Record Reviews

MARYLAND ~ CROSSING AND BLENDING NOT ON LABEL ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2005 Released: 2005 This is the only album by the ensemble MarylandFind albums by this artist, fronted by the Austrian singer / composer Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist with pianist Franz von ChossyFind albums by this artist, bassist Valdi KolliFind albums by this artist and drummer Uli GenengerFind albums by this artist. A few guest musicians participate on some of the tracks. The album was recorded in Netherlands where Neckam was studying at the time vocal Jazz at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. This is her debut recording, a collection of fourteen songs, twelve of which are her compositions and lyrics, one is composed by the pianist to her lyrics and one is a standard. All the lyrics are in English, except in one case, where a poem in German is recited, rather that sung. From the very opening note of this album the listener enters a world of music, which is utterly Maria Neckam´s universe, distinctive, unique and completely irresistible. Amazingly she manages to set her musical framework at such an early stage of her career. Although still lacking the experience and readiness of a mature artist, her amazing talent and youthful life-force overcome any possible traps and blunders. The album is so amazingly "complete", full of superb music and heartfelt performances, that all the minor flaws, which are surely present herein, are completely pushed aside and become meaningless in view of the enormous amount of aesthetic pleasure, elegance and intelligence. Neckam´s idiosyncratic style reminds me of the young Annette PeacockFind albums by this artist, both in her compositional approach and some of her vocal technique. Singer / composer Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist also comes to mind, especially on Neckam´s less structured pieces. Neckam´s music shows a wide range of influences and empathies, resulting in an enormously versatile scope of stylistic approaches on this album. Of course a debut album is often characterized by the strong desire to "spill out" vast amount of music, which has been accumulating for a very long time. Although such lack of focus might become a major problem for some artists, in the case of this album the versatility simply serves as an opportunity to show the listener how accomplished Neckam really is. Firmly based in the Jazz tradition, the music amalgamates a plethora of different influences, such as World Music, European neo-romanticism, traditional and experimental vocalese, and many others. Of course Neckam´s charm is all about taking all these different elements and making them completely and uniquely her own. As far as debuts go, this is definitely one of the most impressive ones that a music connoisseur might come across. Although it had little media coverage and no real impact at the time of its release, it is nevertheless a superb piece of music, which deserves to be re-discovered, especially now in view of Neckam´s more recent success. A charming fruit, somewhat un-ripe and yet already delicious – a gem!

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MARIA NECKAM ~ DEEPER SUNNYSIDE 1246 (Barcode: 016728124621) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010 This is the second album by the Austrian-born singer / songwriter Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist and her first recording following her relocation to the USA. It was recorded five years after her debut album with the group MarylandFind albums by this artist was recorded in the Netherlands, where she studied at that time. This album comprises of ten original songs, all written and composed by Neckam. It was recorded with Neckam accompanied by a trio, which includes pianist Aaron GoldbergFind albums by this artist, bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Saxophonists Lars DietrichFind albums by this artist and Samir ZarifFind albums by this artist participate on some of the tracks and vocalist Peter EldridgeFind albums by this artist participates on one track. In comparison with her spectacular debut recording, this album is much more laid back, relaxed and lyrical. It´s still the same unique Maria Neckam experience, but the joyful youthfulness is now replaced with mature reflection and melancholy mixed with joie de vivre. As the album´s title suggests, she treats her music on a deeper level this time. The songs are longer (three songs are over seven minutes long), allowing for more instrumental passages as well as expanded lyrics. Neckam uses vocalese as well, with her voice becoming an additional instrument of the entire ensemble. The performances are incredibly tight and intricate, always first class and right on the money. Of course the most important strong points of Neckam´s magic universe are her outstanding compositions and her continuous desire to discover new musical vistas. This album is an overwhelming testimony to her talents, taking the idiosyncratic efforts on the debut a whole notch of two further out, with truly incredible results. Listening to this album is like embarking upon a journey into the unknown, where anything could happen, and indeed things happen ceaselessly. Although always bearing the Neckam "seal of authenticity", the individual songs are so different from each other that the listener must ask himself "what else can she come up with?" As usual, the answer is in the music. There is no doubt that Maria Neckam is emerging as one of the most promising young cross-genre performers / composers, expanding the vocal Jazz idiom into new and uncharted territory. If she continues on this path, stars will smile at her and so will her listeners and admirers, hopefully growing into vast numbers. This album is worthy of an honorable position in any decent music collection, well beyond any narrow classification. A solid piece of musical magic!

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MARIA NECKAM ~ UNISON SUNNYSIDE 1321 (Barcode: 016728132121) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the 3rd album by Austrian-born living in the US singer / songwriter Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist, who has been "making waves" for quite a while now and rightly so, as she definitely is one of the most original and idiosyncratic musical discoveries of the last few years. Although obviously cross-genre and completely free of any conventions, it is quite obvious that she has a deep empathy towards improvisation and the Jazz tradition, which lie beneath her stunning output. The album consists of fifteen original compositions by Neckam, almost all of which are over five or six minutes long (totaling 75 minutes), which leaves a lot of space both for her vocal delivery and instrumental presentation by the great ensemble of musicians, which accompanies her. The core ensemble is a quartet with pianist Aaron ParksFind albums by this artist, guitarist Nir FelderFind albums by this artist, bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Several other players (saxophones, trumpet, cello and piano) participate on selected tracks. Neckam also wrote all the lyrics, except for three of the pieces, where she uses (not surprisingly) poems by the 14th century Persian poet HafezFind albums by this artist or more contemporary poetry by Rainer Maria RilkeFind albums by this artist and Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist. Neckam utilizes her voice both to deliver the lyrics and use it as an instrument, with her vocalese improvisation being one of the highlights of this album. Her vocal delivery is quite unique, with a slight, but charming, foreign accent, which adds to the overall mystique. The accompaniment is brilliant from start to finish, subdued and supporting when needed, with some excellent solos and always greatly sensitive and aesthetically pleasing. Considering the fact that this music can be devilishly complex and unpredictable, the overall delivery here is simply stunning. But it is the actual music, which is the true forte of this album. Neckam´s compositions are simply outstanding in every respect; amalgamating Jazz with contemporary Classical, Progressive Rock, World Music influences, shades of the Blues and so on, she is simply floating somewhere in her own universe, completely beyond categorization and eschewing all conventions. There is an intrinsic elegance, artistic beauty and intellectual challenge herein, coexisting peacefully with each other, which is a rare quality in any Art form. But of course there is a price to be paid for such lofty qualities; this is definitely not "easy" music, and therefore it is destined to attract mostly the open-minded and cultivated ears of music connoisseurs, which is often hard on an artist expecting a wide recognition of his work. Regardless of the album´s commercial prospects, Neckam can certainly feel proud to be the creator of this musical gem, which certainly deserves to be listed among the best albums released in 2012, and there are only a handful of these. Considering the fact that she is, after all, just starting her wondrous musical journey, may I be allowed to wish her Godspeed!

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