Erik Truffaz Quartet live at Moments, Bremen 2011

Erik Truffaz, Trumpet
Marcello Giuliani, Bass
Benoit Corboz, Keyboard
Alberto Malo, Drums
Anna Aaron, Vocals
recorded live at Moments, Bremen, April 4, 2011

1. The Secret Of The Dead Sea (Benoit Corboz, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
2. Akiko (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Eric Truffaz)
3. Wilfried (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
4. Tic Toc (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
5. Mechanic Cosmetic (Benoit Corboz, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)

6. Arroyo (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
7. In Between (Benoit Corboz, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
8. Bending New Corners (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
9. Fujin (Benoit Corboz, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
10. Miss Kaba (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
11. The Drain Act (Anna Aaron)
12. Let Me Go! (Benoit Corboz, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)
13. Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner (Patrick Muller, Marc Erbetta, Marcello Giuliani, Erik Truffaz)

Swiss trumpet player Erik Truffaz has hooked up with his former musical accomplices to turn out a dark, melancholy album, In Between. His trumpet soars through the sound of rigged keyboards and accompanies the voice of singer Sophie Hunger.
After three years and three albums springing from some fruitful partnerships (Benares, Paris and Mexico), Erik Truffaz has gone back to his old quartet. Close friend Benoît Corboz has taken up the keyboards formerly played by Patrick Muller, and brought his rigged
Hammond organ and his Rhodes piano into the studio. Sophie Hunger, one of Erik’s Swiss compatriots, joined the musicians to record one of the compositions, Let me go! and a cover version of an obscure Bob Dylan number, Dirge.
The slow, sad track that opens the album sets the tone for the whole opus. The secret of the dead sea, with its vocal and drum blend, unites the chantings of the Hammond organ with those of Truffaz’s trumpet. The musician explains: "The album is pretty sombre and sad. But we didn’t set out to do it that way. Each of us comes to the studio with more or less finished compositions and then we root out a sound together.  It’s only afterwards that we discover the result.” The musician has dropped the electronic effects of yore and placed his new silver-incrusted instrument centre stage, producing an ampler sound that at times approaches the flute.
It is the keyboards that provide the effects – dreamlike sounds, like on Mechanic Cosmetic, a track created from one of the quartet’s very modal improvisations. The more agitated Lost in Bogota, which the Rhodes piano turns almost funky, is a long way from the D&B rhythm of BC One, an ethereal tune created and dissected by Benoît Corboz. In Between propagates a hushed (dis)quiet, with the trumpet playing softly and the drums taking back stage before the Rhodes piano comes whirling in.
In Between is in constant oscillation – flitting from past to present, joy to sadness, life to death.

Gary Lucas & Phillip Johnston Sextet Fast’n’Bulbous: The Captain Beefheart Project live in Köln 2009

Photo (c) by Lars Klove

Pat Irwin: guitar
Phillip Johnston: alto saxophone
Dave Sewelson: baritone saxophone
Rob Henke: trumpet
Jacob Garchik: trombone
Jesse Krakow: bass
Richard Dworkin: drums
recorded live at Stadtgarten, Köln, March 16, 2009

1. Abba Zaba
2. Woe-is-uh-me bop
3. Ice Rose
4. A carrot is as close as a rabbit gets to a diamond
5.Dali ́s Car
6.Dropout Boogie
7.The Blimp
8.Trust us
9.You know you ́re a man
10.When I see mommy I feel like a mummy
11. Tropical Hot Dog Night

All compositions by Don van Vliet

What Is Fast 'N' Bulbous?
Songlist: The repertoire is drawn from the entire range of Beefheartiana, from Safe As Milk through Ice Cream For Crow, (and concentrating heavily on Troutmaskreplica.)
Description of Music: The idea is to use the compositions of Don Van Vliet as a vehicle for improvisation and arranging. The band consists of a steady crew of seasoned improvisers from both the worlds of avant-garde jazz and rock, who will render the music in both a tribute and a creative adventure in improvising. We use the horn section to take the place of the vocals, as well as transmute this guitar-based music into ensemble interplay, between horns and guitar and rhythm section.
First performances of the group were in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Brugge, Belgium, and Bremen, Germany in October of 2001. On Feb 9th, 2002, the group made its New York debut, in a sold-out show at The Knitting Factory that included a reading by Mike Barnes from his biography of Captain Beefheart, and a program of rare videos of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.
Subsequent gigs include Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space (sold-out), Joe’s Pub, the 2002 Saalfelden Jazz Festival, the Walker Art Center (sold-out) & Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, and the 2004 Frankfurt Jazz Festival. 

