Фирма Jazzline Records

Record Label: Jazzline Style: Modern Jazz

Record Label: Jazzline Style: Latin

Record Label: Jazzline Style: Latin

Once upon a time there was a Canadian supermarket chain called LOEB, which was eventually acquired by METRO group. However, it was not this real-life friendly take-over which inspired a guitarist called LOEB to name a band-project METRO . No, the starting point might have been a ride on the Paris metro (the protagonists themselves are not entirely sure about the formation of the band's name) - and the noise of rhythmical flow, which is particularly fascinating for musicians. Coincidence or not: The greater part of METROs music is characterised by rhythmical flow . A journey with (on the) metro: similar to a continental underground line it commutes between the stylistic poles of jazz, the rougher East- and the softer West-Coast. It is neither a high-speed train with mandatory seat belt wearing, powered by testosterone and machismo, nor a creeping slow train, with a fluent passage from relaxed cruising to semi-consciousness. This metro is not driven by one individual but by a collective: guitarist Chuck Loeb, keyboarder Mitchel Forman and percussionist Wolfgang Haffner. The fact that the three also invite each other to participate in their own productions underscores the impression that these musicians were made for each other: a similar or even identical concept of performance, similar or even identical tastes and ideas of sound.Loeb and Forman are friends for many years: for more than four decades their paths cross regularly. They have played together in the band of Stan Getz and again and again met in the recording studio. Jazz has shaped them - and the fusion-bands of the 70s and 80s: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Mwandishi, Return to Forever, Yellowjackets, Steps Ahead . It is not surprising that the hearts of jazz-loving instrumentalists - who were socialised by rock - beat for rock-jazz and fusion in particular. One of the METRO-CDs (Tree People) gets quite boldly to the heart of it - in a just about fifteen seconds lasting interlude, during which - not lacking irony - aesthetic positions are taken up: It commences with a vocal piece by Victor Bailey, in which he purrs gently, imitating the soul pop-crooner Luther Vandross - and ends with the unambiguous exclamation: ,Back to fusion!" Got it? Incidentally it was also a fusion-project by saxophonist Bill Evans (Petite Blonde, 1992) which brought Loeb and Forman together again and which made their long-cherished wish to form a band together at some point more and more desirable. Two years later the time had come: in 1994 the maiden voyage of METRO took place. It was Anthony Jackson, METRO's first bass player, who ultimately played a part in transforming the team Loeb/Forman into a leading trio: His advice to invite the drummer Wolfgang Haffner brought the third constant on board. For more than twenty years they now form the steady core of METRO. All the more frequent were the changes of bass players: from Jackson through to Victor Bailey, Mel Brown, Jerry Brooks, Will Lee, Gerald Veasley, Melvin Davis, Tim Lefebvre and Nicolas Fiszman. Haffner's musical profile makes him the ideal partner for Loeb and Forman: versatile, well-versed in jazz of European as well as American tradition, sought after as studio musician for jazz, pop and smooth jazz; a friend of floating sounds and a pulsating, groovy rhythmic; a light springy playing, leaving the music enough space to breath. METRO confidently balance their own standards and market expectations: their fusion-music is more tuneful, rhythmically more grabbing and harmonically savvier than much of the less ambitious smooth jazz. However, they do not shy away from ,what separates the boy from the men" (Pat Metheny): the courage to use pure major-triad. To place the band in the bigger picture may bring out and intensify one or the other musical characteristic. If one would join METRO with a string orchestra for example, then the popular, relaxed side might possibly gain too much prominence. This is certainly not the case, when - as in Big Band Boom - the renowned WDR BIG BAND ensures the XL-dimension. A big band, whose orchestration alone ,qua natura" has the right pedigree for jazz and conveys, despite all perfection, something which comes along almost like a virtue and is also familiar to fusion-musicians: the handmade. To combine all these elements while keeping the balance, which is typical for METRO, and to care for transparency is a formidable challenge for any arranger. Michael Abene, one of the most multifaceted representatives of his profession, has managed to achieve this in a formidable way. He succeeded in completely integrating a smaller unit into a bigger orchestra, without losing its own distinct identity - in the best tradition of the baroque idea of a concerto grosso. This recording features XL-versions of classics of the group: ,Metro", ,Nimbus", ,Grand Slam" and ,Bing Bang Boom!" are tracks from the debut-album Metro, ,Metrocafe", ,Fields of Diamond" and ,Month of Sundays" from the album Metrocafe, ,Rio Frio" and ,Tell Me a Thousand Times" from Metro Express, ,There and Back Again" from Tree People, ,Yikes" from Grapevine, ,The Journey" from Live at the A-Trane. Speaking of live: Although Big Band Boom was recorded at a studio of WDR - this album radiates the spirit of a live performance. METRO and the WDR BIG BAND. That is indeed a good match. And how could it be any different: the West German Broadcasting Corporation in Cologne is located in close vicinity to the main railway station . All aboard! Thanks for choosing METRO! Record Label: Jazzline Style: Jazz

