Record Reviews

ENRICO RAVA / OUT TO LUNCH ~ RAVA / ULLMANN / WILLERS / LILLICH / SCHAUBLE NABEL 4632 ~ ITALY ~ Jazz Recorded: 1989 Released: 1989 This is a relatively little known album by Italian Jazz trumpeter Enrico RavaFind albums by this artist recorded with the German quartet called Out To LunchFind albums by this artist, which comprised of saxophonist / flautist Gebhard UllmannFind albums by this artist, guitarist Andreas WillersFind albums by this artist, bassist Martin LillichFind albums by this artist and drummer Nikolaus SchaubleFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, six by Ullmann, three by Schauble, one by Willers and one co-composed by Ullmann and Willers. The music is typical modern European Jazz, firmly based in the Jazz tradition and offering some World Music motifs and rhythms and a lot of space for individual improvisation and exploration. All the compositions are solid and quite original, offering excellent ground for the individual and group improvisation. The electric guitar sound is slightly Fusiony at times, but all in very good taste. It is the second album by Out To Lunch and I don’t know much how they happened to involve Rava in this project, but all that is history and the music stays, being fresh and absorbing over thirty years later. Rava’s performances are of course phenomenal, with his Middle Eastern lyricism at its peak, but the Germans all perform without a hitch, perfectly merging their output with Rava’s contributions. Overall, this is a great piece of European Jazz history, which certainly deserves to be remembered, and since it is still available I urge everybody to grab a copy as long as they last. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Updated: 15/03/2022Posted: 15/03/2022

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ANDY LUMPP TRIO / ANDRZEJ PRZYBIELSKI ~ MUSIC FROM PLANET EARTH NABEL 4687 (Barcode: 4011471468721) ~ GERMANY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2000 Released: 2000 This is an album by German pianist / composer Andy LumppFind albums by this artist, recorded with his trio: bassist Heinrich ChastcaFind albums by this artist and drummer Stefan HoelkerFind albums by this artist and with the legendary Polish trumpeter Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents a live (but without an audience) recording of twelve improvised pieces, co-credited to all the four participating musicians. This is the first of the two albums recorded by the same quartet on the German NabelFind albums on this label Records label. The music is a typical European Free Jazz / Improvised Music setting, which develops slowly and allows for the interaction between the musicians to build up step by step, creating a cohesive and coherent musical expression. The music is mostly subdued and somewhat melancholic, exposing fragments of melodic themes and regular rhythms, which quickly dissolve into the next chapter of the improvisation. The individual performances are all excellent and show the great respect and comradeship between the players, which allows for solo, duo, trio and quartet passages, all worked out in real time. For Free Jazz / Improvised Music connoisseurs this is an instant classic. Przybielski plays some incredible phrases here and his superb dynamics, power of expression and genius are captured here for posterity. The album is a very important part of Przybielski´s relatively limited discography, being one of the very few recordings capturing him with musicians coming from outside of Poland and also one of the recordings with a very high recording quality, which enables proper presentation of the incredibly diverse range of sounds produced by him. Overall this is an excellent album in the Free Jazz / Improvised Music idiom, definitely worth seeking out and for Polish Jazz collectors this is an absolute must!

Updated: 14/02/2022Posted: 14/02/2022

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ANDY LUMPP TRIO / ANDRZEJ PRZYBIELSKI ~ MUSICA EX SPIRITU SANCTO NABEL 4694 (Barcode: 4011471469421) ~ GERMANY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2001 Released: 2002 This is an album by German pianist / composer Andy LumppFind albums by this artist, recorded with his trio: bassist Heinrich ChastcaFind albums by this artist and drummer Stefan HoelkerFind albums by this artist and with the legendary Polish trumpeter Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents a live recording of an eight-part musical improvisation, recorded in a monastery. All the music is co-credited to the four musicians participating in the recording. This is the second of the two albums recorded by the same quartet. The music is a typical European Free Jazz / Improvised Music conception, which develops slowly and allows for the interaction between the musicians to build up step by step, creating a cohesive and coherent musical expression. The music is mostly subdued and somewhat melancholic, exposing fragments of melodic themes and regular rhythms, which quickly dissolve into the next chapter of the improvisation. The individual performances are all excellent and show the great respect and comradeship between the players, which allows for solo, duo, trio and quartet passages, all worked out in real time. For Free Jazz / Improvised Music connoisseurs this is an instant classic. Przybielski plays some incredible phrases here and his superb dynamics, power of expression and genius are captured here for posterity. The album is a very important part of Przybielski´s relatively limited discography, being one of the very few recordings capturing him with musicians coming from outside of Poland and also one of the recordings with a very high recording quality, which enables proper presentation of the incredibly diverse range of sounds produced by him. Overall this is an excellent album in the Free Jazz idiom, definitely worth seeking out and for Polish Jazz collectors this is an absolute must!

Updated: 14/02/2022Posted: 02/05/2017

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MARIA JOAO ~ CONVERSA NABEL 8628 ~ PORTUGAL ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1986 Released: 1986 This is the third album by Portuguese Jazz vocalist Maria JoaoFind albums by this artist, recorded with her quintet, which also includes German saxophonist / flautist Martin FredebeulFind albums by this artist, pianist Peter WalterFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter GroningFind albums by this artist and Portuguese bassist Carlos BicaFind albums by this artist. German percussionist Michael KuttnerFind albums by this artist appears as a guest. The album presents six tracks (one a medley of two songs), all except one composition by Walter originate from various sources. Joao arrived on the European Jazz scene in early 1980s via Germany, with her second and third albums released by Nabel Records and three further albums by Enja Records, which firmly established her career. From the moment I heard her at that time, she immediately became one of my favorite modern Jazz singers, and she never disappointed since, releasing many fabulous albums since. Joao incorporates many World Music elements in her music, including shades of Portuguese Fado naturally, but also South American influences, Avant-Garde and electronics. Her improvisations are simply otherwordly and absolutely amazing and her musicality and aesthetics are extraordinary by any measure. This early album already shows her immense talent and originality, and although she sings lyrics here in addition to vocalese, which is her real strength, the album still sounds brilliant, and despite the fact that it was recorded thirty-six years ago, it can still be considered groundbreaking. Overall, this is an absolutely classic modern vocal Jazz album, which is a must in any serious vocal Jazz collection. The fact that it is still available is a miracle and if anybody is interested (and everybody should be), it can be bought from the label. Don’t even hesitate for a moment!

Updated: 18/03/2022Posted: 18/03/2022

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