Live in Tokyo '91

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Live in Tokyo '91
Studio album by Barney Wilen

Publication
(s)

2019

Label (s) Elemental Music

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

Postbop

Title (number)

11

occupation
chronology
Lucky Thompson & Barney Wilen: Four Brothers
(2015) 		Live in Tokyo '91 -

Live in Tokyo '91 is a jazz album by saxophonist Barney Wilen . The sound document from the Keystone Korner jazz club in Tokyo, which he himself recorded on a SONY DAT recorder on February 11, 1991 , was released on September 13, 2019 by Elemental Music.

background

Wilen toured Japan for the first time in 1990 and returned the following year when this concert was recorded. After Wilen arrived in the post-bop era, he picked up on elements of free jazz . On this club date in Tokyo, which he had recorded himself and which has not yet been published, he plays old pieces again, including French chansons , including two tracks related to Charles Trenet , but also a track from Art Blakey's film music to Les Liaisons Dangereuses , in which he was involved in 1959.

The album consists of two CDs, a 20-page booklet with previously unpublished photos from the concert and contributions by Bruno Pfeiffer, Patrick Wilen, Gilles Naturel and Olivier Hutman .

Track list

  • Barney Wilen Quartet: Live in Tokyo '91 (Elemental 5990434)
CD 1
  1. Introduction
  2. Beautiful love
  3. L'âme des poètes
  4. Mon blouson (c'est ma maison)
  5. Que reste-t-il de nos amours?
  6. Besame mucho
CD 2
  1. How Deep Is the Ocean?
  2. Little Lu
  3. Old folks
  4. Latin Alley
  5. Bass blues
  6. No Problem ( Liaisons dangereuses )
  7. Goodbye
  8. Doxy (encore)

reception

Ronald Atkins (Jazz Jornal) wrote: “Without being a copyist in any way, his style may ultimately be closest to that of Sonny Rollins' . In this context, he sometimes fails to play several refrains with a satisfactory coherence, and one wishes for a note or two of the master's phrase juggling. For this reason, "Old Folks" is a highly recommended track, recorded at a leisurely pace and with an appropriately limited number of choruses. "

In the author's opinion, the occasional reminiscences of Ben Webster are less expected, "not the tone, but the slippery phrase" found on "How Deep Is the Ocean?", Another track that should be listened to like this Atkins. The same applies to the few numbers in which Wilen switches to the soprano saxophone. The members of his accomplished companion trio would have plenty of room, and pianist Olivier Hutman works perfectly on the climaxes Miles Davis encouraged in the 1950s.

Dave Cantor, who reviewed the album on the Down Beat , said Wilen "still delivers a solid tenor sound." It was such a solid recording that even those hoping for the eccentricities used on Zodiac and Moshi will appreciate it Bop distributed here should be satisfied. A smoky rendition of Sonny Rollins' "Doxy" follows shortly after a rendition of " Besame Mucho, " which is frankly a more fiery and more rewarding rendition than it could be in 1991. According to the author, the recording comes to a standstill when the quartet turns to “Latin Alley” on the second CD and Olivier Hutman uses a “rather outdated keyboard”. But this is "not a regrettable achievement, just one that shows its age." And that is also the only limiting comment on Live in Tokyo '91 , the author summarizes. The recordings could help “bring a confident and thoughtful player closer to people” who would never have looked for his work before.

Pirmin Bossart wrote in Jazz'n'more , “Wilen blows his pieces with swing and bop refinements that reveal a lot of feeling and an impeccable craft. Its sound in its velvety phrasing is wonderfully warm and pleasant, without tipping into sentimental or even kitschy. Wilen has a feel for long arcs with a melodic flow that is not exhausted in strung together phrases, but rather develops coherent narrative forms. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ronald Atkins: Barney Wilen Quartet: Live In Tokyo '91. August 21, 2019, accessed October 3, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Dave Cantor: Barney Wilen Quartet: Live In Tokyo '91. October 1, 2019, accessed October 2, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Barney Wilen: A free spirit with a melodic flow . Review of the album in Jazz'n 'more, issue Sept. / Oct. 2019,