Record Reviews
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  | CHICK COREA / JOHN MCLAUGHLIN ~ FIVE PEACE BAND LIVE
CONCORD 231397 (Barcode: 888072313972) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 2008 Released: 2009
Pianist Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist and guitarist John McLaughlinFind albums by this artist are both icons of contemporary music. Their activities in the last 40 years span such a vast spectrum of music that only a very few other musicians on this planet can be counted their equals. Corea and McLaughlin both played a crucial role in the revolutionary Miles DavisFind albums by this artist ensemble that gave us "In A Silent WayFind albums with this title" and "Bitches BrewFind albums with this title", and then continued to explore and revolutionize Jazz and Fusion, each with his own numerous ensembles. Although they have performed over the years occasionally as a duo, no formal recordings were issued of these meetings (some of their playing can be heard on the momentous McLaughlin Montreux Box Set). Therefore the forming of the Five Peace BandFind albums by this artist, initiated by Corea after his last Return To ForeverFind albums by this artist reunion tour, is a first time the two Masters play together in a regular band. Of course one immediately assumes that the band should sound as a combination of Return To Forever and Mahavishnu OrchestraFind albums by this artist, but since the early days of Fusion are long gone, Five Peace Band´s concept is completely up to date and modern. With saxophonist Kenny GarrettFind albums by this artist, bassist Christian McBrideFind albums by this artist and drummer Vinnie ColaiutaFind albums by this artist the band is an incredible music making machine, offering the listener an orgy of sound, beautiful expanded improvisations and sophisticated compositions. Most of the material was written by Corea and McLaughlin, but they also pay tribute to their former boss Miles Davis by including some of his music, with another ex-Davis band member Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist present as a guest. There is little need to recommend this album flamboyantly, as any serious music lover surely understands the magnitude of this recording. This is a dream come true and an absolutely essential piece of music!
| | Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: | CD 2 Essential Recommend To A Friend |
  | FIVE DAY RAIN ~ FIVE DAY RAIN
NIGHT WINGS 05 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2006
Only album, previously unreleased, by the obscure British group Five Day RainFind albums by this artist, led by guitarist / singer Rick SharpeFind albums by this artist and including keyboardist Graham MaitlandFind albums by this artist. The short-lived group managed to record quite an excellent album, which unfortunately was never released, seeing the light of the day only 36 years later. Their music was a great mixture of Psychedelic Rock and Prog, somewhat similar to the early Deep PurpleFind albums by this artist albums. Great tunes, splendid vocal harmonies and one 11+ minutes long instrumental track, which alone is worth the price of the album. As bonus material four unfinished tracks, recorded at the time the album was recorded, were completed by Sharpe in 2005. Definitely a lost gem, worth reviving and listening to after all these years.
| | | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | TUBBY HAYES ~ FIVE CLASSIC ALBUMS PLUS BONUS EPS AND TRACKS (VOL.2)
REAL GONE JAZZ 448 (Barcode: 5036408159823) ~ UK ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1955 - 1959 Released: 2014
This is the second part of a reissue of early recordings by the legendary British Jazz saxophonist / vibraphonist / composer / bandleader Tubby HayesFind albums by this artist, undoubtedly the greatest herald of British Jazz in the early post WWII period. This set collects recordings made between 1955 and 1959, which present Hayes playing Swing and Bebop with many of the best British musicians at the time. His spectacular abilities and virtuosic performances earned him a worldwide acclaim. Hayes died in 1973 at the ridiculous young age of thirty eight and one can only speculate how his music might have sounded when British Jazz fully developed its own voice and identity later on.
The five albums included here are: "Modern Jazz Scene 1956Find albums with this title" from 1956, "After The Lights OutFind albums with this title" from 1956, "The Jazz CouriersFind albums with this title" (a combo co-led with Ronnie ScottFind albums by this artist) from 1957, "The Last WordFind albums with this title" (also with the Jazz CouriersFind albums by this artist) from 1959 and finally "London Jazz QuartetFind albums with this title" from 1959. In addition several EPs featuring various combos and orchestras led by Hayes are also included, all of which were recorded in 1955.
Overall this is a fascinating collection of great mainstream Jazz music played by the best British musicians at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true British Jazz fan missing this set!
Side Note
The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain.
There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history.
