We've all experienced it: that special atmosphere before a concert begins. At Copenhagen Jazzhouse, many come early. They reserve the best seats with a piece of clothing and retreat to the bar to buy a beer and exchange a few words with musicians and friends, then return to their seat, anticipation growing. Some look around and notice that all the jazz critics are in attendance. In fact, it seems everyone is here this evening. In the final minutes, lights are dimmed and the intermission music turned off. Lars Thorborg, who runs Jazzhouse, takes the stage and introduces Rosa and the band. It's about to happen! The group comes on stage to enthusiatic applause and there she is - with us, right before us. With no further ado, the tempo is counted off and the concert begins. The band line-up couldn't have been better: Fabio Torres on piano, Paulu Paulelli on bass, and Celso de Almeida on drums and of course Rosa Passos on vocals and guitar. "Imagine you are rocking a baby to sleep. For me, that's Bossa Nova". - Rossa Passos

The Jazzpar Prize was initiated by the Danish Jazz Center in 1990. In 2005 it was terminated when the sole sponsor, The Scandinavian Tobacco Group, withdrew funding. Attempts to find new sponsorship were unsuccessful. Back then, musicians spoke unofficially of the "big" and the "small" Jazzpar. The "big" Jazzpar being a statuette and a cash award of DKr. 200.000, given to a musician of international acclaim, while the "small" Jazzpar was given to two Danish artists and consisted of appearances on the Jazzpar concert tour with the opportunity of inviting one or two international musicians of the recipients' own choice followed up by a recording. In 1993 the Jazzpar Prize went to the fine American pianist Tommy Flanagan. The two bandleaders were Steen Vig and Kim Kristensen & Ildvæverne. "Blue Boat" is the recording of Steen's Jazzpar band: "Steen Vig and his Bluesicians" featuring Gene "Mighty Flea" Connors and Cornell Dupree.

"Kristin Korb is a jewel of jewels. The bassist and vocalist commands both of her instruments with panache, engaging them simultaneously with an ease comparable to breathing." (Tyran Grillo, All About Jazz) There are few bassists who can sing and there are even fewer who can do it well. Kristin Korb is one of those artists who make you forget that she is playing the bass when you hear her crystalline voice. Inspired by the days when music was romantic and made you want to dance, Kristin and her trio embody that spirit and carry their audiences along for the ride. Love eventually brought the American bassist and vocalist to Denmark in 2011. On her new release, Kristen Korb explores the Holiday season, performing traditional classics as well as twentieth century new classics

Morten Haxholm is ready to release his sixth album. It is an album that once again sees him joining forces with US jazz stars Jonathan Kreisberg (guitar) and Ari Hoenig (trumpet), as he did on his first and second albums Equilibrium and Quintessence of Dust. This time he is also joined by Frederick Menzie (sax) and Nikolaj Hess. Morten Haxholm is an upcoming Danish bass player, but he has already established himself on the Danish and international jazz scene. He graduated in 2013 from the prestigious soloist education at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, and with four albums in his own name and several tours with his own bands in Denmark, he has emerged on the music scene as a new composer and bass player to be reckoned with.

The Duke Box 2 picks up the story of the great Duke Ellington band in the early 1950s and spans the next 20 years or so of his remarkable output. Spanning the years in which Ellington regularly toured Europe and Scandinavia, The Duke Box 2 offers a rich selection of performances illustrating a tirelessly inventive musical spirit on tour with changing personnel and occasional guest artists. CD3 features never before released live recordings from a 1963 concert in Gröna Lund, Stockholm—a veritable treasure for the committed Ellington fan. The box also includes the well-renowned Jaywalker (CD5) and Piano Player (CD4) albums whose music always deserve a re-visiting. Among other gems are late 1970s recordings from New York, some of the last music Ellington ever put out.

The bonus DVD combines a series of short films of the Ellington band in action and despite the sound being recorded first and the performances showing the band miming, this curiosum offers a fascinating glimpse of The Duke in action, and the audio is of course technically excellent.

REVIEW:

This box set of seven CDs, one DVD and an illustrated booklet celebrates the latter part of Duke Ellington's monumental career. It opens with the so-called "Silver Jubilee" 1952 coast-to-coast broadcasts from Birdland in New York City by NBC.