The debut CD from Fast 'N' Bulbous "Pork Chop Blue Around The Rind" was released on Cuneiform Records in 2004.

The reason for Gary Lucas actually NOT playing on this concert is explained with the following letter:

Dear promoter,
we  just received information about a tragic incident: yesterday evening Gary Lucas walking in the streets  of Montreal on his way to a concert, slipped on the icy sidewalk, fell and broke his arm; it´s not just a simple fracture, but a complicated, serious injury.
This is a real tragedy and  may have a serious impact on Gary´s further career as a musician.We are still under the shock of this message. Nevertheless we must take action immediately. Phillip  Johnston and the rest of the band would be ready and willing to come to Europe to do the tour that is scheduled to start next week. Musically they´d do their very best and would make  the music happen in the spirit of Captain Beefheart and Gary Lucas!!!

NDR Big Band feat. João Bosco live in Sao Paolo 2007

João Bosco, vocals, guitar
Kiko Freitas, drums
NDR Big Band
Jörg- Achim Keller, cond
compositions by João Bosco
arrangements by Wolf Kerschek

recorded live at Sala Sao Paolo, May, 14, 2007

1. Incompatibilidade de Gênios
2. Quilombo Suite
Solo: Christof Lauer, ss
3. O ronco da cuica
Soloists: Nils Landgren, tb; Reiner Winterschladen, tp; Kiko Freitas, dr, Marcio Doctor, perc
4. Linha da passe
Solo: Sebastian Hoffmann, tb
5. O bêbado e a equilibrista

First discovered by Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, the brilliant composer/vocalist/guitarist Joao Bosco is one of the main figures of MPB (Música Popular Brasileira). His 2006 release Obrigada Gente! Ao Vivo (Universal Brazil) has sold over 100,000 copies in his homeland. In Europe he is one of the secret pearls of Brazilian singer-songwriter music still to be discovered by a larger audience. Admired as a versatile vocalist and a dynamic performer, Bosco has been noted for his singular fusion of Arab culture, Afro-American music and Brazilian styles bossa nova influenced by American jazz. "Senhoras Do Amazonas" is a studio album with Germany s NDR Big Band that stemmed from the joint Brazilian tour in 2007. 

NDR Big Band & Bob Brookmeyer: Question & Answer

Trumpets: Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter, Reiner Winterschladen
Saxophones: Fiete Felsch, Peter Bolte, Christof Lauer, Lutz Büchner, Frank Delle
Trombones: Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich,  Stefan Lottermann, Ingo Lahme
Chris Goossens, piano; Stephan Diez, guitar; Ingmar Heller, bass

John Hollenbeck, drums, Marcio Doctor, percussion
Bob Brookmeyer, cond

recorded live at NDR Studio 1, Hamburg, December, 2010

1. Christmas Tree
Soloist: Lutz Büchner, cl
2. Running In Place
Soloist: Lutz Büchner, ts
3. Verticals
Soloist: Ingmar Heller, b
4. Wedding Song
Soloists: Fiete Felsch, fl; Chris Goossens, p; Dan Gottshall, tb
5. Eleven
Soloists: Klaus Heidenreich, tb; Lutz Büchner, ts
6. Q & A

Composer, valve trombonist and conductor Bob Brookmeyer is about to celebrate his upcoming 80th birthday. Bob Brookmeyer is the foremost jazz composer working today. He has also taught many of today’s leading jazz composers including Maria Schneider and Jim McNeely.
He is a walking history of jazz, having performed with, and written for, a list that encompasses almost the entire history of the music. He worked regularly with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall, Mel Lewis, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and also with Count Basie and Woody Herman, to name only a few.

For this project he joined forces with the NDR Big Band to re-record some originals he had recorded earlier but not released on CD because he wasn´t pleased with the results.

His latest big band album "Spirit Music" features his own New Art Orchestra with some of Europe´s finest big band players.

