Jazz Articles
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Ed Puddick / The Upper Austrian Jazz Orchestra: Crazy Days
by Chris May
The opener / title track of this album could well be taken to refer to Britain's 2016 referendum on whether or not to remain in or leave the European Union, for the disc's second half, and its main event, is composer Ed Puddick's thirty-five minute The Brexit Suite." In fact, Puddick was thinking about something else when he wrote Crazy Days." But the two words neatly sum up the chain of events which led to a small majority of votersa ...
read moreThe KUH Trio: Old Souls
by Jack Bowers
Here is yet another European trio whose name is an acronym, in this case, K for guitarist Edi Kohldorfer, U for bassist Frantisek Uhlir, H for drummer Jaromir Helesic, who when numbered together (or even singly) are Old Souls. Uhlir (70) and Helesic (73) are Czechs, while Kohldorfer (age unknown but has been around the block more than once) is Austrian. Their initial recording as a group consists of ten original compositions, five each by Kohldorfer and Uhlir.
read moreKlaus Gesing: Heartluggage
by John Kelman
Sometimes a musician's associations are so high profile that it's easy to overlook his own work as a leader. Seeming to appear out of nowhere on British vocal legend Norma Winstone's sublime Distances (ECM, 2008) and Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem's equally chamber-centric The Astounding Eyes of Rita (ECM, 2009), Klaus Gesing is, in fact, an established and active player. Heartluggage isn't the saxophonist/clarinetist's first album as a leader, but it's as good a place as any to discover how, while ...
read moreGina Schwarz / Richard Oesterreicher: AirBass
by Raul d'Gama Rose
There could be many a slip between coming up with an unusual concept for a record and actually having the gumption to pull it off. Austrian bassist Gina Schwarz and harmonica maestro Richard Oesterreicher have indeed pulled it off on AirBass, a wonderful record where the two musicians share principal credits, although Schwarz is the main contributor in terms of compositions. Conceptually, the record sets about the task of creating a dazzling palette of sound colors, often ...
read moreRobert Bachner Quintet: Traveling Hard
by Jack Bowers
Yes, Austrians also speak the universal language of jazz, and without any discernible accent, as trombonist Robert Bacher and his quintet prove on Traveling Hard, Bachner's second recording as leader of this group. Bachner, a world-class player, composed and arranged each of the album's seven selections, and it would be difficult to find fault with any of them.
Bachner shares the front line with another resourceful improviser, Christian Maurer, who divides his time between soprano and tenor sax; the duo ...
read moreRobert Bachner Big Band: Moments of Noise
by Jack Bowers
As the title suggests, there are Moments of Noise on Austrian trombonist Robert Bachner's debut album as leader of his own big band, but they are always purposeful, never arbitrary, and are staunchly tempered by moments of beauty, awareness and sensitivity. And as noise is one of the requisite components of any big band, neither are they ever unsuitable. To the contrary, Bachner, a talented composer and arranger, makes certain that whatever noise his ensemble produces is an integral part ...
read moreMg3: 2nd Move
by John Kelman
It had to happen: the popularity of the Swedish piano trio E.S.T. is making its presence felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Canadian bassist Simon Fisk's latest disc, Intent, demonstrates the same kind of pop sensibility, albeit with a freer complexion. Similarly, Austrian pianist Martin Gasselsberger and his group mg3's new release, 2nd Move, can easily be lumped into E.S.T. territory. And while there is a clear precedence in Gasselsberger's refined approach--relying on lyrical themes and improvisation over relatively ...
read moreRobert Bachner Quintet: Heart Disc
by Dave Wayne
Austrian low brass expert Robert Bachner is best known for his contributions to Matthias Ruegg's Vienna Art Orchestra, the similarly inclined (but less well-known) Upper Austrian Jazz Orchestra, and bassist Achim Tang's quintet. In each of these settings, the consistent and inspired excellence of Bachner's trombone and euphonium improvisations have clearly marked him as a player to watch on the European jazz scene. Heart Disc , I believe, is Bachner's first recording as a leader. Though it ...
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