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The Thilo Wolf Big Band: Swing It! Volume II

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The Thilo Wolf Big Band: Swing It! Volume II
Cloning sheep? Small potatoes. Pianist Thilo Wolf has cloned an entire big band! On Swing It!, Volume II his German–based ensemble is practically a mirror image of the late pianist Gene Harris’s SuperBand which recorded three albums in 1987–90 for Concord Records, and Wolf himself sounds so much like the irrepressible Harris that it’s downright spooky. Is that a good thing? On balance, yes; Harris fronted a marvelous all–star band, and so does Wolf. There’s nothing disagreeable about that, nor about the music presented on Swing It!, which is consistently bold and bracing. As Harris did on the first of his three albums, Wolf employs the services of two vocalists, Etta Cameron and Allan Harris, who are featured on seven of the twelve selections. Again, there’s not a great deal of difference between them and Gene Harris’s choices, Ernestine Anderson and Ernie Andrews. Cameron is showcased on “For Once in My Life,” “’S Wonderful” and “Yardbird Suite,” Harris on “Looking at the World Through Rose–Colored Glasses,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” “My One and Only Love” and “On a Clear Day.” The band has the stage to itself in this concert recording only on the first three numbers (“Mr. Grooverix,” Ray Brown’s “Gumbo Hump,” “Swinging Fingers”), Cole Porter’s “It’s All Right with Me” and the blistering finale, “Makin’ Boom Boom,” on which Wolf moves from piano to drums to trade volleys with the ensemble’s resident sharpshooter, sure–handed Wolfgang Haffner. Elsewhere, his assertive piano is the dominant voice, whether soloing or providing a chordal road map for the band. The other soloists are baritone saxophonist Thomas Zoller, trombonist Gerhard Fink and trumpeter Franz Weyerer (“Mr. Grooverix,” which is the name of one of Wolf’s other albums); Haffner and trumpeter Lennart Axelsson (“Gumbo Hump”); tenor saxophonist Axel Kühn (“It’s All Right with Me”); Haffner and trumpeter Felice Civitereale (“Swinging Fingers”). A mixed bag whose instrumental tracks are strong enough to earn a lukewarm endorsement.

Contact:Mons Records, Taubenplatz 42, 67705 Trippstedt, Germany. Web site, www.monsrecords.de; e–mail [email protected]

Track Listing

Mr. Grooverix; Gumbo Hump; Swinging Fingers; For Once in My Life;

Personnel

Thilo Wolf, piano, drums (12), leader; Norbert Nagel, Otto Staniloi (1

Album information

Title: Swing It! Volume II | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Mons

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