NDR Big Band & Wolfgang Haffner: Homerun - The Best Of The Last 20 Years

 Photo © by: ACT / Steven Haberland

NDR Bigband
Trumpets: Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter, Reiner Winterschladen
Saxophones: Fiete Felsch, Peter Bolte, Christof Lauer, Lutz Büchner, Frank Delle
Trombones: Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich,  Stefan Lottermann, Ingo Lahme
Vladyslav Sendecki, piano; Stephan Diez, guitar; Ingmar Heller, bass; Marcio Doctor, percussion
Jörg Achim Keller, cond
Wolfgang Haffner, drums
recorded live at Studio 1, NDR Hamburg, June 2010

1. Homerun
Soloists: Frank Delle, bs; Dan Gottshall, tb; Wolfgang Hafner, dr
 2. Round Silence
Soloists: Peter Bolte, as; Stefan Lottermann, tb
3. The Real Thing
Soloists: Lutz Büchner, ts; Dan Gottshall, tb
4. Star
Soloists: Lutz Büchner, ts; Ingolf Burkhardt, tp; Wolfgang Hafner, dr
5. In The Space Between
Soloists: Fiete Felsch, flute; Klaus Heidenreich, tb; Wolfgang Hafner, dr; Marcio Doctor, percussion
6. Goodbye Again
Soloists: Vladyslav Sendecki, piano

Wolfgang Haffner has for years been regarded as Germany’s number one jazz drummer.
Haffner was born on December the 7th 1965 in Wunsiedel /Germany as the son of a church music director. From age 6 he had piano and drum lessons. When Haffner was 18, Germany’s most famous jazz musician Albert Mangelsdorff hired him into his band. Since then Wolfgang Haffner has been a member of Klaus Doldinger’s Passport (1989-2000), Joe Haider (1986-1994), Al Porcino (1985-1992) and US-superstar Chaka Kahn’s band (1994-1995). He has been a member of US-fusion band “Metro” (with Chuck Loeb, Mitch Forman and Victor Bailey) since 1994. From 1994-2004 he was drummer with the “Old Friends”, and he has been a member of Nils Landgren’s Funk Unit since 2002. Haffner also plays in trumpeter Till Brönner’s band. He has also produced albums for a number of artists. In 2004 he was responsible for the production of Iceland’s super band Mezzoforte’s CD “Forward Motion”. Countless tours have led him a few times around the world.
Having played several years with the NDR Big Band as the band´s regular drummer, he rejoined forces with his old friends for this retrospective featuring the best of his compositions rearranged for big band.
His latest album "Round Silence" was released on ACT.

HR Big Band feat. Cæcilie Norby live in Bad Hersfeld 2010

Photo © ACT / Isak Hoffmeyer

Cæcilie Norby | voc
Örjan Fahlström | cond
HR Big Band:
Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø | tb
Manfred Honetschläger | bass-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht | as
Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles | ts; Rainer Heute | bs
Martin Scales | g;  Peter Reiter | p; Thomas Heidepriem | b; Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr

recorded live at  Stadthalle Bad Hersfeld, October 10, 2010 & Jazztival Bühl, October 8, 2010

1. Girl Talk (Neal Hefti / Bobby Troup)
Soloist: Tony Lakatos, ts
2. My Man (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloists: Martin Scales, gt; Rainer Heute, bs; Peter Reiter, p
3. Just One Of Those Things (Cole Porter)
Soloist: Jean Paul Höchstädter, dr
4. First Conversation (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloist: Tony Lakatos, ts
5. Man's Got Soul (Curtis Mayfield)
Soloists: Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, as; Martin Scales, gt
6. Naked In The Dark (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloist: Axel Schlosser, tp
7. Set Them Free (Sting)
Soloist: Peter Feil, tb
8. Life On Mars (David Bowie)
Soloist: Thomas Heidepriem, b
9. I Had A Ball (Jack Lawrence and Stan Freeman)
Soloist: Julian Argüelles, ts
10. The Dead Princess (Maurice Ravel/ Lyrics: Cæcilie Norby)
11. Spinning Wheel (David Clayton-Thomas)
Soloist : Axel Schlosser, tp

