Jazzhus Label

[ArtSalt]

I wonder how titles get selected for reissue. I wish they could get their hands on JR Monterose's "Alive in Amsterdam."

That would be interesting to know, whoever, or whatever the philosophy is behind it, they have impeccable research and taste.

[Late]

I have on order:

• Wolfgang Dauner: Dream Talk

• Guido Manusardi: Free Jazz

• Piano Jazz From Czechoslovakia

Received these titles just last week. The stand-out disc so far is Manusardi's Free Jazz. This isn't Ornette's type of free jazz — the playing is in a modal vein — but the tenor player, one Dan Mîndrilă, does get in some surprisingly wild solos — think Gary Windo on Tes Esat, but three years earlier, and with too much of a reliance on trills. The Dauner is subdued but fine, and I need to listen to it more. The Piano Jazz disc is a rough needle drop — buyer beware. The music, however, is excellent. The compilation starts off with two Jan Hammer tracks (from 1967) that cook. His "Responsibility" is an attractive modal composition. I'm not familiar with the other pianists, but was surprised that the tracks weren't strictly derivative of American jazz (which the notes actually, and oddly, indicate). Recommended, but with an asterisk for sound.

[Daniel A]

Sound quality is something of an issue with some Jazzhus releases it seems, while others do have very attractive sound. The live album with Bill Evans and Monica Zetterlund (recorded in 1975) suffers from a weak recording and unpleasant, no-noised remastering.

A pity this is the case with the Czech piano jazz album; I've a soft spot for early Jan Hammer!

Late didn't specifically mention his impressions from the Dauner album. Myself, I find it excellent and the most enjoyable recording I've heard from Dauner.

[king ubu]

Re: Dauner - would you know how this reissue compares to the L+R CD reissue?

[Late]

I've a soft spot for early Jan Hammer!

Late didn't specifically mention his impressions from the Dauner album. Myself, I find it excellent and the most enjoyable recording I've heard from Dauner.

I'll keep listening to Dream Talk, and post some thoughts later (if I can share anything meaningful). My initial response — good sound, very interesting ideas, and introspective to a degree I don't hear in Evans. The Jazzhus packaging for this particular CD is very nice: it's a tri-fold mini-LP with an attached "pocket" in the middle for the disc. It works!

A Dauner record I have been listening to quite a bit is Free Action. A totally different record than Dream Talk, and reissued in the wonderful Promising Music series, which has some of the best remastering I've heard. (Cecil Taylor's Fly X 5 takes the cake there.) Jean Luc Ponty sounds like a string version of Coltrane at this time (1967), and his playing (on violin) fits in better than I expected. Gerd Dudek is in fine form on tenor, and Eberhard Weber goes off on cello. It's a "free" album with a lot of structure, strangely enough. Though the improvisations are (or sound) unrestricted, the framework they're placed in gives each track a certain order. Hard to describe exactly, but I find it a brilliant listen. Parts of it remind me where Mingus could have gone (circa 1967) musically, when he began to focus on photography in favor of music performance. Still, it's a "European" record through and through, and is all the better for it in my opinion. A current favorite.

Oh — Daniel. Do you have the reissue of Hammer's Maliny Maliny? It's very good! Hammer sounds almost exactly like Larry Young when he plays the organ (at this point in time).

Edited May 12, 2013 by Late

[Clunky]

Re: Dauner - would you know how this reissue compares to the L+R CD reissue?

I'm quite happy with the sound of the L+R CD , but haven't heard the Jazzhus to compare

[ArtSalt]

Sound quality is something of an issue with some Jazzhus releases it seems, while others do have very attractive sound. The live album with Bill Evans and Monica Zetterlund (recorded in 1975) suffers from a weak recording and unpleasant, no-noised remastering.

A pity this is the case with the Czech piano jazz album; I've a soft spot for early Jan Hammer!

Late didn't specifically mention his impressions from the Dauner album. Myself, I find it excellent and the most enjoyable recording I've heard from Dauner.

I've the other Bill Evans recordings in Buenos Aires from '73 and '79 and they have their moments of sonic imperfections, so I am glad I didn't invest in the one with Monica. But all the other Jazzhus releases, although I haven't purchased them all, although most of them, are pretty darn good remastering in my considered opinion.

Edited May 12, 2013 by ArtSalt

[clifford_thornton]

Dauner's Free Action is a great record; I have it on a Saba LP. But Dream Talk is certainly impressive.

Thanks for the reminder on the Manusardi - I have it on 10" LP, it's excellent. I always thought it was sort of George Russell-ish but it's been awhile since it was spun, maybe I'd have a different reaction to it now.

[Late]

Dusty Groove has just re-stocked their Jazzhus titles. The Dauner ("Dream Talk") and Manusardi ("Free Jazz"), which aren't always in stock on Japanese sites, are currently available.

[Daniel A]

Oh — Daniel. Do you have the reissue of Hammer's Maliny Maliny? It's very good! Hammer sounds almost exactly like Larry Young when he plays the organ (at this point in time).

I meant to respond to this back in May but somehow I forgot. I've got Maliny Maliny as a 70s reissue on vinyl and I like it! I know that some may disagree, but I feel that Jan Hammer could have gone in another direction in the early 70s, but chose one that for me personally is not fully rewarding. I've always preferred him on acoustic piano or Rhodes before any kind of synths.