Record Reviews

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ JAZZ AUF AMIGA 1956-1962 EDEL CONTENT 4029759080589 (Barcode: 4029759080589) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1956 - 1962 Released: 2012 This is a reissue (first time on CD) of the album which documents early Jazz recordings made in East Germany. It collects sixteen tracks recorded between 1955 and 1962 by various East German ensembles, such as Jazz Optimisten BerlinFind albums by this artist, Johannes RediskeFind albums by this artist Quintet, Werner PfullerFind albums by this artist Quintet and others, as well as ensembles led by Czechoslovak bandleader Gustav BromFind albums by this artist. Stylistically the music covers everything between traditional Dixieland Jazz to early modern Jazz, presenting a wide scope of the East German Jazz scene and the excellent level of musicianship involved. This album is not only a collection of great Jazz tracks but more importantly a historical document that keeps these recordings alive for posterity. Recorded at the time when East Germany was almost completely isolated politically and economically from Western Europe, it shows that modern Jazz trends managed to trickle through the country´s borders and were picked up by those wonderful musicians. For people interested in the development of Jazz behind the Iron Curtain, this is a must have, especially in vie of the fact that these recordings have a wonderful sound quality, which is pretty rare for collections of such type. Recommended! Side Note: As all the East European countries under the Socialist regime, East Germany, or DDR as it was known at the time, had only one state owned and controlled Music Company, which released most of its productions on the AmigaFind albums on this label label. Among the many Amiga releases the legendary "orange J" series was dedicated to Jazz recordings, many of which were licenses from the West, but others were original productions, mostly of Jazz made in DDR. Some of these releases, like the one described above, were absolute gems. Following the unification of Germany, the Amiga albums disappeared from the face of the earth and only in 2012 a German label reissued 15 Amiga Jazz albums on CD. They are all worth checking out!

Updated: 12/06/2016Posted: 12/06/2016

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