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The Composers' Orchestra Berlin: Holding Pattern
by Jack Bowers
Holding Pattern is the fourth album by The Composers' Orchestra Berlin, which, as the name denotes, is an ensemble wherein “the members of the orchestra are not only improvising instrumentalists but are also the composers." Every one of its ten selections was written and arranged by members of the ensemble. According to the jacket notes, “there is no fixed line-up; the composers can select instruments from the pool [of twenty-three musicians] to develop a brand-new...orchestral repertoire with stylistic influences ranging ...
read moreYaroslav Likhachev: Crumbling
by Mike Jurkovic
It was no one other than Benny Golson, who happened to be gigging in Siberia of all places, that turned young classical pianist Yaroslav Likhachev into a pure jazz enthusiast. Morphed him into a tenor saxophonist whose first outing, the craftily confident Crumbling, will have you pre-ordering it's inevitable follow-up. And that's because Likhachev, along with the equally tenacious pianist Yannis Anft, teamed with bassist Conrad Noll's existential investigations of indigo and boundary, and drummer Moritz Baranczyk's ghost ...
read moreLisa Hoppe's Third Reality: The Mighty Unlikely
by Mike Jurkovic
Without giving away any professional secrets, it is quite often that any beat-pounding pundit or wily curmudgeon--pick several thousand if you like, there's billions out there--will come at an artist with certain prejudices and expectations. And so it is with German bassist Lisa Hoppe. Having heard her unusual yet oddly soothing explorations on such discs as Esche's Der Dichter Spricht (QFTF, 2018), the Marc Jufer Trio Trio's Trip To The Center (QFTF, 2018), saxophonist Niculin Janett's Complexes (QFTF, 2017) and ...
read moreDie Parzäros: La Cachaca
by Phillip Woolever
Die Parzäros is a Colombian trio currently based in Cologne after studying music in Germany. This album serves as a positive introduction to the band's Latin-based jazz-rock sound and, while the band is already noteworthy, indicates the likelihood of them reaching even higher levels in the future. The trio consists of guitarist and principal composer Juan-Pablo Gonzalez-Tobon, bassist Joan Chavez and drummer Luis-Javier Londono, who adds to the action with an untypical kit creating rapid-fire conga or tumba type percussion ...
read moreHazel Leach / Composers' Orchestra Berlin: Postcard Collection
by Jack Bowers
These picturesque “postcards" from composer / arranger Hazel Leach's well-appointed Composers' Orchestra Berlin are addressed to various locales in Europe and South America, presumably designed to echo musically the special nature of each site. Oddly enough, as there are only eight cards to be delivered, the album opens with Postcards 10 and 11, aimed at Caracas, Venezuela, and Tucuman, Argentina, respectively. There's a Postcard 9 as well, directed to Kalavrita, Greece, and one unnumbered memo, “Postcard aus Schlabendorf am See," ...
read moreFree Range Music
by Jack Bowers
Hazel Leach has had quite a musical career. After college, where she studied classical flute as well as jazz / pop saxophone, the Englishwoman spent a number of years as a freelance musician / arranger before moving to Holland in 1979. Six years later she was named lecturer in music at the Arnheim Conservatoire, and in 1992 she co-founded the United Women's Orchestra with friend and colleague Christina Fuchs. The UWO lasted until 2009, after which Leach (who meanwhile had ...
read moreJutta Hipp: Lost Tapes: The German Recordings 1952-1955
by Dan McClenaghan
German-born pianist Jutta Hipp (1925-2003) was enticed to travel to New York in 1955 by jazz writer/historian Leonard Feather. She was signed by Alfred Lion to Blue Note Records where she very quickly--within an eight month period--recorded three albums for the label: At the Hickory House, Vol. 1 (1955); At the Hickory House, Vol. 2, and Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, a teaming with the tenor saxophonist which was her most successful album. Then it was over. Hipp ...
read moreDuke Ellington Orchestra: Big Bands Live
by Dan McClenaghan
By 1967, the heyday of the big band was over. Rock and Roll ruled as the popular music of the day, and the financial challenges of keeping a large ensemble together for recording--and especially touring--were huge. But Duke Ellington--one of American's finest bandleaders, pianists, and composers--was more than just a genius in the field of music. He also succeeded as a business man, keeping his orchestra not only busy on the road, but also creating his finest art--what he called ...
read moreDizzy Gillespie Quintet: Legends Live
by Dan McClenaghan
The Jazzhaus label has, on its hands, an archive of some 1600 audio and more than 350 video recordings taken from live radio and T.V. broadcasts in post-World War II Germany, featuring some of the most vital jazz artists of the time. These recordings are now being released. The first batch of the Legends Live series included sets by drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. The second wave of releases ...
read moreThe United Women's Orchestra: Virgo Supercluster
by Jack Bowers
This is the third album by the cutting-edge United Women’s Orchestra of Cologne, Germany, and as before, one of the most daunting tasks facing a reviewer is describing the music therein. If distilled into a single word, that word would perhaps be “adventurous,” although “expansive” would certainly apply, as would “captivating” or “passionate.” Maria Schneider, a rather impressive composer / arranger in her own right, summarizes her thoughts in the liner notes: “[Co-directors] Hazel Leach and Christina Fuchs have contributed ...
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