Musical pigeonholes have never interested Danish singer Cæcilie Norby: “I have always been in search of catchy melodies – if you want to have a hit in the pop world, you need a strong melody. In jazz the central subject is that which opens a piece and, in classical music, even the grandest orchestral arrangements may become boring and flat if they aren’t carried by a natural melody.” For Norby it is the melody that is the essence of music, and the decisive criteria according to which she evaluates and chooses music which is free of any genre boundaries. It is an approach which mirrors her extraordinary career and is probably also the secret of her success.
As the daughter of classical musicians – her mother, Solveig Lumholt, was an opera singer and her father, Erik Norby, was a composer – it was the discovery of jazz with its bluesy, swinging and cool moments which brought the decision to follow in her parents’ footsteps. A short while later, whilst still a teenager, she got caught up in the maelstrom of rock and pop music with its raw energy and catchy tunes. As a traveller between these different musical worlds she quickly made a name for herself, beginning with her funk jazz band “Frontline” which won all the Danish jazz awards going in the early Eighties.
Her latest project “Arabesque” is her debut for ACT. It is an ambitious, possibly even pioneering project which brings together her career up until now, reflected through the influence of the classical music of her childhood. For the first time, Norby has written song texts for classical pieces, particularly from the Impressionist period (which represents the majority of the 15 tracks on the album).

John Scofield & WDR Big Band live in Köln 2011

John Scofield, gt

Michael Abene, cond, arr

WDR Big Band Köln:

Johan Hörlen, Karolina Strassmayer, Olivier Peters, Paul Heller, Jens Neufang: saxophones

Ludwig Nuss, Marshall Allan Gilkes, Hans-Jürgen Fink, Mattis Cederberg: trombones

Andy Haderer, John Marshall, Wim Both, Rob Bruynen, Klaus Osterloh: trumpets

Frank Chastenier, keys; John Goldsby, bass; Hans Dekker, drums

recorded live at Philharmonie, Köln, May 21, 2011

1. Let the Cat Out

Soloists: Karolina Strassmayer, as; Frank Chastenier, org; John Scofield, gt

2. Hive

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; Andy Haderer, tp

3. Chicken Dog

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; Marshall Gilkes, tb

4. Keep Me In Mind

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; John Marshall, tp

5. Introduction of the band by Michael Abene

6. Go Blow

Soloists: Johan Hörlen, as; John Scofield, gt

7. The Guiness Spot

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; John Goldsby, b

8. Still Warm

Soloists: John Scofield, gt;  Paul Heller, ts; Hans Dekker, dr

9. Easy For You

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; Paul Heller, ts;

10. Sin And Misery

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; Frank Chastenier, p; Johan Hörlen, as

11. Pigs And Pans

Soloists: John Scofield, gt; Ludwig Nuss, tb; Hans Dekker, dr

Even before it went steeply uphill for John Scofield in 1982, he was in great demand as a guitarist, whether with Charles Mingus or Gary Burton. Then Miles Davis took him into his band, and Scofield recorded for him his to the present day distinctive sound in legendary fusion records such as Decoy. Today we can no longer imagine the pool of the five worldwide most influential jazz guitarists without Scofield and his characteristic creaking single notes. It is an honor for the WDR Big Band that Scofield himself is coming to lend his most famous pieces orchestral pulse and groove. Bandleader Michael Abene contributed the new arrangements. 

Last year another great arranger (Vince Mendoza) with another fine big band (Metropole Orkest) released a record featuring John Scofield, entitled 54.

Miles Davis Group live at Berliner Jazztage 1971

Miles Davis (trumpet)

Gary Bartz (saxophone)

Keith Jarrett (electric piano, organ)

Michael Henderson (bass)

Ndugu Leon Chancler (drums)

Charles Don Alias (percussions)

