Record Reviews

STEFANO BOLLANI ~ SHEIK YER ZAPPA DECCA 602547051523 (Barcode: 602547051523) ~ ITALY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2014 This is a live album by Italian pianist / composer Stefano BollaniFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quintet comprising of American musicians: vibraphonist Jason AdasiewiczFind albums by this artist, trombonist Josh RosemanFind albums by this artist, bassist Larry GrenadierFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album is a tribute to the Genius of Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist and was recorded during the quintet’s 2011 tour. The album presents nine tracks, six of which were composed by Zappa, two are by Bollani and one is co-composed by Bollani and Adasiewicz. The album offers a brilliant authentic sound quality. The music is absolutely brilliant, not only because the strength of the original material by Zappa, but no less importantly because the zany approach by Bollani and his cohorts, who all seem to have an absolute blast performing it and approach it with obvious joy and intellectual freedom. Of course Zappa fans will recognize the original pieces, but they are all treated with a lot of liberty and humor, which add to the experience. I am pretty sure Zappa would have approved wholeheartedly to the whole affair. Personally I am not objective of course, as I admire everything Zappa related, but it is such a pleasure to see that musicians of the statue of Bollani love and respect his music as well. I am pretty sure that every Zappa fan will love this project, especially those more Jazz oriented ones, but strangely enough this album is relatively completely unknown and it took me years to discover it. Well, better late than never, as they say, and now I can enjoy it and recommend it to Zappa fanatics, and beyond. This album is quite an eye (ear) opener! Overall, this is a wonderful piece of music, paying a tribute to the greatest American musical Genius of the 20th Century, a visionary and a prophet. These Jazzy arrangements do not go far beyond Zappa’s Jazziest efforts, so sold fans will welcome them instinctively, and if any innocent bystanders get hooked as well, it’s all for the best!

Updated: 15/01/2025Posted: 15/01/2025

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

DAVE LIEBMAN / ELLERY ESKELIN ~ DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME HATOLOGY 615 (Barcode: 752156061526) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2004 Released: 2005 1st album by the excellent quartet co-led by legendary US saxophonist Dave LiebmanFind albums by this artist and his somewhat younger colleague saxophonist Ellery EskelinFind albums by this artist, with bassist Tony MarinoFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist. The two saxophonists share the leadership on equal footing, playing both individually and collectively with passion and almost telepathic rapport. The material, which includes a mixture of tunes written by Liebman and Eskelin with standards composed by Wayne ShorterFind albums by this artist, Tadd DameronFind albums by this artist, Lee KonitzFind albums by this artist and Cole PorterFind albums by this artist, all freshly arranged, is truly inspiring and moves freely between "straightforward" modern jazz and free improvisation. The technical skills of the musicians are astounding and the collective performances breathtaking. The album is a perfect example of superb contemporary Jazz, which successfully avoids the traps of trying to be "likeable" and stays faithful to the principles of artistic expression and exploration. Liebman´s career is an example of dedication to one´s true vocation and his consistently excellent work over the years is a beacon for future generations of Jazz players, with this album being no exception. A must for any experienced Jazz listener armed with a pair of open ears and adventurous spirit!

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Oversampling Recommend To A Friend

DAVE LIEBMAN / ELLERY ESKELIN ~ RENEWAL HATOLOGY 654 (Barcode: 752156065425) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008 2nd album by the excellent quartet co-led by legendary US saxophonist Dave LiebmanFind albums by this artist and his somewhat younger colleague saxophonist Ellery EskelinFind albums by this artist, with bassist Tony MarinoFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist. The two saxophonists share the leadership on equal footing, playing both individually and collectively with passion and almost telepathic rapport. The material, mostly written by the ensemble members with the exception of one tune composed by Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, is truly inspiring and moves freely between "straightforward" modern jazz and free improvisation. The technical skills of the musicians are astounding and the collective performances breathtaking. The album is a perfect example of superb contemporary Jazz, which successfully avoids the traps of trying to be "likeable" and stays faithful to the principles of artistic expression and exploration. Liebman´s career is an example of dedication to one´s true vocation and his consistently excellent work over the years is a beacon for future generations of Jazz players, with this album being no exception. A must for any experienced Jazz listener armed with a pair of open ears and adventurous spirit!

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Oversampling Recommend To A Friend

PAST PRESENT & ANDREW D`ANGELO ~ SHORT PIECES HEVHETIA 0148 (Barcode: 8588005258098) ~ NORWAY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by a collaboration between the Norwegian duo Past PresentFind albums by this artist, comprising of trumpeter Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist and bassist Alexander HoholmFind albums by this artist, and American saxophonist Andrew D`AngeloFind albums by this artist. Three guest musicians: pianists Pete RendeFind albums by this artist and Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist appear on selected tracks. The album presents ten original improvised pieces, all unusually short (under four minutes in duration) credited to the participating musicians. The music is surprisingly very melodic, especially in view of its improvisational nature, with the Nordic melancholy omnipresent. The melody lines are often stated and soon after left to reverberate before the improvisation takes over. The concept of creating only short pieces of music proves to be successful in this case, as Improvised Music more than often suffers from overstated and in the long run repetitive exploration leading nowhere, which is completely avoided in this case. Perhaps the idea is based in the minimalist approach, which simply puts forward a musical idea and than lets the listener to fill the blanks. One way or another these short pieces stimulate curiosity and interest, but often leave the listener surprised, when the music is unexpectedly over. Overall this is a very interesting Improvised Music / Free Jazz statement, which manages to stick to the European aesthetics of non aggressive coexistence, which helps the music to be acceptable to listeners from outside of the relatively closed sphere of Avant Garde aficionados. Definitely worth exploring!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 17/08/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend