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Rainer Tempel
The Rainer Tempel Big Band: Melodies of '98
by Jack Bowers
It’s always a pleasure to hear another world–class big band, especially one from overseas. This is our third encounter with Rainer Tempel’s 18–member ensemble which proves beyond any reasonable doubt on Melodies of ’98 that it can hold its own in any company. Brass, reeds and rhythm are robust and incisive, soloists as keen and resourceful as any you’re likely to hear. Technique, of course, is only half the equation; the other half is personality, and what set the band ...
read moreRainer Tempel Big Band: Vorw
by Jack Bowers
Another fabulous package from Germany. Are there any big bands in Deutschland that are less than wunderbar ? If so, I’ve not yet heard them. Pianist Rainer Tempel’s Nurnberg–based ensemble is typically well–disciplined and swinging — and, if we are to judge from the photographs accompanying these albums, relatively youthful as well (Tempel himself looks to be 30–something or younger). I assume that Vorwärts und Zurück (which, I believe, translates as “forward and back,” although I could be wrong) is ...
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