James Mtume Forman (percussions)

recorded live at Philharmonie Berlin, November 6, 1971

1. Directions (J. Zawinul) (incomplete)

2. Honky Tonk (M. Davis)

3. What I Say (M. Davis)

4. Sanctuary (W. Shorter-M. Davis)

5. It's About That Time (M. Davis)

6. Funky Tonk (M. Davis) (incomplete)

Just one year before this concert, Miles recorded a string of live dates  at the Cellar Door with a similar group and a similar repertoire. Read here parts of the allmusic.com review by Thom Jurek:
"Davis was keen on having Columbia record his live sets, and pressured them to do so for these four nights, just a week before Christmas in 1970. This set is a solid look at what's in-the-can, since the vast majority of these tracks -- three hours' worth of them -- have never seen the light of day in any form.
This music reveals a truly muscular Miles Davis at the top of his form as an improviser and as a bandleader with the most intense and nearly mystical sense of the right place-the right time-the right lineup. These shows, played in a club instead of a concert hall, provided a virtual laboratory for possibilities Davis was exploring. The money for the gig was nearly non-existent compared to what he was used to making playing halls, so he paid the band out of his own pocket.
The music here fades in with Joe Zawinul's "Directions." There is a five-note bass figure that repeats almost constantly throughout, offering DeJohnette a solid bass from which to enhance the groove and dance around. From the beginning, Davis is blowing his ass off, soloing furiously in the middle register. Jarrett is filling the space, playing both a Rhodes and an organ at the same time. When Bartz begins to solo on soprano, the deep, funky groove is well-established, giving the musicians room to dig in and let loose. Jarrett's solo is like a spaced-out Sly Stone, offering back the groove and then building on it like a man possessed. He matches both DeJohnette and Henderson with a slippery, utterly rhythmic sense of pure groove and then moves them somewhere else until Davis brings them back.
Disc two opens with Jarrett, Henderson, and Airto locking horns in a ferocious groove on "What I Say" that has the members of the audience showing their appreciation with shouts of "Yeah!" and "Blow!" and "You Go!" Jarrett's solo at the beginning is unlike anything he has ever played -- before or since. As they move through the set and get to "Inamorata," the gate to heaven and hell is wide open. The spaced-out blues in "Honky Tonk" reveals Davis' total mastery of the wah wah he employed in so much of his material of the time. "Inamorata" is wildly funky, dirty, and outright nasty in places. But the middle sections offer, as Bartz notes in his liner essay, the kinds of vocalese concepts that are reflected in his solo, Davis' solo, and in the actual voices of Airto and Henderson.
The Cellar Door Sessions set is like a combination of the Tribute to Jack Johnson set and the complete It's About That Time disc, with a watershed of information providing a complete bridge from one phase of that exploratory period in Davis' career to another. As Jarrett observes in his liner essay (each bandmember has one) after this date, Davis never played with a group as musically sophisticated again. And for all the ego displayed in stating this, one may tend to agree with him. Lavishly packaged and annotated, The Cellar Door Sessions is the last great reissue of the year 2005, and an essential testament to the genius Davis displayed in weaving together exploratory jazz, funk, and rock." 

Maceo Parker „Roots Revisited“ live in Bremen 1990

Maceo Parker, Alto Saxophone
Pee Wee Ellis, Tenor Saxophone
Fred Wesley, Trombone
Larry Goldings, Hammond B3
Rodney Jones, Guitar
Bill Stewart, Drums

recorded live at Modernes, Bremen, November 7, 1990

1. McGriff’s Blues (Rodney Jones)
2. For The Elders    (Fred Wesley)
3. Up And Down East Street (Maceo Parker)
4. Let’s Go Funky (a.k.a. Southwick) (Maceo Parker)

5. Peace Fuge (Fred Wesley)

Maceo Parker is a funk monster. He started his career playing saxophone for James Brown. He left the Godfather of Soul to join none other than George Clinton and the legendary Parliament, before going back with James Brown and later on Bootsy Collin’s own band. His own website pretty clearly states that there would be no funk music without Maceo Parker-that might be a little much, but he did help out a lot. Yet in 1990, Maceo Parker decided to put aside his funky nature (well on some tracks) in exchange for some old fashioned jazz and soul music for his now legendary album "Roots Revisited". The mixture of all three is very entertaining.
This CD gave him a chance to stretch out as a leader, and his soulful horn immediately brings to mind Hank Crawford and (to a lesser extent) Lou Donaldson. With a strong backup group that includes Pee Wee Ellis on tenor, trombonist Fred Wesley, and Don Pullen on organ, Parker enthusiastically plays over infectious grooves with just one funky departure ("In Time"). Roots Revisited is a throwback to the 1960s soul-jazz style and Maceo Parker gives one the impression that, if called upon, he could hold his own on a bebop date.

