Record Reviews

CHICK COREA ~ INNER SPACE ATLANTIC 81304 (Barcode: 075678130427) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1966 - 1968 Released: 1988 This is a compillation of the material Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist recorded for AtlanticFind albums on this label, including his first album as a leader from 1966, called Tones For Joan`s BonesFind albums with this title (less 2 tunes) and some additional material from a 1968 session with Hubert LawsFind albums by this artist. Corea`s quintet with Joe FarrelFind albums by this artistl (sax), Woody ShawFind albums by this artist (trumpet), Steve SwallowFind albums by this artist (bass) and Joe ChambersFind albums by this artist (drums) soars through a set of Chick`s brilliant compositions with finese and elegance. The leader demonstrates his impeckable technique and incredible feel for melody, which will make him a jazz and fusion superstar in years to come. Brilliant!

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INNER SPACES ~ INNER SPACES JAZZ FORUM ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010 This is the debut album by Czech / Polish quintet Inner SpacesFind albums by this artist which comprises of Czech trumpeter Stepanka BalcarovaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Lubos SoukupFind albums by this artist and pianist Vit KristanFind albums by this artist and Polish bassist Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and drummer Grzegorz MaslowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, three composed by Balcarova and two each by Soukup and Kristan. It took me a while to get hold of a copy of this album (a mere decade – thank you Stepanka!), but it was definitely worth waiting for. The music is absolutely beautiful from start to finish, presenting wonderfully woven melodic themes, which serve as basis for impressive improvisations. Despite of the young age of the musicians (at the time of the recording) and their lack of experience, this is a most impressive debut in every respect. It is also great to see that the potential present on this album proved to be fully justified considering the achievements of these musicians during the decade that followed. The music, which is strictly within the modern European Jazz mainstream idiom, offers a lot of space for the instrumentalist to develop their individual statements without any conceptual limitations, including the rhythm section, which also displays a remarkable flexibility. The melodies display typical Eastern European melancholy and Romanticism, which are often inseparable from the very inner soul of musicians originating from Eastern Europe, regardless of their education and musical influences, which of course is a part of their collective charm. Many debut albums prove to be rather naïve in retrospect, but I am happy to say that this one lost absolutely nothing of its original magic and is completely immune to time. I had a delightful time listening to the album a few times in a row, which in my case happens rather rarely. Thanks to everybody involved and if anybody is able to find a copy of this little gem, don’t you dare to miss it!

Updated: 01/02/2021Posted: 01/02/2021

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