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| Value for Money | 5/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4/10 |
Director Ulli PfauStarring: John McLaughlin Group, Nils Landgren Funk Unit
Features:
Full review by
jfderry
expert review 
on 30th Aug 2006
User Rating : 4
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CLIP Best Of Jazz Open 1998
Various including John McLaughlin and the Heart Of Things
DVD
60 minutes Colour
European jazz is alive and well. So say this collection of acts from the 1998 Stuttgart Jazz Open.
First up is the amazing Urszula Dudziak, wife of Jean-Luc Ponty's side-kick Michael Urbaniak (leader of Mahavishnu Orchestra-like Polish band Fusion). Dudziak's five-octave range electronic scat vocalisations are rivetting, a lone performer on stage with a handful of FX racks and a microphone, building a groove, sampling herself and doubling up, until a funky Ellingtonian ochestration has been generated over which Dudziak lays some pizzicato squeaks, la la's and whistles. A great vision must be required to be able to play this most complex of beatboxes.
The Nils Landgren Funk Unit bangs out a swinging Dr.John-style blues, with solid bass, and good soloing from the horns made more enjoyable by the saxophonist sneaking in Coltrane quotes and an effect on the trombone which seems to mask some of the clunkiness that can often be heard with that instrument when soloing.
Robert Majewski's Quintet is a more straight-laced affair, a classic Quintet unit, but with a dark brooding twist emanating from Woitek Majewski's pondering piano style, some clever tempo switching and horn interaction that move the sound somewhere between "Prestige" Miles and "Blue Note" Coleman. Perhaps the band doesn't quite know who it is at a slight loss to their integrity, but when they do hit a groove, they really do fly.
Trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff has a long-running history in German jazz. Bebop, free and abstract forms, and eastern fusion have all received his attention, but he is most reknowned for his unaccompanied solo concerts, originally directed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt in 1972. This might sound like an uncomfortable proposition, but Mangelsdorff has developed a technique that gives fluidity and cohesion to his playing. That, plus his piece is the shortest featured here, make it a pleasant experience. An aspect of his playing also sounds a bit like Hariprasad's solo bansuri, which makes a nice bridge into the next act.
Altoist John Handy was a Charles Mingus sideman, has had hits as a leader, and had several successful collaborations with Ali Akbar Khan (also featuring Zakir Hussain). It is therefore no surprise to catch a first glimpse of this next act, John Handy with the Maharaj Brothers, sitting cross-legged in a crescent, on a slightly raised platform. Sound familiar? The music also sounds quite familiar, a sedate, even more eastern pointing, Shakti. The feel is more akin to Music Without Boundaries (see Review) mainly because of George Brooks' saxophone on that recording, but this arrangement includes a sarod as the only stringed instrument, therefore, when Handy drops out, that leaves sarod, tabla and tampura, giving essentially an Indian classical recital. Handy's legacy speaks for itself, and his previous recordings are great world music albums, but sometimes, hearing something similar makes it all the more clear how John McLaughlin did more than just sit in with foreign musicians.
Speaking of John McLaughlin, the fade-in centers on the stage's moon back drop for the next act, then pans forward revealing some very familiar and welcome faces. It's John McLaughin with the Heart Of Things. Social Climate would not be the obvious choice of most John McLaughin / Heart Of Things fans. The Heart Of Things studio release happens to be one of my favourite McLaughin albums, sentimentalized by being a faithful companion across many miles of travel. But many were left wanting, not least because McLaughin seemed so buried within the group. Hearing an exciting live group perform masterfully on the Live In Paris album dispelled the original disappointment in the studio album that seemed to fail to capture the group dynamic and swamped any soloing space with the density and flatness of the mix.
Alas, Social Climate does not allow much group dynamic, even when performed live, and is rather dull compared to the JM-penned alternatives that could have been included in its stead. However, if you are looking for "fire", McLaughin does execute a pretty stunning solo towards the end of the piece.
If you are interested in the piece, it was originally recorded for Truly..., Beard's 3rd lead outing in 1997. You can find the score @ http://www.italway.it/morrone/SocialClimate.htm and even an mp3 @ http://www.italway.it/morrone/WBTG-mp3.htm
As there's no other official video release of Heart Of Things in concert, this is an interestinmg historical document that has Jim Beard in the lineup rather than Otmaro Ruiz who replaced him later in the tour, but was probably the keyboardist that sparked the most interest.
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 05:50:49 -0500
From: "Otmaro Ruiz"
Subject: RE: JM's HOT Stuttgart 98
Hi,
I got in the band at the very end of the European dates... just the last 3 weeks of Tour... but enough to be included in the Live CD (not bad!!!)... Wow!!! I would love to see some of that footage!!!! there aren't many documents of that band...
Take care..
Otmaro.
An eclectic and interesting collection of concert footage, but not the best selection of Heart Of Things clip, but still very enjoyable
jfderry's review and ratings | 856 words
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