Record Reviews

CH.A.S.A. ~ 1975 LIVE INDIES HAPPY TRAILS 775 (Barcode: 8595026677524) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1975 Released: 2018 This is an archival album by Czechoslovak Jazz-Rock Fusion group Ch.A.S.A.Find albums by this artist recorded live in 1975, presenting material which was previously unreleased. The group consisted of vocalist Mirka KrivankovaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / flautist Pavel ChmelarFind albums by this artist, guitarist Jiri AdamFind albums by this artist, bassist Ivo AlbrechtFind albums by this artist, drummer Antonin StrizFind albums by this artist and percussionist Ivan HavlicekFind albums by this artist. Violinist Jan BeranekFind albums by this artist guests on two tracks. The album presents nine original compositions, seven of which were composed or co-composed by Adam and one each was composed by Striz and Albrecht. All the music is beautifully remastered and the album comes with extensive liner notes, extremely well researched and full of discographical information, sadly only in Czech language (which works fine for me, but probably less so for other enthusiasts who also might be interested). The group was founded in 1973 by Chmelar, Albrecht, Striz and Adam (hence the group´s name – an acronym), which were later joined by Havlicek and Krivankova. With the charismatic vocalist fronting the group they soon became a popular attraction on the local scene. Although the group existed until 1978, it never recorded a studio album and this material is their only recorded legacy. The music is all melody based Fusion, based on excellent original compositions, which faithfully represent European Jazz-Rock Fusion of the 1970s. Complex, multi-themed compositions and odd rhythmic patterns make the music interesting even today, four and half decades later. Obviously the wordless vocalese by Krivankova is the main point of interest, remaining stylistically close to the work of the pioneering Polish vocalist Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist. As usual in Fusion groups, Chmelar represents the more Jazz oriented side of the group´s music while Adam is the more Rock oriented contributor, and the balance between them is what makes this music work so well. The rhythm section is very solid and keeps the music flowing efficiently. Since the music was recorded live, it offers a lot of soloing by all the group´s members, which allows them to show their individual chops. For fans of European Jazz-Rock Fusion and its history, reissues of this kind are an absolute must, and the fact that this music is available on CD for the first time makes it a wonderful treasure. Brilliant stuff! My personal thanks to Jaromir KratochvilFind albums by this artist, the owner of Indies Happy TrailsFind albums on this label, for his friendship and the incredible job he is doing to keep this music alive! Side Note Since the 1950s Czechoslovakia had a highly developed Jazz scene, certainly in proportion to its population, which included many successful ensembles and even Big Bands, as well as Jazz clubs, festivals and publications, all this in spite of state censorship and political limitations. The similar situation existed since the 1960s as far as Rock (including Progressive Rock and Jazz-Rock Fusion) was concerned, resulting in many excellent, interesting and innovative ensembles. The music was relatively well documented by the three state owned record labels: SupraphonFind albums on this label (founded in 1927), PantonFind albums on this label (founded in 1968) and OpusFind albums on this label (founded in 1971 and based in Bratislava, created on the base of Slovak division of Supraphon). Following the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, the state owned record labels were privatized, with Supraphon dominating the local market. However, Supraphon was quite reluctant as far as exploring its vast back catalogue is concerned, and this is where the small independent Indies Happy TrailsFind albums on this label Records, a reissue label dedicated to the preservation of the recorded legacy of Czechoslovak music, owned and run by the devoted enthusiast / historian Jaromir KratochvilFind albums by this artist, founded in 2007, comes in. Over the years the label released a plethora of brilliant music, reissuing long deleted LPs and extensively exploring the archives in search of bonus material. The quest of Indies Happy Trails is similar to what the GADFind albums on this label Records label, run by Michal WilczynskiFind albums by this artist, is doing for Polish music, with similar consistency and praiseworthy dedication.

Updated: 03/03/2020Posted: 03/03/2020

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend