A Jazz Forum és Magyarország - I. rész (1981-1984)

Volt egyszer egy lap, neve is volt: Jazz Forum. Európa kettéosztottsága idején, az 1970/80-as években fontos közvetítő szerepet töltött be a kontinens jazzéletében. A Nemzetközi Jazzszövetség Varsóban kéthavonta angol és német nyelven megjelenő magazinja az egyetlen nemzetközi kiadvány volt, amely a magyar jazz eseményeiről is rendszeresen hírt adott. Egyik magyarországi tudósítójaként 1981-1992 között 30 beszámolót és 5 kiemelt anyagot publikáltam benne, amelyekkel most digitalizált formában, folytatásokban a JazzMa.hu olvasói is megismerkedhetnek.

A lap eredetileg Jan Byrczek szerkesztésében a Lengyel Jazzszövetség kiadványaként 1967-ben (éveken át lengyelül) jelent meg. 1971 tavaszán lett az akkor még Európai Jazzszövetség (European Jazz Federation) előbb negyedévenként angolul megjelenő magazinja 11-es sorszámmal. Szerkezete már akkor kialakult: az országonkénti híreken és a jazzszövetség eseményein kívül tág teret kaptak a portrék, interjúk, fesztivál-beszámolók, és jutott hely fotóknak, lemezfigyelőnek, lemez- és könyvkritikáknak is. A neves szerzőgárdában a kiterjedt külföldi tudósítói hálózat tagjaként Magyarország képviseletében már az első angol nyelvű számban szerepelt Gonda János (1972-84 között a Nemzetközi Jazzszövetség alelnöke) és Kiss Imre (rádiós szerkesztő) neve. Később mások is küldtek beszámolókat hazai fesztiválokról, koncertekről, így Gelencsér Gábor és Devecseri István Nagykanizsáról, Bódis Klára Szegedről, Hartyándi Jenő Győrből. A négyzet alakú, fekete-fehér nyomású lapot a budapesti Lengyel Kulturális Intézetben lehetett megvásárolni 12 forintos áron.

A Jazz Forum 1976-tól, a 39. számtól az európaiból nemzetközivé átminősült jazzszövetség (International Jazz Federation) magazinjaként jelent meg 1992-ig, amikor is a közép-kelet-európai rendszerváltozás miatt megszűntek az idegennyelvű változatok. A lap azóta lengyelül, immár az interneten is elérhetően jelenik meg az 1980 óta hivatalban lévő főszerkesztő, Pawel Brodowski irányításával. A teljes gyűjtemény scannelve a lengyel jazzarchívum oldalán érhető el: http://www.polishjazzarch.com

A Jazz Forum munkatársai többször megfordultak magyarországi fesztiválokon, Pawel Brodowski-val így kerültem kapcsolatba az 1980-as Debreceni Jazznapokon. A következmény évtizedes együttműködés lett. Első angol nyelvű tudósításom 1981-ben a 69. számban jelent meg A Jazz Breakthrough címmel, amely Gonda János, Szabados György és Szakcsi Lakatos Béla zeneakadémiai koncertjéről adott hírt. Hivatalosan 1983-ban, a 83. számban jegyeztek be magyarországi tudósítóként. Az 1980-as évek végén előbb Kiss Imre, majd Gonda János neve is kikerült a tudósítók közül, így a végén az enyém maradt feltüntetve a Magyarország rovatban. A közreműködésért nem járt tiszteletdíj, de minden évben meghívást kaptam a Varsói Jazz Jamboree-ra, ahol szállodai elhelyezést és belépőket biztosítottak a számomra. Egyúttal részt vehettem a fesztiválok alatt a nemzetközi szakemberek részvételével rendezett fórumokon, szimpóziumokon, kiállítás-megnyitókon, amelyek lehetőséget teremtett ahhoz, hogy megismerjem az európai jazzélet mérvadó személyiségeit, és bekapcsolódjak a nemzetközi vérkeringésbe.

A Jazz Forum-ban közölt tudósításokból a magyar jazz adott időszakának krónikája kerekedik ki. Az itt közölt anyagokból kibontakozó kép persze nem teljes, mert csak saját cikkeim feldolgozására vállalkozhattam. Remélhetően a többi tudósításra is sor kerül valamikor, valaki(k) által, akár tanszéki diplomamunka formájában. Megérné a fáradságot, hiánypótló összegzés születhetne belőle.

A cikkek listája:

A Jazz Breakthrough, 1981/1

Kőszegi on the Road, 1981/5

New Budapest Clubs, 1982/1

Imre Kőszegi Quartet: For Kati (lemezkritika), 1982/1

Jazz Club Summit, 1983/4

Pécs Jazz Camp, 1983/4

Debrecen Jazz Days (kiemelt anyag), 1983/5

Aladar Pege (interjú), 1983/6

TV Gets in the Act, 1984/2

Tony Lakatos and His Friends (lemezkritika), 1984/3

Rites of Spring, 1984/4

A Glimpse at the Past, 1985/3

Hungarian Notes, 1985/5

Debrecen Jazz Days (kiemelt anyag), 1985/6

Budapest Big Band, 1986/3

Spring Festival, 1986/3

Debrecen Jazz Days, 1986/5

Tatabánya Jazz Camp, 1986/5

Club for the Avant-garde, 1986/6

Youthful Promise, 1987/3

Spring Thaw, 1987/4

György Szabados: An original Hungarian (interjú), 1987/6

Guitar Team, 1988/2

Back on Schedule, 1988/3

Spring Events, 1988/3

Jazz from Hungary, 1988/3

Major Events, 1988/5

Recording Boom, 1988/5

Pest Fest, 1989/5

Peter Brötzmann: Music from the stomach (interjú), 1988/6

Jazz Federation Launched, 1990/6

Good Times, 1991/2-3

A Tribute to 1956, 1992/1

Jazz Celebration, 1992/5-6

Gonda’s Microcosmos, 1992/5-6

A Jazz Breakthrough

Jazz made another breakthrough in Hungary last fall when jazz musicians were invited to appear for the first time at the Contemporary Music Festival in Budapest. Three leading Hungarian jazzmen, all pianists, unveiled their new programs in the concerts at the Academy of Music.

György Szabados, a representative of Hungary’s avant-garde jazz scene who combines international trends with local folklore, performed his composition Forgotten Songs in a trio with drummer Kázmér Faragó and bassist Sándor Vajda.

János Gonda played a piano solo from his suite, The World of Improvisation, which was characterized by frequent harmonic variations, wide tonal blocks and a fine technique.

Béla Szakcsi Lakatos added an eight-piece reed section to his quartet for an exciting composition which combined swinging jazz rhythms with contemporary music harmonies and free improvisation with written parts. All in all, the three perf ormances displayed the best of Hungarian jazz and showed that jazz belongs in a contemporary music event.

Jazz Forum, 1981/1

Kőszegi on the Road

Drummer Imre Kőszegi’s career has picked up steam over the past year. The top Hungarian jazz drummer has had a chance to present his international quartet on several tours of Western Europe.

Kőszegi’s group, with Hungarian pianist László Gárdonyi, American bassist Jack Gregg and Polish altoist Zbigniew Namyslowiski, followed up a successful appearance at the 1980 Debrecen Jazz Festival with tours through Switzerland, West Germany, Austria, Holland and France. The group recorded an album for JG Records at a jazz club in Iserlohn, West Germany, appeared at the Saalfelden’s Three Days of Jazz in Austria, and played many club dates. Last October, Kőszegi also played with a Hungarian all-stars group at the Prague Jazz Days.

This year the 36-year-old drummer has been just as active. In April he made a successful tour of Greece in a trio with pianist György Vukán and bassisit Balázs Berkes, and this Hungarian super trio cut a record for the Greek CBS label. Over the next two months, the drummer’s international quartet (with Suleiman Hakim replacing Namyslowski) toured West Germany again, appearing at the Balver Hohle festival.

The busy year came full circle for Kőszegi when he appeared at the l0th Debrecen Jazz Festival, working in different formations with the likes of Kenny Wheeler, Juhani Aaltonen and Suleiman Hakim. New tours of Western Europe and Scandinavia have already been fixed for November and March, and there are plans to release a percussion recording featuring Kőszegi, Andrew Cyrille and Okay Temiz.

