Johannes Haage's Party of Five: Party of Five

Haage shows himself to be a fluent and inventive mainstream guitarist, as yet without any particular distinguishing features. Richard Koch on trumpet and Philipp Gropper on sax are a particularly effective pairing—as on the closer, "Jogg, where they are allowed space and time to interact. I was left wanting to hear more of them and less of the written ensemble playing.

As with many debut albums, the music here is rather a ragbag of different styles and there seems to be a desire to put everything in the shop window at once, rather than allowing time for things to develop at a more organic rate. Nonetheless, it is fine as a first album; the group's next (promised later this year on Shoebill music) will certainly be worth checking out.

Visit Johannes Haage on the web for sound samples and purchase information.

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