Record Reviews

KAREL VELEBNY ~ NONET SHQ & WOODWINDS MPS (JAPAN) 4988005415530 (Barcode: 4988005415530) ~ CZECHOSLOVAKIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1968 Released: 2006 This is a reissue / remaster of an album by one of the Godfathers of Czechoslovak modern Jazz, vibraphonist / pianist / saxophonist / composer / bandleader Karel VelebnyFind albums by this artist and his SHQFind albums by this artist ensemble, which included also flautist Jiri StivinFind albums by this artist, pianist Ludek SvabenskyFind albums by this artist, bassist Karel VejvodaFind albums by this artist and drummer Josef VejvodaFind albums by this artist, and which was expanded to a nonet by the addition of a woodwind quartet, which included oboist Vlastimil KalaFind albums by this artist, bass clarinetist Miroslav KryslFind albums by this artist, French horn player Milos PetrFind albums by this artist and bassoonist Pavel ZednikFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, two each by Karel Vejvoda, Josef Vejvoda and Velebny and one each by Stivin and Svabensky. The album was released originally on the legendary SABAFind albums on this label label. The album was recorded in February of 1968, just a few months before the brutal invasion of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact, which was one of the most pivotal events of post WWII Eastern European history. Velebny was one of several Jazz musicians from behind the Iron Curtain, who got an opportunity to record for the SABA / MPSFind albums on this label labels, creating the first steps to the Pan-European Jazz scene, which exploded after the fall of the Soviet Union dominated Eastern Europe. The music is absolutely stunning example of highly advanced modern Jazz, which amalgamated Third Stream motives, sophisticated arrangements and complex multi-theme compositions, which always characterized Czechoslovak Jazz. It remains as one of the finest achievements in Velebny’s brilliant career and his splendid recorded legacy, although sadly the album is almost completely unknown and extremely difficult to find, with only one Japanese CD reissue. Overall, this is an absolute gem of an album in every respect, including the brilliant sound quality of the remaster. For fans of early East European Jazz this is a must in every respect! It took me ages to find a copy, so I am a happy music lover now! 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: 07/12/2024Posted: 07/12/2024

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Oversampling Remastered Recommend To A Friend

KAREL VELEBNY ~ ZTRATA NALEZENEHO SYNA INDIES HAPPY TRAILS 732 (Barcode: 8595026673229) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 1966 - 1967 Released: 2016 This is the fifth of a series of eight reissue / archival albums presenting the recorded legacy of one of the Godfathers of Czechoslovak modern Jazz, vibraphonist / pianist / saxophonist / composer / bandleader Karel VelebnyFind albums by this artist and his SHQFind albums by this artist ensemble. 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). This album presents material captured during two recording sessions from April and September 1966. The seven tracks that were recorded during these sessions were released as a Various Artist compilation LP, with the two lineups that recorded this music enigmatically named "All Stars" and "Jazz Soloists" respectively, with the SHQ moniker being omitted, but with Velebny present. The different lineups on these sessions included Velebny, who played vibraphone, saxophone and piano, trumpeters Jaromir HnilickaFind albums by this artist and Laco DecziFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist, Milan UlrichFind albums by this artist and Evzen JegorovFind albums by this artist, trombonist Zdenek PulecFind albums by this artist, clarinetist Karel KrautgartnerFind albums by this artist, flautist Zdenek ZikaFind albums by this artist, guitarist Rudolf DasekFind albums by this artist, pianists Karel VejvodaFind albums by this artist and Karel RuzickaFind albums by this artist, bassist Jiri MrazFind albums by this artist and drummer Milan MaderFind albums by this artist, altogether a gathering definitely deserving the "All Stars" description. All the music is original with Velebny contributing three compositions and Krautgartner, Hnilicka, Mraz and Ruzicka each contributing one composition. Additionally this album also includes one side (ten tracks) of a LP dedicated to a Jazz & Poetry project, which features SHQ (Velebny, saxophonist Miroslav KryslFind albums by this artist, Pulec, Dasek, bassist Petr MarcolFind albums by this artist and Mader) accompanying actor Jan TriskaFind albums by this artist who recites fables by Vaclav HrabeFind albums by this artist, the most important representative of the Czech Beat Generation, who died tragically at the ridiculous age of twenty four. All the music was composed by Velebny. The music is all original and a giant step forward as far as Modern European Jazz is concerned, very advanced and complex, already using elements close to Free Jazz, multi-theme extended compositions, rapidly changing tempi and eschewing conventions, which dominated American Bebop. Although recorded just over a year of so after the second SHQ album was recorded, this music sounds as if coming from a different planet, being very similar to the revolutionary Polish Jazz, which was also exploding at the time in the "neighborhood". All the performances are simply stellar and this music sounds absolutely as fresh as it did at the time it was recorded and in retrospect one can but wonder how such a revolutionary music was allowed to be performed and recorded during some of the darkest hours of the Socialist regime and the Prague Spring and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia being just around the corner. For fans of European Jazz and its history, the entire series is an absolute must, and the fact that most of this music is available on CD for the first time makes it an absolute treasure. Absolutely brilliant! 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: 28/02/2020Posted: 27/02/2020

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend