Record Reviews

JOHNNY GRIFFIN ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.11 POLSKIE RADIO 1630-1631 (Barcode: 5907812246303) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 Released: 2014 This is the eleventh installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here on two CDs presents recordings made in 1963 at the sixth Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw by the legendary American saxophonist Johnny GriffinFind albums by this artist and his quintet. Prior to this recordings Griffin, like many of his Afro-American colleagues, moved to Europe, where Jazz was experiencing an explosive development and was considered an Art Form and racial discrimination was almost completely absent. The quintet includes fellow American pianist Kenny DrewFind albums by this artist, who settled in Europe a couple of years earlier, Dutch guitarist Wim OvergaauwFind albums by this artist, Dutch bassist Ruud JacobsFind albums by this artist and another American, drummer Robert Joseph (real name Robert Joseph Durham or Bobby DurhamFind albums by this artist as he was known to all – Polskie Radio should have known this). In fact the quintet never actually performed as a quintet, but rather as two quartets, one with guitar and without drums and the other with drums and without guitar. The two CDs, spanning well over two hours, present only nine tracks, all of which are Jazz standards, all running between ten and almost thirty minutes, with extended improvisations, mostly by Griffin, but also some mighty fine work by Drew. Stylistically this is almost all Bebop at its finest and most sophisticated revelation. Griffin was at his absolute peak at that time and his playing is nothing short of stunning. His technical proficiency and superb feel for the music is simply breathtaking. Drew´s subtle accompaniment and beautiful solos are also priceless. All the rest of the crew is also outstanding. In retrospect this music is simply divine from start to finish, a painful reminder that they don´t make music like this any more. This is definitely one of the finest recordings by Griffin, and one of the best volumes of this series. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Updated: 01/06/2018Posted:

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

JOHNNY GRIFFIN / HAL SINGER / LESZEK ZADLO / FERDINAND POVEL ~ SWISS RADIO DAYS TCB 02362 (Barcode: 725095023627) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1975 - 1980 Released: 2013 This is a live archival album, which combines four sessions recorded by the Swiss Radio with a local Swiss rhythm section comprising of German (resident in Switzerland) pianist Klaus KoenigFind albums by this artist, bassist Peter FreiFind albums by this artist and drummers Alberto CanonicoFind albums by this artist, Peter SchmidlinFind albums by this artist or Pierre FavreFind albums by this artist and guest musicians: American saxophonists Johnny GriffinFind albums by this artist from 1975, and Hal SingerFind albums by this artist from 1980, Polish Saxophonist Leszek ZadloFind albums by this artist from 1979 and Dutch saxophonist Ferdinand PovelFind albums by this artist from 1978. The first three sessions present one track and the fourth session presents two tracks. Griffin, as expected, plays pretty straightforward mainstream Jazz, but the expanded playing time allows him to display his intensive improvisational abilities. Singer is mostly a Blues traditionalist, and his melodic performance is completely predictable. Zadlo, resident in Germany since 1975, is obviously the most interesting player on this album, pushing the boundaries of modern Jazz and Improvised Music, in the John Coltrane tradition. His fiery performance is convincing and jaw-dropping, and his presence on this album is the real reason why it is worth having a copy of it. Povel, who is an excellent player, very active on the European scene at the time, shows that his performances, although still rooted in Bebop, are way more advanced harmonically than anything originating from across the pond. Overall, due to the presence of Zadlo and Povel, this is a document of the European Jazz scene, especially important since the “Swiss Radio Days” series releases concentrated mostly on visiting American musicians, which seldom contributed interesting material.

Updated: 11/02/2025Posted: 11/02/2025

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

PENTANGLE ~ ONE MORE ROAD / LIVE 1994 HUX 089 (Barcode: 682970000893) ~ UK ~ Folk-Rock Recorded: 1993 - 1994 Released: 2007 PentangleFind albums by this artist, the finest of the many UK Folk-Rock bands, went through two distinct life cycles. The original band, which was active between 1968 and 1972, left us a wonderful legacy of 6 splendid album released originally on the legendary UK folk oriented TransatlanticFind albums on this label label and reissued (and expanded) on CD by CastleFind albums on this label. That period was also documented by the release of the original band’s BBC recordings on the HuxFind albums on this label label in 2004 (The Lost Broadcasts 1968-1972Find albums with this title). In 1984 two of Pentangle’s founding members singer Jacqui McSheeFind albums by this artist and guitarist John RenbournFind albums by this artist reformed the band again. This second incarnation of the band started off with the five original members but later on went through many personnel changes until the final version of the band crystallized around 1989 and kept together till 1994. This last version of the band included Jacqui, Bert JanschFind albums by this artist and three other Folk-Rock veterans: Nigel Portman-SmithFind albums by this artist (bass, piano and vocals – ex Magna CartaFind albums by this artist), Gerry ConwayFind albums by this artist (drums – ex FotheringayFind albums by this artist and Jethro TullFind albums by this artist) and Pete KirtleyFind albums by this artist (guitar - ex Alan Price SetFind albums by this artist, GriffinFind albums by this artist, Riff RaffFind albums by this artist and many other bands). The second Pentangle recorded also 6 albums, three of which were recorded by the last lineup above. Alas these albums are almost completely neglected and have been out of print for many years. This beautiful album brings us splendidly remastered versions of the last two Pentangle albums: One More RoadFind albums with this title – the last studio album and Live 1994Find albums with this title – their swan song. There is hardly any need to recommend these masterpieces to a serious Folk-Rock fan. Let’s just be grateful this material is available again and enjoy every minute of it to the fullest. Brilliant!

CD 2 Remastered Recommend To A Friend