Jazz Forum, 1981/5

New Budapest Clubs

The Budapest jazz scene has been given a boost with the opening of two new jazz clubs this fali. At the beginning of October, the historic cafe-restaurant, Pilvax, a popular artists’ hangout for over a century, started offering jazz every night of the week except Sundays. Pianist Béla Szakcsi Lakatos’ trio opened the club but the organizers plan to change groups every week. Support for the jazz cafe has come from the Jazz Department of the Hungarian Musicians’ Union which hopes, that at long last local and visiting jazz musicians will have a regular hangout.

In early December, a more exclusive jazz club opened in the Hotel Hilton in Buda Castle. The club’s ceremonial opening in the hotel ballroom featured Aladár Pege's band along with other jazzmen from Hungary and abroad.

Jazz Forum, 1982/1

Imre Kőszegi Quartet Feat. Zbigniew Namyslowski: For Kati

JG 049

Imre Kőszegi, drums; Zbigniew Namyslowski, as; Jack Gregg, b; László Gárdonyi, piano. Recorded live, September 20, 1980, at the Jazzclub Henkelmann, Iserlohn, West Germany.

Like so many other musicians, Imre Kőszegi is not sufficiently recognized in his own land, so the first recording as a leader by Hungary's best jazz drummer has come out on a West German label. The music reflects the collective and conscious efforts of four highly skilled personalities, but Kőszegi definitely has his own concept, which involves a new way of dealing with the jazz tradition, imbuing it with the thoughts and feelings of the '80s. Blues, bop and contemporary swing are blended in the five compositions by the members of the group into solid, straight-ahead jazz. Kőszegi provides a vigorous heart beat for the band, while Gregg and Gárdonyi add precise rhythms and harmonies to the music. But Zbigniew Nasmyslowski, in top form here, is the driving force on the album with his strong and lively improvisations, rich emotions, and technical dexterity.

Jazz Forum, 1981

Jazz Club Summit

The leaders of Hungary’s jazz clubs gathered together at the end of May in the town of Szekszárd. It was the third such summit of club leaders – the first conference took place in 1979 in Tatabánya and the second in 1981 in Szolnok.

The meeting, organized at the initative of the Jazz Section of the Association of Hungarian Musicians, focused on the present situation of jazz in the country, the clubs’ possibilities and the urgent need for independent management for jazz musicians. The results hold out some promise of changes in the local jazz scene. The participants pointed out that the present economic crisis has caused a decline in cultural activities in general, but has had an even greater impact on minority art forms such as jazz. It is becoming more difficult to organize concerts and provide enough work for musicians. In this situation the clubs occupy an important place in the country’s jazz life by promoting live music and popularizing jazz among young listeners. But now it is necessary for the clubs to find different ways of sponsoring such activities, because the audience alone cannot support jazz on the desired level.

Also, the club leaders felt that the time has come for more effective, private management.  Until now Hungarian jazz musicians were forced to manage themselves because state agencies did not care too much about the music. Although the National Philharmonic has started to show some interest in jazz, this does not lessen the need for other possibilities. The new laws on the books make room for more varied private activities, so there is hope that jazz musicians might benefit from private management, too. And this may lead to a revival of jazz in the future.

Jazz Forum, 1983/4

Pécs Jazz Camp

A three-day jazz camp, the first of its kind intended for non-musicians, was organized at the beginning of June in the Sikonda holiday center near the southern Hungarian town of Pécs. The camp, which was sponsored by the local cultural authorities, attracted about 70 young jazz fans from the Pécs region. Hungarian jazz critic Gábor Turi opened the camp with a lecture entitled “The Place of Jazz in the World of Music”. Afterwards, there were programs devoted to jazz history, dixieland, European and Hungarian jazz, folklore and jazz, and jazz-rock. The teachers included Árpád Beke, Gyula Molnár, Géza Gábor Simon, Károly Binder and Csaba Deseő. The camp wound up with a concert by soloists and groups. The camp was such a success that the organizers are already talking about making it a regular event and expanding it to a full week next year.

Jazz Forum, 1983/4

Debrecen Jazz Days

It is said that time weeds out the weak and only the fittest survive. After the boom years of the 1970, the last few years have seen the demise of almost all the major Hungarian jazz festivals with the exception of the Debrecen Jazz Days, which was held for the 14th time from July 18-21 in this university town in eastern Hungary. Although the program was less interesting than in other years, the lack of other alternatives meant that this year's Debrecen festival attracted more jazz fans than ever, and not only from Hungary, but also from throughout Central Europe. All of this meant a healthy financial balance sheet for the organizers, although the audience had little to cheer about given the fairly mediocre offerings of many of the performers.