The second Roots installment, "Mo' Roots" was cut minus Pullen and Collins, leaning a little more toward the instrumental soul side. Three fine originals in conjunction with covers of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Horace Silver, and Lionel Hampton.

Rolf Kühn & TRI-O live at Jazzclub "Unterfahrt", Munich 2011

Rolf Kühn (Clarinet)

Ronny Graupe (Guitar)

Johannes Fink (Bass)

Christian Lillinger (Drums and Percussion)

recorded live at Jazzclub "Unterfahrt", Munich, March 2, 2011

Lifeline (Rolf Kühn)

Changing the Umbrella (Joachim Kühn)

Mamarazzi (Rolf Kühn)

Positive Reflections (Rolf Kühn)

Canaveral (Ronny Graupe)

Since the death of Albert Mangelsdorff, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, born in Köln and turning 82 this September, is Germany's elder statesman in jazz. He has played with such diverse figures as Jack Sheldon and Tony Oxley and his voluminous output has included trad, free and fusion, all featuring his quirkily modern compositions. Rollercoaster, Kühn's first disc for Jazzwerkstatt, finds him leading a trio whose combined age barely exceeds his. But Kühn doesn't look and certainly doesn't play old, presenting a fresh program of nine tunes written by himself, brother Joachim, group guitarist Ronny Graupe and Ornette Coleman. It is often said that the best avant-garde players are those thoroughly steeped in the classics; Kühn embodies this and his band responds with both respect and urging. 

Johannes Enders Quartet feat. Billy Hart live in Karlsruhe 2011

Johannes Enders (sax)
Jean-Paul Brodbeck (p)
Milan Nicolic (b)
Billy Hart (dm)
recorded live at Jazzclub Karlsruhe, May 23, 2011

1. Sonnentierchen (Johannes Enders)
2. Billy Rubin (Johannes Enders)
3. Zeitgeistmaschine (Johannes Enders)
4. Billy Rubin 2 (Johannes Enders)
5. Little Drummer (Johannes Enders)
6. So Ro (Rebecca Bakken)
7. X-March (Johannes Enders)

One of europes most important tenorsaxophone players with his new quartet feat. Billy Hart, Jean Paul Brodbeck and Milan Nicholic. Enders 2009 release "Billy Rubin" with Billy Hart has been awarded with the german “JazzEcho” , his collaboration with the famous Weilheim group NOTWIST and his own EndersRoom helped to establish a growing reputation amoung advanced listeners. 

Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard: Fly live at JazzBaltica 2010

Mark Turner, tenor saxophone

Larry Grenadier, bass

Jeff Ballard, drums

recorded live at Große Konzertscheune, Salzau, July 2010

1. Lady B (Jeff Ballard)

2. Super Sister (Mark Turner)

3. Emergence/ Resurgence (Larry Grenadier)

4. The Fruit (Bud Powell)

5. Fly Mr. Freakjar (Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard)

6. Brothersister (Mark Turner)

7. Child´s Play (Jeff Ballard)

8. State Of The Union  (Mark Turner)

Fly is a leaderless collective comprised of three influential American jazz musicians Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard are all powerful individual voices in the jazz community (One, both or all have graced the performances and recordings of Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Pat Metheny, Charles Lloyd, to name just a few.) who have created a cohesive unit that expresses each part while creating an uniquely realized whole. In other words, they celebrate the group, without sacrificing the individual. In the era of individual "star" instrumentalists, the idea of a truly collective trio can be a difficult concept to fathom. Yet collectivity is what the FLY trio strives for; and collectivity is what they so unabashedly and unquestionably achieve. Ballard, Grenadier and Turner - all very sought-after session-musicians/side-men - represent three rather distinct musical personalities -- simultaneously complimentary and contrasting. "Because we've all been sidemen a lot, the idea of playing in a collective band--it's completely inclusive of everything we've done. All the experience of all the different bands we've played with is absorbed in this group." "Sky & Country" is the ECM debut for Fly, a Fly provides the context in which all three players get to spread their wings as composers, "bringing together many musical elements, traditions, histories and mysteries," says Turner. The music is unique; it can be harmonically rich or very bare bones and often just simply beautiful.  