Impresario Norman Granz had moved to Switzerland in 1959. He coordinated his JATP-tours from there, which at that time were only successful in Europe anymore. In the following year he even sent off two all-star casts under the slogan Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic Presents Jazz Winners of 1960. The first cast was made up by Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Eldridge, the Jimmy Giuffre Trio and the Shelly Manne Quintet. The second cast brought the Miles Davis Quintet, the Oscar Peterson Trio and the Stan Getz Quartet together. At that time the saxophonist was also residing in Europe. During a threemonth JATP-tour in 1958, on which he was accompanied by his Swedish wife Monica, he had made the decision to settle down in Scandinavia. The following three years he spent mostly in Copenhagen. A planed performance during the Essener Jazztage did not materialise. JATP 2 stopped over in Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Karlsruhe and Nuremberg. There were even two engagements in Dusseldorf: to begin with a recording at the Apollo Theatre, which was used as a television studio by WDR since the previous year. At that occasion an unenthusiastic Miles abandoned his commitment (probably due to the obviously increasing tension during the tour between him and John Coltrane) and let his tenor-saxophonist go first. Granz decided that Coltrane should perform together with the rhythm section of the Davis-Band (Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb). Subsequently Getz joined them - the first and last time that both tenors played along (released on the CD John Coltrane. 1960 Düsseldorf/Jazzline N 77 002). Also Peterson briefly appeared to stand in for Kelly during one piece. Subsequently that evening at the Rheinhalle (today: Tonhalle) Stan Getz was on stage with "his own" quartet. The playbill announced the saxophonist's Scandinavian band; however, he had immediately prior to the tour decided to dismiss several of its members on short notice. The cast on the tour therefore reflected the USA, Getz's home country, as well as his adopted home Europe. Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, two fellow Americans, who formed a somnambulistic swinging duo since 1959 as rhythm selection of Oscar Peters (and therefore had to perform twice at the Rheinhalle) performed alongside Getz. Several years later the percussionist should move to Getz's onetime exile Copenhagen, albeit forever. Jan Johansson, who died aged only 37, is hardly known outside Scandinavia. In northern Europe the situation is quite different: Hardly any jazz musician in that region is not referring to him and his artistic influence. The main reason for the this appreciation for and popularity of the pianist is Jazz pa Svenska, a recording which combined jazz with Swedish folk music and sold more than a quarter of a million copies and still is the biggestselling jazz production in Swedish music history. Hardly any Swedish household without this record can be found (nevertheless, also the rest of the world could enjoy his music - however, without knowing it was by him: Johansson did compose the theme music to the Pipi Longstocking movies). During his time at university the pianist got to know Stan Getz, who at first had emigrated to Sweden before moving to Copenhagen. The consequence was that Johansson discontinued his engineering studies, decided to become a full-time musician and worked with the famous saxophonist from the USA, among others. In 1960 he became the first European to participate in a JATP-tour. Jan Johansson was also present a few days prior to his appearance in Dusseldorf, when Getz, recorded Cool Velvet arranged by Russ Garcia at the Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden, his first but not last jaunt into the realm of strings; in 1961 - back in the USA - the way more advanced production Focus by the arranger Eddie Sauter followed. Also together with Johansson, Getz recorded two discs, which were entitled At Large and released in 1960. In May of 1960 Dieter Zimmerle, the editor of the magazine Jazz Podium, published a review entitled Plus and Minus of JATP 2: "Between the positive start (Peterson) and the negative finish (Davis) of this JATP-programme Stan Getz performed on the tenor saxophone. His performance varied from concert to concert as it is quite usual at such tours in general and at this ambivalent JATPpackage No. 2 in particular. More than others the sensitive Getz is not detached from outside influences. Partly he uses his technical abilities for minor jibes; partly he attends to expressive lyrical subjects. The Swedish pianist Jan Johansson, whose phrasing often showed a distinct closeness to the play of Getz, and the Peterson-colleagues Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen were able accompanists." In Dusseldorf Getz seemed to be inspired and in good spirits. His solo on "Out of Nowhere"(the origin of the second version is uncertain) is a hit on YouTube already for quite some time. "I am sick and tired of the competitive pressure in the USA. In Denmark I have more time for my family. And everything is less hectic. I enjoy the relaxed way of life in Europe. My intention was to regain my inner harmony. In the States this is hardly possible." (from: Ekkehard Jost "Jazzgeschichten aus Europa", p. 194) However, approximately nine months after the concert in Dusseldorf the expatriate made his comeback in the USA. Quick successes seemed to confirm his decision. Shortly afterwards Stan Getz became world renowned not only among jazz enthusiasts, thanks to the Bossa-Nova and Jazz-Samba boom. Nevertheless, he should never regain his inner harmony. - Karsten Mützelfeldt Record Label: Jazzline Style: Jazz

TRACKLISTING: 01. BILLIE'S BLUES 02. ALL OF ME (GERALD MARKS & SIMOUR B. SIMONS) 03. I COVER THE WATERFRONT (GERALD MARKS & SIMOUR B. SIMONS) 04. THEM THERE EYES (MACEO PINKARD). 05. MY MAN (MAURICE YVAIN & JACQUES M. CHARLES) 06. WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO (HARRY M. WOODS) 07. I'LL REMEMBER APRIL (GENE DE PAUL) 08. OVER THE RAINBOW (HAROLD ARLEN) 09. NOW'S THE TIME (CHARLIE PARKER) DISC #2: 01. BASS SOLO (GENE WRIGHT) 02. SWEET GEORGIA BROWN (MACEO PINKARD) 03. SKITTISH (JIM MCNEELY) 04. RIFFTIDE (STEVE GRAHAM & COLEMAN RANDOLPH HAWKINS) Record Label: Jazzline Style: Jazz

Record Label: Jazzline Style: Jazz

Record Label: Jazzline Style: Jazz