For financial and other reasons, Eastern European jazz festivals cannot afford to invite as many international or American stars as those in Western Europe. Of course, this is a drawback, but at the same time it also gives more opportunitíes for the national jazz groups, presenting a broad picture of the local scene. It has always been characteristic of the Debrecen Jazz Days that its organizers have tried to strike a balance between these two factors more or less successfully. This year members of OIRT, the international radio and television organization, delegated groups from their countries which gave the program a somewhat occasional character. The various radio stations decided which groups to send and their choices rarely suited the needs of an audience looking for new faces and musical directions rather than traditional, American-style mainstream jazz. This was the case with the Tallinn Jazz Group from the U. S. S. R., the Simeon Shterev Quartet from Bulgaria and the Rudolf Dasek-Karel Ruzicka Duo from Czechoslovakia. These groups were all firmly rooted in the jazz idiom but showed few signs of any original concepts. Musically their performances were honest, however.

Without oversimplifying, several trends could be noted at this year’s festival. One of the most frequent problems, apart from the lack of originality, was the scanty sense of form. Quite interesting experiments failed due to the lack of a strict, logical structure. For instance the group Fine from the G. D. R. was unique in its approach to combining music with pantomime or movement. The two musicians, reedman Dietmar Diesner and bassist Christoph Windtel, played a “standard” East German type of free jazz with extramusical elements, while dancer (?) Fine Kwiatkowski, an extravagant lady in herself with her shaved head, made improvised movements under the impression of the music. For about 15 tminutes it proved to be a shocking artistic expression of fear, pain and suffering, but in the remainder of the program it did not develop into new areas, but rather turned into a loose, out-of-control kind of happening. It was a pity because it could have been a promising effort at combining these two art forms.

The same dramaturgical looseness made Josef Zawinul’s solo program the disappointment of the festival. His 90-minute professional synthesizer show did not introduce any new aspects or elements into the music of Zawinul which we are familiar with from Weather Report. Rather, the master seemed somewhat lost in making the instruments work properly; often it took long minutes to find every tone, rhythmic pattern and sound-volume needed for an improvisation. After a while it became boring witnessing Zawinul’s heroic but rarely successful effort at coordinating music and technology. Zawinul is undoubtedly one of the great musicians of the age, but at present he seems to be rather lonesome; Weather Report does it better.

The biggest and most enthusiastically received highlight of the festival was the performance of the L. Shankar-Jan Garbarek Quartet. Jan Garbarek is extremely popular in Hungary, as is evident by the fact that Hungarian Radio devoted a 30-part serial to his life-work. Although this band is much more easy-flowing by nature than Shakti was, and it plays a kind of pop-jazz, the musicians’ individuality, the pleasant melodies and the unusual combination of melodic and rhythm instruments made for a lively, atmospheric concert full of soaring improvisations. However, there must have been other secrets to the audience’s delight, as the concert was the biggest success in the festival’s history, and even the musicians might have been surprised by this.

Another surprising characteristic of the festival was the almost complete absence of any avant-garde or free ensembles. Of course, this may have been by choice of the organizers, but I think it rather reveals one of the trends of the 1980s: namely, a kind of academicism (or to use another word “conservatism”) connected to the characteristic jazz elements. This way of thinking finds its justification in technical perfection and in the noticeable touch of the individual. Quite a few of the groups at Debrecen belonged to this category.

One example was the Larry Coryell-Aladár Pege Workshop. What can happen When two different but technically and stylistically equally trained musicians meet? They can find a common denominator in blues or bop standards, offering enough room for virtuoso improvisations. And that is what happened. They soon reached the level of mutual understanding and from that perspective the music was a joy, a happy union of two outstanding personalities.

The trio of two Austrians, guitarist Karl Ratzer and drummer Rudi Stäger, and Pege, on the contrary, has some tradition behind it. Probably this familiarity caused the lack of true inspiration this time. Their boppish performance was professional, but one could not avoid the feeling of routine. However, Pege is really fantastic in keeping the times. His swing is strong, massive and in the improvisations he is capable of playing unbelievable figures, using two or three fingers.