Dave Liebman + John Abercrombie "Lookout Farm" live at Berliner Jazztage 1975

Dave Liebman: Tenor and Soprano Saxophone, Flute

John Abercrombie: Guitar

Richard Beirach: Keyboards

Frank Tusa: Bass

Jeff Williams: Drums

Badal Roy: Percussion

recorded live during Berliner Jazztage at Philharmonie, Berlin, November 05, 1975

1. Within you without you (George Harrison)

2. Napanoch (Dave Liebman)

3. Mitsuku (Richie Beirach)

4. Lover Man (Jimmie Davis; Jimmy Sherman; Ram Ramirez)

Saxophonist, flutist, and all-around wunderkind Dave Liebman made his ECM debut with Lookout Farm, his first of only two albums for producer Manfred Eicher as leader (the other being the enthralling Drum Ode; he would also guest on Steve Swallow’s Home some six years later) and a trendsetter for fledgling improvisers seeking their voices in the seventies and beyond. Here, he is joined by a telepathic ensemble that includes regulars Richie Beirach and John Abercrombie, in addition to a pointed percussion section.
A spectacular sense of curiosity would seem to be de rigueur in Liebman territory, its infectiousness inescapable. This is a milestone album, not only for the liberating musicianship and timeless sounds, but also for its production value. With Lookout Farm, Eicher channeled the reverberant specter that has haunted the label’s sound ever since, and with it an entirely new way of listening emerged.

Miroslav Vitous Group "Remembering Weather Report" live in Le Mans 2010

Miroslav Vitous - Bass, Samples
Franco Ambrosetti - Trumpet
Gary Campbell - Saxophone
Nasheet Waits - Drums
recorded live at Europa Jazz Festival Le Mans/France, May 7, 2010

Opening
Morning Lake
Autumn Leaves (Kosma, Prévert)
Miro Bop
Stella By Starlight (Victor Young)

Vitous was one of the founders of Weather Report and helped to shape its early (and revolutionary) mix of enigmatic, free-flowing compositions and high-level improvisational dialogues, in which all the instruments enjoyed parity. It is this formative period that Miroslav salutes with his all-acoustic band and some phenomenal playing. The obvious musical empathy between Vitous and drummer Gerald Cleaver is a joy, Ambrosetti and Campbell contribute inspired solos – as does guest Michel Portal, another iconic figure in the history of the music.

Verneri Pohjola Quartet live at Jazzclub Unterfahrt, München 2011

Verneri Pohjola - Trumpet

Aki Rissanen - Piano

Antti Lötjönen - Bass

Joonas Riippa - Drums

recorded live at Jazzclub Unterfahrt, München, March 25, 2011

1. Akvavit (Pohjola)

2. For Three (Pohjola)

3. Askisto (Pohjola)

4. Boxer Diesel (Pohjola)

5. What Reason Could I Give (Ornette Coleman)

6. Colossus (Verneri Pohjola)

7. Spirit of S (Verneri Pohjola)

8. Kuohija (Verneri Pohjola)

9. Karhu (Verneri Pohjola)

10. In The End Of This Album (Verneri Pohjola)

Pohjola is a name with great symbolic power in Finland. It is the main place in the national epic poem Kalevala, and the surname of one of the country’s best known jazz musician families. With Aurora, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola is now creating quite a stir outside his homeland. In Finland his debut won the Emma award as leader, the Finnish Grammy, as “Best Jazz Album of 2009”.
It was clear that the trumpeter would go on to have a musical career from very early on. He was born in 1977, the son of national jazz legend Pekka Pohjola. From 1999 he studied jazz at the Sibelius Academy, one of Europe’s leading academies, and in 2004 he was named Young Artist of the Year at the Pori Jazz Festival. In that same year the Finnish jazz critics also declared him the Best Trumpeter and Musician of the Year.
Even though Aurora is Pohjola’s first work under his own name, he is no longer a newcomer. The Finn consciously gave his music time to mature and to find its own artistic expression. When ACT star Nils Landgren heard Pohjola’s debut album, he was immediately captivated. He promptly invited the trumpeter to the Berlin Jazz Festival 2010 and raved to his label boss, Siggi Loch, about this great talent. That Sweden and Norway are real “treasures troves” for first class jazz is far from a secret but its tranquil neighbouring country, covered by forests, lakes, deer and with only 5 million inhabitants was until now undiscovered.