The Invitations

Vienna Art Orchestra - Blues For Brahms (1989) {2CD Set Amadeo 839 105-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 575 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 238 Mb
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© 1989 Amadeo / PolyGram | 839 105-2
Jazz / Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

In the jazz world, Vienna is about as far from New York's Lincoln Center as you can get. It follows that Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra has about as much in common with Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center big band as a Sacher torte has with a Hostess Cup Cake; while they share some ingredients, the Austrian product satisfies on a more profound level. By the turn of the century, the Lincoln Center paradigm defined the jazz big band as a finished concept – locked into the past, serving mostly as a repertory ensemble.

Vienna Art Orchestra - Innocence of Clichés (1990) {2CD Amadeo ‎841 646-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 548 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 234 Mb
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© 1990 Amadeo | 841 646-2
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

In the jazz world, Vienna is about as far from New York's Lincoln Center as you can get. It follows that Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra has about as much in common with Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center big band as a Sacher torte has with a Hostess Cup Cake; while they share some ingredients, the Austrian product satisfies on a more profound level. By the turn of the century, the Lincoln Center paradigm defined the jazz big band as a finished concept – locked into the past, serving mostly as a repertory ensemble. The VAO, on the other hand, while hardly ignoring traditional jazz verities, lives in the present and looks to the future.

Vienna Art Orchestra - European Songbook (1993) {GIG Records GIG 660 177}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 352 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 206 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1993 GIG Records | GIG 660 177
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

In the jazz world, Vienna is about as far from New York's Lincoln Center as you can get. It follows that Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra has about as much in common with Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center big band as a Sacher torte has with a Hostess Cup Cake; while they share some ingredients, the Austrian product satisfies on a more profound level. By the turn of the century, the Lincoln Center paradigm defined the jazz big band as a finished concept – locked into the past, serving mostly as a repertory ensemble. The VAO, on the other hand, while hardly ignoring traditional jazz verities, lives in the present and looks to the future.

For once, here’s a band for which the word 'supergroup' is completely apposite. Swiss vocalist Andreas Schaerer, German pianist Michael Wollny, French accordionist Vincent Peirani and his saxophonist compatriot Emile Parisien are four of the brightest and most charismatic stars in European jazz, and they have now formed themselves into a quartet. Between them, they have so far garnered no fewer than twelve German ECHO Jazz awards, as well as just about every distinction of importance in their own countries. They are in their mid- to late thirties, and their new live recording “Out of Land” demonstrates why they are at the very pinnacle of jazz musicians of their generation. It is because they are re-defining the possibilities of their instruments; not just cutting loose from the boundaries of jazz, but doing it in a way which energizes and inspires audiences of all generations.

Snaketime Series is one of the earliest and rarest of Moondog’s recordings, originally released in 1956. “Snaketime” is what Moondog himself referred to as his unique sense of time in music, what he called “a slithery rhythm”. And indeed, almost nobody else was making music as unique as this in the 1950s, drawing influence from city sounds, and working on many of his own instrumental invitations, Snaketime Series is truly cutting edge American avant-garde.

PERIGEO was a musical project born in 1971 from Giovanni Tommaso. The original lineup included five members, Tommaso himself at the bass, Bruno Biriaco on drums, Claudio Fasoli at sax, Tony Sidney at guitar and Franco D'Andrea on piano, the band released seven studio albums 'till his definitive breakup in 1981. The band offers a sort of jazz-rock sound inspired by Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew". This early form of fusion initially meets the resistance of so-called "purists" of jazz, but soon attract the sympathy of many fans, earning invitations to major national festivals, but also a series of concerts in Europe, especially in England and France.

Since its formation in 1969, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet has appeared regularly at the major concert halls in Europe, Asia and the U.S.: Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center New York, Kennedy Center Washington D.C., Opera Bastille Paris, Royal Festival Hall London, Philharmonie Cologne, Finlandia Hall Helsinki, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Schauspielhaus Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Tonhalle Zürich, Parco della Musica Rome, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas Kuala Lumpur, National Concert Hall Taipei, etc. The Vienna “Zeitung” hailed the quartet as the “Uncrowned Kings of the Saxophone” and a critic from “Die Welt” claimed, “If there were an Olympic discipline for virtuoso wind playing, the Raschèr Quartet would definitely receive a gold medal.”

Kirill Kondrashin is one of the few Russian conductors to celebrate an international career, next to Eugen Mravinsky, Igor Markewisch and Jascha Horenstein. In 1943 he became principal conductor at the Bolshoi theatre, an institution so important for Soviet musical life, to which he would belong for 13 years. In 1956 he was appointed chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic. This position opened doors for him internationally and Kondrashin was able to accept tour invitations from western countries.