But the Birdland gig was no simple trip down memory lane. Ever anxious to be seen to be on the cutting edge, Ellington used it to demonstrate the ability of his orchestra to absorb the changes brought about by be-bop. The music suffers somewhat from NBC's desire to emphasize the cultural importance of the occasion, with celebrities in the audience called to the microphone by MC William B. Williams to attest. These include—most interestingly—British critic, pianist and composer Leonard Feather.

Things calm down on CD2 with a pretty typical 1958 concert in Munich featuring Ducal compositions new and old, plus the inevitable "greatest hits" medley.

On CD3 the band is caught on tape while playing a week-long booking at the Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm.

The remaining CDs are from the Ellington "stockpile," recordings of self-financed sessions from the Duke's own vaults. No.4 is of particular interest, concentrating as it does on Ellington's mostly unaccompanied piano playing.

CD5 was recorded—by the full orchestra—at the RCA studios in New York in 1966-67. It is memorable for two things: Cootie Williams' playing of "The Shepherd," a magnificent slow blues that Duke later incorporated into his Second Sacred Concert; and for Ellington's musical dialogue with conga drummer Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim.

CD6, from 1970—1972, reveals Ellington nearing the end of his life but still capable of springing surprises. He attempts to come to terms with the "New Thing" via such enigmatic compositions as "Rext" and "Flute" and new, spare arrangements of "Sophisticated Lady" and "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good."

The video on the DVD was filmed at Pathé Studios in New York in 1962. It captures Paul Gonsalves in full flight on "Blow By Blow" and Sam Woodyard doing some astonishing things with his drum kit on "Kind Of Dukish."

It's a lot to digest but Duke Box 2 provides a highly entertaining and well-rounded portrait of one of the few jazzmen truly worthy of the title genius.

-- AllAboutJazz.com (Chris Mosey)

The brief and dazzling life of MCM Records was a labor of love that captured many treasured live performances from the last flowering of the classic Chicago Blues age. With this 8 CD box set you get a front seat to shows in the vibrant blues clubs of Chicago in the 70's. These energetic and raw live recordings capture both to-be-legendary performers and others, and were recorded by french blues afficionado Marcelle Morgantini on reel-to-reel. When Morgantini came into some money on her 50th birthday, her only wish was to go to Chicago and record the blues. To that end, she made live recordings of many blues greats including Magic Slim, Big Mojo Elem, Jimmy Dawkins, John Littlejohn, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Taylor, Bobby King, Jimmy Johnson, Luther Johnson and many more, remastered for this special box set.

Storyville Records presents Volume 25 in the Duke Ellington Treasury Shows series, the final volume of this collectors’ special broadcast series. In April 1945 to promote the sale of war bonds, the US Treasury Department contacted Duke Ellington to do a series of 55 minute public broadcasts. These sessions would give Ellington a wide choice of material to perform including his older work, new instrumentals and pop tunes, and his extended works as well. And now it is 2018 and we have made the home run: This volume is the final one of this series of 25 albums altogether, with all the known Treasury shows from 1945 to 1953, and new, hitherto mostly unreleased bonus broadcast material from the 1940s. The release begins with the last known Treasury broadcast. It is from the Blue Note in Chicago, recorded in June 1953, and broadcast on August 1st 1953 as part of the series “All Star Parade of Bands,” launched by NBC to promote bond sales. The second half of the release contains broadcasts from April 22nd 1944 and from May 5th 1944 at the Hurricane Club in New York City.

Tommy Flanagan was always known for his tasteful, flawless and swinging piano playing. The American jazz pianist and composer grew up in Detroit and was initially influenced by artists Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole. Within months of moving to New York in 1956 he was recording with Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. His recordings under various leaders, including the historic Giant Steps of John Coltrane, continued well into 1962 when he became vocalist Ella Fitzgerald’s full time accompanist. He added class to every session that he was involved in and fortunately he was well documented during the latter part of his career.

Solo Piano was not initially released until decades after its 1974 recording. It is significant historically because this outing was the pianist’s first record date as a leader in 13 years and, most importantly, because it is very good music.

