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| MPS Pt.3 Two month of big bands and large ensembles The last two month of the year 2016 will be full of records by big bands and large ensembles. Multiple styles will be represented: From Dixieland and New Orleans sounds to soul and fusion. Check out the third bunch of re-issues: Association P.C. - Rock Around The Cock Association P.C.'s 3rd album in 18 months attested to the group's popularity. This 'free fusion' quintet consisted of some of the top names in European jazz, including pianist Joachim Kühn. For Kühn, "it is essential to be open; I don't want to be tied down by a particular style. This is what I admire so much about Association: it's openness." All but one of the pieces are freely improvised. The album begins with Dutch drummer Pierre Courbois with German guitarist Toto Blanke playing the Japanese nogoya harp in an explosive duo on Phenis. Polar Anna rocks wildly with breathtaking tenor and guitar solos whereas Mirrored Dimensions is a short multi-dimensional reflection on the ending of Stanley Kubrick's masterwork, 2001 – A Space Odyssey. Dee Dee, Barry & The Movements - Soul Hour This obscure album is a hidden gem. Dee Dee McNeil began her career singing jazz with such greats as Hampton Hawes and Frank Butler, and then veered towards R&B and soul, writing hit songs for Motown. The Afro-American singer/songwriter's pieces have been recorded by the likes of Diana Ross & the Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Nancy Wilson. Singer Barry Window's father was South African, and those roots serve him well: he is the perfect counterweight to Dee Dee's resonant voice. Saxophonist Barney Wilen is something of a jazz legend in France, having played with Miles Davis on the sound track for Louis Malle's iconic Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. Wilen recorded two highly regarded MPS albums under his own name: Dear Prof. Leary and Auto Jazz. Dejan's Original Olympia Brass Band - New Orleans Street Parade The New Orleans brass band continuum stretches from the 19th century through to the present in a tradition passed on from father to son through the generations. Hired to accompany funerals, ceremonies, and street festivals, the music these bands played "just touch your heart, they were so beautiful", reminisced Louis Armstrong. From the early 1900's on, bands led by such legends as Freddy Keppard and the great Joe 'King' Oliver employed the moniker 'Olympia' in their band name. Oliver's drummer Arnold du Pass set up the Olympia Serenaders, a band saxophonist Harold Dejan played with in the 20's. Dejan studied under Albert Nicholas, and plied the Mississippi with one of the great riverboat orchestras, the Original Tuxedo Orchestra. From 1960 on he led what was considered New Orleans' top marching band, the Original Olympia Brass Band, thus heralding in a brass band renaissance. Featuring some of the Crescent City's top players, the band is augmented by several dedicated English and German players who journeyed to the the Big Easy at one time or another to experience the joy of playing with some of the music's greats. Release Date: December 2nd, 2016 (2 months exclusively on iTunes. Subsequently available on all common download services.) MPS Records - Mastered for iTunes - 24-bit-Transfer from original master tapes - produced by Dirk Sommer write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page |