Finland’s Jari Perkiömäki Quartet was a kind of discovery. With the 17-year-old vibist, Severi Pyysalo and the veteran Reino Laine on drums, the quartet introduced nice arrangements, playing modern jazz without the extremities. Pyysalo is a charming soloist, while altoist Perkiömäki revealed a masculine tone.

Similarly unknown was Britain’s Geoff Warren Group. They proved to be a good group too, but their otherwise clearly structured music could use a bit more fire. Too much intelligence is sometimes the source of unwilling self-control.

And here I must mention Swing Session from Poland, which had the unenviable task of playing after Shankar and Garbarek. They could handle it: living up to their name, they played strong, modern swing music with excellent improvisations.

If someone insists on creating more categories, he might establish one for those groups whose main intention is to widen the habitual barriers. Two German groups at the festival fit in this groove. The Joe Sachse Quartet from the G. D. R. was “conservative” in adhering to the “old” free format, not in the sense of total, collective improvisation, but in their keen effort to avoid everything that is conventional. Somebody observed sardonically that Sachse himself is better at playing on the body of the guitar than on the strings. It may be characteristic of the music but in this context it is quite difficult to decide what is “good” or “bad”. Fortunately, the group’s aim was not only to deny, but to declare, too. And that’s what made their music more than interesting.

The group Max from West Germany stands in the foreground of the European avant-funk (if that's the right word?) scene. Maximilian Nobel’s Steinberger bass is exactly like Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s: a really apt instrument for this kind of strongly rhythmic, agressive music. It is a new attempt to mingle rock with jazz and Max seems fairly original with it. The steady rhythm was enriched by sudden changes and hidden microstructures, the harmonies were full of dissonance. The sonority of guest New Yorker Henry Scott III’s trumpet playing added extra dimensions to the music. Frank Samba on drums and Evert Brettschneider also deserve mention.

And last but not least, a few words about the natives, the Hungarian musicians. If a visitor was looking for an overall picture of the local jazz scene, he would have had to content himself with a reduced version of it. He could find two main orientations among Hungarian musicians: those who follow an American, mainly hard-bop model, and others who aspire to create an authentic, original Hungarian brand of jazz. It is not a question of generations, but rather of mentality and spiritual direction. The American school still dominates the scene stressing technical dexterity and improvisational virtuosity; the Hungarian school is concentrated around a small, but devoted and growing circle.

The country's top jazz drummer Imre Kőszegi is now surrounding himself once again with talented young musicians in a promising unit. As an exponent of hard bop, his group played solid,, rolling music with a dirty, black tone. Kőszegi also performed in the Supertrio with pianist György Vukán and bassist Balázs Berkes, which is now the most professional Hungarian jazz combo. But at Debrecen the trio lacked its usual coherence and refinement of expression.

Antal Lakatos, who has spent the last two years working in West Germany with guitarist Toto Blanke, made his home “debut” with an ad hoc quintet, featuring Attila László on guitar. The young tenor saxophonist is still searching for his own identity, but technically he has acquired in time considerable mastery of his instrument.

The Szabó-Major guitar-tabla duo went in for an Indian-Hungarian musical fusion, the Snétberger (g) - Lattman (b) - Horváth (perc) trio showed its skill at Latin rhythms, and the Vasvári Quintet played good modern jazz. The Molnár Band was the only exponent of dixieland, and the solo big band was the Videoton Company.

János Gonda, who is in his fifties, is now enjoying a new creative period in his musical career. He teamed up with his former students Frigyes Pleszkán (p) and Attila Darvas (b) in an un usual trio with two pianos and a bass. Their chamber music displayed a refined sense of form and made use of the various possibilities of the two pianos. Gonda also got into some playful and lyrical improvisations.

Getting closer to a sort of original approach, the Debrecen Percussion Ensemble, whose members are music teachers, revealed a greater talent for introducing an arsenal of percussion instruments with a growing feeling for jazz rhythms and ideas. Pianist Károly Binder, formerly an avant-garde-oriented exponent of the younger generation, has changed his style to a more melodic, emotional, lyrical one, using different folkloric and compositional elements.