The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.
| | Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 31/05/2016 | CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | NOVI ~ FIVE, FOUR, THREE
GAD 025 (Barcode: 5901549197310) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1974 - 1975 Released: 2015
This is a reissue of the fifth album by the Polish Jazz vocal ensemble NOVIFind albums by this artist, recorded after the ensemble´s founder / leader / primary composer / arranger Bernard KawkaFind albums by this artist left Poland for the greener pastures of the Big Apple, following a whole wave of his compatriots, like Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist, Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Adam MakowiczFind albums by this artist and others. Kawka´s departure seemed to have little impact on the remaining three members of the ensemble: Ewa WanatFind albums by this artist, Janusz MychFind albums by this artist and Waldemar ParzynskiFind albums by this artist. They immediately embarked upon the recording of this album, which as usual included original material, composed by Parzynski (seven of the nine compositions on this album) and Mych (the other two compositions). Three of the compositions included also lyrics (in English).
The ensemble was accompanied by an instrumental combo, which featured top Polish Jazz musicians: keyboardist Wojciech KarolakFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek BlizinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel JarzebskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist, and the Polish Radio Jazz Studio OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist. In addition to the original album, this remastered edition includes four bonus tracks, two of which feature the vocalist Tomasz OchalskiFind albums by this artist, who expanded the ensemble to the original quartet lineup for a brief period. The original album was released only three years after it was recorded, which was an example of how political bureaucracy dictated the fate of musicians behind the Iron Curtain.
Musically this album was a continuation of the fantastic work they did on the previous releases, but the stress of loosing their leader and the confusion that followed is pretty obvious. The selection of material and inclusion of songs is obviously a step towards commercialism, but the album still presents several top-notch numbers, beautifully and skillfully executed, which stand up to par with their earlier work. But overall the glory days of NOVI were over and although they would record a couple of additional albums, they were moving further away from the revolutionary and innovative vocal achievements of their early days.
Considering the fact that this music has been unavailable for such a long time this is definitely another project by GADFind albums on this label Records, which deserves to be praised. NOVI fans will find this an indispensable part of their collection and hopefully we will get a complete set of NOVI reissues sometime in the future.
| | Updated: 13/10/2016Posted: | CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | JIRI STIVIN ~ FIVE HITS IN A ROW
GAD 080 (Barcode: 5903068120060) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music
Recorded: 1971 - 1972 Released: 2018
This is a long overdue reissue of the legendary album by the Czech Jazz flautist / saxophonist / composer / bandleader Jiri StivinFind albums by this artist, recorded with an international quintet which included Polish violinist Zbigniew SeifertFind albums by this artist, American (living in Europe) bassist Barre PhillipsFind albums by this artist and Czech guitarist Rudolf DasekFind albums by this artist and drummers Josef VejvodaFind albums by this artist or Milan VitochFind albums by this artist. The original album presented five original compositions, with the title track being a five part suite. All the music was composed by Stivin, except one piece composed by Phillips. This remastered and expanded edition adds four bonus tracks, which originate from an earlier album by Stivin (only side A of an LP), recorded a year earlier and featuring a trio with bassist Petr MarcolFind albums by this artist and drummer Milan Vitoch.
The music is a pinnacle of early Easter European Free Jazz, which flourished behind the Iron Curtain, mostly in Poland but also in Czechoslovakia and GDR (East Germany). Stylistically the music is very similar to the British Free Jazz scene at the time; ferocious, uncompromising and totally committed.
All the participants were great pioneers of modern European Jazz and their contribution to the genre is of course invaluable. The fact that such advanced and free spirited music was recorded and released by the Czechoslovak state record label SupraphonFind albums on this label is one of the many miracles that characterize the Jazz scene behind the Iron Curtain and can be understand only by the cognoscenti of that subject. The fact remains that Free Jazz flourished under the Socialist Regime and the albums recorded at the time are some of the best representations of the genre ever created.
As usual, kudos to the Polish GADFind albums on this label Records label for bringing this wonderful music back into circulation. Eastern European Jazz connoisseurs will find this album truly amazing and the younger generations are able to test the phrase "nihil sub sole novum" when they approach Free Jazz and Improvised Music recordings.
Overall this is a must have for all collectors and fans of East European Jazz recorded behind the Iron Curtain, as well as connoisseurs of Free Jazz, who wish to study the sources of the genre!
| | Updated: 07/08/2018Posted: 07/08/2018 | CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
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