laid out for him on a golden path to stardom. Hopefully his head is not lost in the process. Hats off to you, Gilad and God Bless!

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IVO PERELMAN ~ THE COMPLETE IBEJI SESSIONS EDITIO PRINCEPS 16 (Barcode: 7898901556169) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz Recorded: 1994 - 1996 Released: 2008 This fantastic album collects together all the material recorded by Brazilian saxophonist Ivo PerelmanFind albums by this artist for the small independent US label IbejiFind albums on this label Records, which were released on two separate albums: “Soccer LandFind albums with this title” (1994) and “Tapeba SongsFind albums with this title” (1996), adding unreleased material and celebrating Perelman´s 20th anniversary as a recording artist. Perelman is one of Brazil´s top saxophonist, and one of relatively few Avant-Garde players, who continues the tradition of and incorporates influences from Albert AylerFind albums by this artist, Archie SheppFind albums by this artist and Peter BrötzmannFind albums by this artist, among others. He is a very prolific composer and player, releasing over 30 albums, mostly in the US, where he now resides, but this music was recorded when he was still in Brazil, with many other top Brazilian Jazz artists, including brothers Zé Eduardo NazarioFind albums by this artist (drums) and Lelo NazarioFind albums by this artist (keyboards), presenting a wonderful amalgam of Free Jazz with strong Brazilian influences. The power of Perelman´s expression and his virtuosity are rare and deserve a much wider attention than he actually gets, a fate shared by so many visionary artists. Any Free / Avant-Garde Jazz fan will definitely have a field day with this splendid album, just give it a chance!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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