Midd 187

The Claudia Quintet - I, