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

ELMA ~ LICENTIA POETICA HEVHETIA 0232 (Barcode: 8588005259286) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the long awaited third album by Polish Jazz vocalist ElmaFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Elma KaisFind albums by this artist) recorded live with American guitarist Knox ChandlerFind albums by this artist, Australian (resident in Berlin) bassist Daigo NakaiFind albums by this artist and German drummer Klaus KugelFind albums by this artist. The album presents thirteen original pieces, all co-composed by the four musicians. The music is spontaneously improvised, although obviously somewhat pre-conceived, and as such could be classified as Improvised Music or Free Jazz, but honestly it makes no sense to apply any definitions to it, as it is as free-spirited as humanly possible. Although Elma’s vocal parts are obviously in the center of the listener’s attention, the music is collaborative and involves all four musicians at the same level of creativity. Elma continues her wordless vocalese / “voice as instrument” approach, which she demonstrated on her two earlier albums, but takes it further out into the truly virtuosic sphere, which sets her in a separate universe from almost all Jazz vocalists active today, continuing the vocal Jazz revolution started in the 1970s by European vocal pioneering female vocalists like Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist, Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist, Mirka KrivankovaFind albums by this artist and several others. On contemporary Polish Jazz scene, she seems to be almost completely solitary, except for the work of Anna GadtFind albums by this artist. There is no doubt that this album is completely unique, as far as vocal Jazz is concerned, and Elma’s talent shines ever so brightly, fulfilling gracefully all the great hopes she stirred with her earlier albums. The music she creates with her colleagues hits the listener straight between his eyes, shocks and uplifts on a truly spiritual level, which happens only very rarely with new music that arrives on my desk. Considering the fact that Elma practically reinvents the approach to vocal improvisation, throwing away all pre-conceptions and limitations, she is able to cross into uncharted territory. We often tend to think that “everything was already done” in music (or otherwise), but that is a defeatist approach and life proves that there a possibility for progress. Overall, this is a shockingly beautiful, uplifting musical experience, which happens extremely rarely. As pompous as this might sound, this is probably the most perfect Polish Jazz vocal album of all times, a creation of unprecedented courage, inventiveness and free-spirited exploration. Yes, yes I see all the sceptics shrugging…

Updated: 21/05/2022Posted: 21/05/2022

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

MIRKA KRIVANKOVA / JIRI STIVIN ~ ZRCADLENI (REFLECTIONS) GALEN 19 149 (Barcode: 8594042901583) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 1982 - 1984 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the wonderful debut album by the Czech vocalist Mirka KrivankovaFind albums by this artist recorded with a trio led by flautist / saxophonist / composer Jiri StivinFind albums by this artist with bassist Ondrej SoukupFind albums by this artist and drummer Alan VitousFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Stivin. The musical approach of this album is completely innovative, treating the vocals as an instrument and finds Krivankova performing wordless vocalese and improvising vis-à-vis Stivin or soloing, supported amicably by the rhythm section. Although based on pre-composed sketches, the music is mostly freely improvised and very open, both harmonically and rhythmically. Each side of the original LP combines five pieces into a two cycles titled "Odrazy (Reflections)" and "Doteky (Contacts)" respectively, which refer to the different moods prevailing on each side. Krivankova debuted as vocalist with the Fusion group Ch.A.S.A.Find albums by this artist and her vocal performances with that group were already quite extraordinary almost a decade before this album was recorded. With time her vocals became more refined and minimalist, and clearly more Avant-Garde oriented, as this album perfectly reflects. She remains stylistically close to the early work by Polish vocalist Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist. Of course Stivin is clearly the musical instigator and anchor of this music, being way more than a faithful companion to Krivankova but rather a fully equal partner behind this album. His wonderful performances on a plethora of instruments, each ideally suited to the mood of every specific piece are masterly worked out. Soukup and Vitous also contribute their individual input with elegance and grace. The overall effect of party composed and partly Improvised Music is absolutely enchanting. Overall this is an important piece of the musical puzzle of East European Jazz and a significant historical document of the Czech scene, which is surely worth investigating. For Improvised Music connoisseurs and lovers of East European Jazz this album is an absolute must! Side Note The Czech publishing house and record label GalenFind albums on this label, run by Lubomir HoudekFind albums by this artist, is another player on the local scene, reissuing historical recordings from the deep vaults of the SupraphonFind albums on this label / PantonFind albums on this label labels, supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture. This commendable initiative is a wonderful example of the preservation of Cultural heritage. Hopefully the label's future releases will include information in English in the album's booklets, so that Jazz enthusiasts around the world might be allowed to share the knowledge. For more reissues of Czechoslovak Jazz (and Rock) see also the releases by Indies Happy TrailsFind albums on this label Records.

Updated: 07/06/2020Posted: 07/06/2020

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend