[jsaliga]

I have been listening to a lot of Esbjörn Svensson Trio. I ended up buying Leucocyte and E.S.T. Live '95. Live '95 is a strong album and Leucocyte starts out very strong but later there are a few extended solos that slightly weaken the impact of the music. Still, both are worthy additions to my library and I am happy to have them.

--Jerome

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdennis /img/forum/go_quote.gif On the other hand, I can't imagine the sounds of the recording "Skies of Europe" by the Italian Instabile Orchestra coming out of an American band (this is a definitely non-pedestrian ECM disc by the way).

Perhaps ECM has had a change of heart, since Skies of Europe has been dropped from its catalog. Also note that this is the only album the band did for the label.

But thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have a deep appreciation of the jazz avant garde and listening to this title on Rhapsody right now has motivated me to hunt down a copy on CD.

--Jerome

 

[burgunder]

You could try the danish trio "Karen Bach Trio" Karen Bach Trio on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads and Karen Bach Trio under album/lyt til albummet you will find samples of their first album(if not the whole album)
They proclaim to have a nordic(north european) tone in their music, and they migth be rigth. It nice music though so give it a try.

 

[CDBacklash]

Check out the ECM label.
Seriously.
*You could also check out the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Whilst John Mclaughlin was mostly interested in Indian Classical Music, he also has significant influence from european classical music.

 

[patates]

Jan Garbarek is big, and deservingly so IMO.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif Check out the ECM label. Seriously.

I have, seriously. Please read the first post in thread before posting further.

Thanks.

--Jerome

 

[patates]

Ok, but honestly there are so many different offerings from ECM.
It's your call though.

There are also middle eastern jazz musicians you may be interested in.
Anouar Brahem, Rabih Abou Khalil, John Zorn, Hafez Modirzadeh and more.

Good luck.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patates /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, but honestly there are so many different offerings from ECM. It's your call though.

Thank you. Artist recommendations are most certainly welcome. Label recommendations, to be blunt, are not. I have a pretty long history with ECM as a record label. I'm not trying to be a wise guy or anything, but I didn't just start listening to jazz last week. I have been an avid jazz listener for going on 30 years. I understand that ECM has some diversity in its offerings. But I also know all too well there is a core mainstream side of the label that emphasizes style over substance.

Since I am obviously not much of a fan of the general "ECM forumula" I am trying to use this thread to weed out the dry, lifeless, and boring content that I have come to know the label for, and that is where you can help...by keeping the discussion focused on the artists. I don't really want to debate my feelings about ECM as a lablel.

--Jerome

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patates /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jan Garbarek is big, and deservingly so IMO.

Thanks. I have a few of his albums as leader and as a sideman with other groups. Let's just say that I don't care to expand my collection of his work at this time.

--Jerome

 

[catachresis]

Jerome, I've been interested in your query and the others' responses to it. It got me thinking about one of the discoveries I made in the last years I was in Dublin: while there might have been something cliched or derivative about the 'mainstream' of European jazz ten or fifteen years ago, Europe is a hotspring of talent and innovation right now. It was a minor epiphany I had one day when I contrasted a cd by one of Wynton Marsalis' 'USDA-approved' young jazz musicians with one of ACT's _Magic Moments_ Samplers [it was III]. Much of the US stuff seems to have the stolid, inflexible delivery required of a venerated, canonical, exclusive jazz 'tradition' [--musicians without institutional clearance may refer to "the rhythm-section want ad"]. The pan-European stuff published by ACT is fresh, young, and innovative. Not every bit of it is top-notch--ACT pieces vary from pop to fusion to free jazz to traditional reworkings to advant-garde. Check this.

I'm most charged-up about jazz piano works. Recording on ACT, Michael Wollny is the current infant terrible of European jazz piano: think of Brad Mehldau, with whom he is associated, but even crazier. Like a lot of great new European jazz musicians, Wollny typically combines the formal musicianship of classical training with aggressive jazz composition, leavened with an affection for the newest indie-music. Mehldau has done covers of _Radiohead_; Wollny does Bjork and wierder stuff when the mood takes him. Given that you're probably not so heavily into jazz piano, check out the two duets albums that Wollny created with senior bop-saxophonist Heinz Sauer. They are compelling indeed and critically lauded. Here.

In any case, ACT has many worthy releases. Sample the tunes, follow the sidemen, and choose carefully: the cds can be expensive here. Some of the albums are more astonishing than others, but I've never heard an 'unworthy' recording on ACT.

On ECM (yeah, I know this has been covered) I am liking piano maestro John Taylor's expressionistic piano pieces. I'm especially fond of his collaboration with giant Charlie Haden. This.

Last, if you want to keep up with new European jazz releases, it's hard to beat the weekly reviews of everybody from _The Guardian/Observer_, here.

 

[patates]

In case you haven't checked out yet, be sure to check out Nik Bartsch.
He is doing interesting stuff with & to music.

Complex rhythms, beautiful texture, and melody to go with it.
If nothing, it's an excellent hi-fi listening experience IMO.
Check out Holon & Stoa first.

If you liked Esbjörn, I have a feeling that you may also like Tord Gustavsen Trio.

 

[burgunder]

I did read a review of the recent recording of italian trumpeter Enrico Rava in the newspaper the other day, and the review was quite favorable, I have not heard it myself, but I will definately check him out when I get the chance.

 

[tattoou2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patates /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jan Garbarek is big, and deservingly so IMO.

I second this. I particularly like his album, "In Praise of Dreams"

 

[jsaliga]

There's some interesting suggestions from everyone. I'll definitely check them out as I have time. Special thanks to catachresis and patates.

--Jerome

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catachresis /img/forum/go_quote.gif It was a minor epiphany I had one day when I contrasted a cd by one of Wynton Marsalis' 'USDA-approved' young jazz musicians with one of ACT's _Magic Moments_ Samplers [it was III]. Much of the US stuff seems to have the stolid, inflexible delivery required of a venerated, canonical, exclusive jazz 'tradition' [--musicians without institutional clearance may refer to "the rhythm-section want ad"]. The pan-European stuff published by ACT is fresh, young, and innovative. Not every bit of it is top-notch--ACT pieces vary from pop to fusion to free jazz to traditional reworkings to advant-garde.

I must say it's always a bit funny to me that folks are still taking shots at Wynton…at this point he's too easy a target and I think anyone who pays a little attention to jazz realized a loonnnngggg time ago that there's much contemporary jazz in the U.S.A. that has absolutely nothing to do with his orbit.

Umm, not sure, but are you offhandedly suggesting that the rhythm section is too important in American jazz? All I can say to that is, "Yikes!!"

All that said, last night I finally got the chance to hear a fantastic drummer I discovered on an ACT disc a couple of years ago: Ramon Lopez. He's from Spain, and he was on a gig with the pianist Agustí Fernandez and the British bassist Barry Guy. Lopez used many of the expanded things drummers do nowadays (alternating hand-percussion with stick work, playing brushes), but his sense of timing was truly his own. A musician who'd played with him before said to me later, "Yeah, Ramon doesn't play drums…he plays Ramon." That's about as good a recommendation as I can give.

Oh, and I should say that Guy was equally magnificent, although I'd expected that.