Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Roberto Magris Europlane: Il Bello Del Jazz

178

Roberto Magris Europlane: Il Bello Del Jazz

By

View read count
Roberto Magris Europlane: Il Bello Del Jazz
This album isn't entirely new to me, as pianist Roberto Magris was kind enough to share an advance copy more than a year ago, before the contract with Soul Note Records had been signed. On this auspicious occasion, Magris' Europlane quartet is accompanied by one of the world's outstanding alto saxophonists, American expatriate Herb Geller, who has lived in Hamburg, Germany, since 1965. To say that Geller, who was approaching his 75th birthday when the album was recorded in August, 2003, is playing as well as ever would be an imprudent understatement. The fact is, he is playing even better than ever, as one can hear throughout this bright and charming studio date.

Good as Geller is, however, he doesn't outshine Magris, bassist Rudi Engel, drummer Gabriele Centis, or (on four tracks) guitarist Darko Jurkovic, and that's saying a mouthful. Even though Geller was playing for the first time with Europlane, the group's cohesion and rapport is quite remarkable, due in large measure to Geller's superb artistry and Magris' unflagging leadership. Besides being an eloquent soloist, Magris is an attentive and tasteful accompanist, as are Engel and Centis. Geller, for his part, is simply awesome, blowing with zest and passion while revealing from time to time traces of his seminal influences, Benny Carter and Charlie Parker. He has a rich, creamy tone that is all his own, and a technique that is equal to any challenge.

The group bows to Carter with Benny's buoyant "Key Largo, to Bird with Magris' busy "Parker's Pen, to Billy Strayhorn with Geller's soulful "Stray Form. Magris also wrote "No Sadness and "Il Bello Del Jazz, Geller "Deception, Al Cohn "Ah-Moore. The four standards are relatively unfamiliar but no less pleasing because of it. They include "Some Other Spring (introduced in 1939 by Billie Holiday), Jerry Ross/Richard Adler's "A New Town Is a Blue Town (from The Pajama Game), Kurt Weill/Alan Jay Lerner's "Here I'll Stay (from Love Life) and Stephen Sondheim's "Pretty Woman (from Sweeney Todd).

Geller is brilliant on every one of them, and Europlane keeps pace whether underscoring his inspired adventures or playing a leading role. Those who may have wondered what ever happened to Herb Geller should be pleasantly surprised. Thanks to his prowess as a navigator, this Europlane really soars.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Il Bello del Jazz feat. Herb Geller | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Soul Note

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.