Jazz Articles
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Sebastian Schunke: Existential Intensities
by Mark Sullivan
German composer and pianist Sebastian Schunke has long taken inspiration from Latin music. But, when his album Elusive Beauty (Connector Records, 2018) won one of Latin America's most important music awards--the Premio Internacional presented during the Cubadisco Festival--he had a rare opportunity to engage directly with Cuban musicians. This album is a kaleidoscopic blend of two Cuban ensembles, Schunke's Berlin band and a Berlin-based chamber ensemble. “Abakuá [versión de ritual folclórico Abakuá]" opens the set with Los Muñequitos ...
read moreSebastian Schunke/Diego Pinera: Elusive Beauty
by Mark Sullivan
German pianist/composer Sebastian Schunke has a sound firmly rooted in Latin jazz, but he has never shied away from bringing in European influences as well. His previous album Genesis, Mystery And Magic (Nwog Records, 2014) employed a conventional sextet with horns and percussion--but also included Interludes of introspective solo piano. Elusive Beauty presents a conscious move into new stylistic territory: Schunke calls it “Fourth Stream," a symbiosis of Afro-Latin American music and the “New Music" of the 21st century.
read moreMeeco: Beauty of the Night
by Dan Bilawsky
While danger, intrigue and excitement are often born beneath a silvery moon, love, loss and regret seem to come first to Meeco's mind when his thoughts turn to the night. The Paris-based composer/producer gathered what can only be described as a dream team of jazz's crème de la crème to help him bring life to eight of his sensitive compositions on this, his third album. The concept behind Meeco's music, which deals in whispering, pensive Euro-Brazilian sounds, ...
read moreMeeco: Meeco: Beauty of the Night
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Extraordinary songwriter/producer Meeco's Beauty Of The Night comes with a hidden cautionary note which is not visible or audible until the first strains of the music is heard. It is an elementally sad album and a box of Kleenex may be de rigueur. However, this is not to say that the album is not beautiful. After all, in immense sadness there is beauty as well. Meeco should know this. He is smitten with things Brazilian--the incredible vocalist, Eloisia, for one. ...
read moreMeeco: Beauty of the Night
by Edward Blanco
Paris-based composer/producer Michael Christian Maier, alias Meeco, has never truly delivered a standard jazz album, preferring instead to craft musical projects that are creative, innovative and different from the rest, described as “neither classical nor jazz" (Jaques Morelenbaum). A follow-up to Perfume e Caricias (Connector, 2010), Beauty of the Night is Meeco's third disc and his most impressive project to date, certainly qualifying as a non-standard recording.This enchanting recording captures romantic melodies and beautiful love songs on a ...
read moreMeeco: Beauty of the Night
by Chris May
Anyone unfamiliar with Paris-based composer/producer Meeco and his gorgeous, sophisticated jazz can get approximate bearings from two other artists. One is Antônio Carlos Jobim, partly for the influence of bossa nova on Meeco's writing, partly for the heart-on-sleeve romanticism his songwriting shares with Jobim. The second is Astrud Gilberto, who is suggested by the Brazilian vocalist Eloisia, Meeco's regular collaborator. That said, Meeco is more jazz centered than either of those bossa stylists. Beauty of the Night ...
read moreMeeco: Perfume e Caricias
by Edward Blanco
Portuguese for “Perfume and Caresses," Perfume e Caricias offers a relaxing and tender musical experience, perfect for those who appreciate the lighter side of jazz. Written as an intimate statement of music, the eight-song, one alternate take repertoire, has been described as “fragile and introspective" in nature. Composed and produced by German-born Michael Maier aka “Meeco," of Paris, France, the album is a joint effort with Brazilian vocalist, Eloisia, a member of the French group Nouvelle Vague, who penned the ...
read moreMeeco: Perfume e Carícias
by Dan Bilawsky
Everything about the music of Meeco speaks of subtlety, seduction and mood, from the cover art--with vocalist-lyricist Eloisia embracing him in what can only be described as a Calvin Klein advertisement-type pose--to the title itself, which is Portuguese for “Perfume and Caresses." The music, presented in easy-to-digest short tracks, with the longest performance clocking in at around four-and-half-minutes, works off of a less-is-more approach and maintains a noir-ish sensibility. Meeco--who wrote the music and produced the album, ...
read moreMeeco: Amargo Mel
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Meeco is a rather young musician who appears drawn not simply to the musical idioms of jazz, popular music and a myriad of those in the Latin tradition; he also set out to do what musicians of his age seldom attempt: he's made a troubadour record. Amargo Mel is a very difficult project to pull off, even with a stellar cast including pianist Reggie Moore, bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter/flugelhornist Eddie Henderson, the late tenor saxophonist David “Fathead" Newman, altoist Charlie ...
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