Influenced by György Szabados, the most authentic Hungarian jazz musician, the young tenor saxophonist Mihály Dresch has now started to successfully construct an original conception of jazz with a national flair. Based on Hungarian musicality and folkloric material, his quartet (with István Grencsó, reeds; Róbert Benkő, bass; István Baló, drums) takes jazz not only as a certain type of musical expression, but alsa as a reflection of the emotional and intellectual effects life has on the individual musicians. Thus their compositions convey special messages to the listeners beyond their strictly musical levels. They are “fighting” for the sovereignty and dignity of man surrounded by difficult cricumstances; hence their strength and keen desire for self-expression. Mihály Dresch’s group is now the most promising young one to escape from the American grip, attempting to show a special Hungarian view of jazz – and life.

Jazz Forum, 1983/5

TV Gets In The Act

At long last Hungarian Television is showing an interest in jazz by presenting a series of programs produced by Tamás Deák, a jazz musician and big band leader. The TV will be broadeasting the highlights of four so-called jazz-club meetings, in Budapest concert halls which together should provide a broad picture of the country’s jazz life. Among the invited musicians are Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, György Szabados, Aladár Pege and Károly Binder. There are also plans for a super jam session and a traditional jazz parade. Deák hopes that the series will enliven the country’s jazz scene by attracting wider public attention for the music.

The newest generation of Hungarian jazz musicians received their diplomas this spring from the Jazz Department of the Béla Bartók Conservatory headed by János Gonda and displayed their talents on a tour of jazz clubs around the country. The students’ big band and small combos were introduced to audiences in Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Pécs and Szeged. For the young musicians the tour was a good opportunity to practice and gain confidence.

Jazz Forum, 1984/2

Tony Lakatos And His Friends

Krém SLPX 17817

Lakatos, ts, ss; Rainer Brüninghaus, p, synth; Toto Blanke, g; Trilok Gurtu, perc; László Gárdonyi, p; Pál Vasvári, b; Béla Lattmann, b; Gábor Szende, dr.

Saxophonist Tony Lakatos is a leading representative of the new generation of Hungarian jazz musicians and this is his first album under his own name. On the six pieces, he reveals his ability at handling different styles and means of expression. West German guitarist Toto Blanke’s Winter Song reflects the “ECM sound”, while Lakatos’ Vintage goes from atonality to pure diatonic melody. For J. C. is dedicated to the late John Coltrane. The other three pieces, Gólem, Ballad and Sing Sing Song, feature Lakatos’ regular Hungarian group with its strong emphasis on rhythm and post-bop reminiscences. The 25-year-old Lakatos can blow some fast saxophone lines, but he also knows how to create different moods. Although this record is rather eclectic, Lakatos hopefully is on the way towards finding his own sound.

Jazz Forum, 1984/3

Rites of Spring

The Budapest Spring Festival – an event mainly intended to give foreign visitors a representative sampling of the capital’s rich cultural life – included a series of jazz concerts organized in cooperation with Hungarian Radio. There were festival appearances in March by the Benkó Dixieland Band with special guests Ernie Wilkins and Harry “Sweets” Edison, the Paul Motian Band, a Finnish-Hungarian Workshop featuring Aladár Pege and Eero Koivistoinen, and groups led by violinist Csaba Deseő and pianist György Szabados. The programs included the premieres of several works commissioned by Hungarian Radio.

In the provinces, some smaller towns have been showing a growing interest in jazz. In Salgótarján, the local cultural authorities in cooperation with the jazz faculty of the town’s music school, organized a successful dixieland festival presenting amateur and professional groups from Hungary, England and the G. D. R. In the south, the town of Pécs hosted a festival for amateur bands from Western Hungary. The aim of the festival was to showcase the talents of younger musicians who often work in the shadow of the professionals centered in Budapest. The festival had originally been planned for Székesfehérvár, but financial diffi-culties forced the move to Pécs.

However, Székesfehérvár did host the Videoton Interjazz Festival (May 26-27), an event held every third year. On the first day, there were performances by Hungary’s Supertrio with singer Kati Bontovics, the György Szabados-Jiri Stivin Duo, Toto Blanke's Electric Circus with Charlie Mariano, and the Soviet Union’s Allegro. The second day was highlighted by the Hungarian debut of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, an eagerly awaited concert which attracted fans from all over the country. Instead of a visual show, the Art Ensemble concentrated almost entirely on the music, which was so good that no one missed the theatrics. The musicians built structures from contemporary sounds, Spanish elements, and “traditional” jazz solos with a steady rhythm.

Jazz Forum, 1984/4