Record Reviews

BADEN POWELL ~ IMAGES ON GUITAR MPS 4029759113430 (Barcode: 4029759113430) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1971 Released: 2016 This is a reissue of an album by Brazilian guitarist / composer Baden PowellFind albums by this artist, which was his fourth album for MPSFind albums on this label and which was produced by the legendary Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist, like all the six albums he recorded for the label. He is supported by French vocalist Janine de WaleyneFind albums by this artist and Brazilian bassist Ernesto GonsalvesFind albums by this artist, percussionist Alfredo BessaFind albums by this artist and drummer Joaquim Paes HenriquesFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Powell. Two of the compositions credit the great Brazilian poet / composer Paulo Cesar PinheroFind albums by this artist as co-composer and the four compositions that feature vocals credit de Waleyne as co-composer. One of the tracks is a solo guitar performance, which was the initial idea for the entire album, but which was abandoned in favor of the more instrumentally diverse version eventually captured on record. The music presents a wide variety of Brazilian music, including Samba, Bossa Nova, Choro and others, but the focus is of course Powell´s virtuosic guitar playing, which dominates the proceedings. His unique improvisational technique and complete control of the instrument are absolutely stunning. The vocalese parts sung by de Waleyne are also very innovative and daring and demonstrate the endless possibilities of the human voice in the Jazz context. From a historic perspective this album is still an excellent example of Jazz-World Fusion, and considering the fact that it was conceived and recorded decades ago, it is a truly pioneering effort. Powell, who was more appreciated in Europe than in his native Brazil, paved the path for the popularity of Brazilian music worldwide, which started a few years before this album was recorded, but more importantly produced a highly aesthetic and artistic facet of it, which balanced the widely popular Pop version of the "Brazilian invasion". As on most MPS albums, this music was superbly recorded and the sound of Powell´s acoustic guitar on this album is state of the art, rarely heard even on contemporary recordings. Brazilian music fans, guitar music fans and all connoisseurs of Jazz-World Fusion recordings should be happy to have this album back in circulation. 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: 28/05/2018Posted: 02/12/2016

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