REVIEW:

What strikes me most on this solo album is the clarity Flanagan brings to each of the tunes. The more "cerebral" jazz artists often begin an account of a tune with a "variation" resulting from thick embellishment of the melody itself and/or the rhythm of that melody. Flanagan consistently begins by honoring his "source material," after which he unfolds no shortage of embellishments involving the tune, its rhythms, and the underlying chord progressions. This was the "bread-and-butter" approach to jazz improvisation during the second half of the twentieth century; and, as such, the album is not only an account of bravura solo piano work but also a first-rate introduction to cultivating the skills of listening to jazz.

-- The Rehearsal Studio (Steven Smoliar)

In 1999, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Mulgrew Miller came together in a unique and unlikely pairing to pay tribute to Duke Ellington on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The result was a passionate and long-lived musical partnership between two masters of their respective instruments, but the original recordings were never released. For the first time ever, more than 20 years after its recording, this lost treasure is finally made available to the public. The duo was initially brought together by Bang & Olufsen and set out to celebrate Ellington and his partnership with bassist Jimmy Blanton. With the help of Per Arnoldi, who is also credited with the albums artwork, NHØP was approached to take part and tapped Mulgrew Miller to tackle a series of Ellingtons classic themes and a couple of their own. He saw the opportunity to work with Mulgrew Miller, a pianist whom he admired and had not yet had the opportunity to work with, and this decision paid off greatly for both of them. A great musical and personal partnership was born, and the duos captivating chemistry is obvious from the first notes.

REVIEW:

Miller and NHØP make a good team for these 12 Ellington selections, blending well together in a give and take fashion throughout. They launch into C Jam Blues enthusiastically, piano chords dominating at first but NHØP contributing a sturdy bass line. They work always as compatible equals. Mood Indigo and Come Sunday are standout tracks, played at slow tempo for the most part. Blues In The PM’s is Miller’s composition, his only one and NHØP wrote O.D. Blues. Both men shine in their respective blues lines. Caravan is credited to Duke here, but I believe Juan Tizol had a hand in the composition.

-- JazzJournal.co.uk (Derek Ansell)

The Danish drummer and composer Jeppe Gram has long been a prominent figure on the Danish jazz scene. "The Doldrums" is his fourth album in his own name and on the album he has gathered three generations of musicians; Tomas Franck, Tobias Wiklund, Anders Krogh Fjeldsted, Jacob Artved and Ollie Wallace. Most of the music is centered around variations of Blues and with great inspiration from Gram's own jazz heroes, such as Kenny Garret, Joshua Redman and Charlie Haden. Jeppe Gram describes the music as instinctively relatable for the musicians, regardless of the age differences, and the mix of musicians from Gram's life from past to present is an essential part of the album.

Studying in Los Angeles with percussionists Emil Richards and Alex Acuña in 1996, Danish vibraphonist/composer Morten Grønvad happened to meet and became friends with the great jazz pianist Clare Fischer – a very influential musician, who both Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock have stated as one of their major musical inspirations. During this and subsequent stays in LA, Morten frequently visited Clare in his home in Studio City, where they discussed musical ideas and listened to each others’ work. After Clare passed away in 2012 Morten stayed in contact with Clare’s son Brent Fischer (winner of multiple Latin Jazz Grammys), who visited Copenhagen some years later. On that occasion Morten and Brent had decided to join forces, and they played a couple of concerts together at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival highlighting Clare’s music.

Morten Grønvad’s interest for Clare Fischer’s music has persisted, and in 2019 he and the very expressive alto saxophonist, Jens Søndergaard, got the idea of recording an album based on Clare Fischer’s compositions with their group Grønvad/Søndergaard Quintet. Lead by Morten Grønvad and Jens Søndergaard’s beautiful and melodic sound, the quintet has created this worthy and wholeheartedly homage to Clare Fischer and his music, underlining the importance of his musical creativity. The delicately accompanying rhythm section consists of pianist Thomas Bornø, bassist Niels Wilhelm Knudsen and drummer Niclas Campagnol. A convincing, warm and enticing “Westcoast-Latin-jazz” cocktail made of equal parts jazz-samba, bossa-nova, cha-cha and bolero.

The history of the JAZZPAR AWARDS constitutes a significant development in the recognition of jazz by international arbiters of taste. Set up by the Danish Jazz Center and sponsored by Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni, it was the first award in the jazz field to offer an international nominee not only the exposure of a concert series, but the donation of a statuette and a significant cash prize. Between 1990 and 2004, the award was made to several American performers but also, reflecting the history of the music itself, to six Europeans. Each annual winner was required to perform in a situation of their own choosing, but one which would involve several local players, as seen in the present series of reissues. When the late guitarist and composer Jim Hall emerged triumphant in 1998, it was not because of any conscious awareness of the pendulum effect but because his name evoked the most unanimous praise, out of the dozens of artists who had come up for discussion. Already at that point, his career had covered more than 40 years and evoked past associations with people such as Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Giuffre, Sonny Rollins and Art Farmer. What these great artists (and many more) found in Hall was a player of great sensitivity and intelligence, to whom the idea of co-operation was second nature but whose approach was completely individual. Personality is obviously the key factor, and Jims can perhaps be described as confident but self-effacing. Musically, that translated into a style which was both cogent and laconic which makes a lot of sense but not a lot of noise and its this combination that lends itself to taking on board others ideas and complementing rather than contradicting them.

'Pieces' is the meeting of two generations - The experienced and mature: the trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and the guitarist Bjarne Roupé and the two young and ready: Anton Langebæk on bass and the percussionist Benjamin Barfod. Bjarne Roupé Trio had been with Langebæk and Barfod for a while, and when Palle Mikkelborg was set to play a concert for Jazz Grooves at JB10 in Næstved, it was obvious that the four musicians worked together this evening. It became a success and the musicians took the initiative to use the recordings for this release. Here it is: 'Pieces: Generations at Sunrise' - five well-chosen compositions with Roupé's overview and broad sounds, Langebæk's pulsating bass, Barfod's distinctive percussion and Mikkelborg's trumpet and flugelhorn on top. We get extremely personal renditions of John Coltrane's "Naima" and the Abez classic "Nature Boy". A Swedish folk melody, "Saudi", with a beautiful guitar intro and more of the same sonorous element in the opening track "Witchi-tai-to", which is carried on by Barfod's gubal. The fine little theme is presented only at the end. Coltrane's great ballad "Naima" is performed for the first time in the history of music with sansula. In the collectively composed and arranged "Pieces", there are fanfares with electronics underneath, and Langebæk rounds off with a very solid bass solo. "Nature boy" gets new and very beautiful life with Mikkelborg's horn followed by a very well playing Roupé.

Piece of Mind is an all-star group that features some of the most talented voices in jazz today. The concept of the group was inspired by the VSOP Quintet from the late 1970s with the intention of being both a touring and recording group. During his career, Rose has worked with each member of the group at different times, as have the other members. The new collective brings together the highly regarded players who, when united onstage, deliver an exciting and fluid musical experience. In Spring 2019, the group recorded their first album, presented here, which features highlights from their series of live concerts at the Blue Llama in Ann Arbor, MI. Members of the group include Adonis Rose: drums; Tia Fuller: alto sax; Maurice Brown: trumpet; Sasha Masakowski: vocals; Miki Hayama: piano; and Jasen Weaver: bass.

Listening to this album takes you back to the atmosphere and sound of Jazzhus Montmartre on a random night in the 1960s, engulfing you in Dexter Gordons enormous aura. Dexters arrival in Copenhagen had a tremendous impact that left a lasting impression on the Danish jazz scene. He was handsome and well-dressed. His playing was superb, with a giant sound; his introductions and showmanship were unique and captivating. In addition, Dexter felt the Danish mentality was well-suited for playing and enjoying jazz. It was always there, Alex Riel remembers It wasnt a case of going to work, even though we played every, single night in June, July and August during the summer of 1964. Dexter and Tete were there solely for the music, and so were Niels-Henning and I. It is so obvious when I hear the music today. Dexter loved being in Montmartre. He often stayed and jammed with the night shift when it took over, playing on till early morning And Dexter ended up owning Copenhagen!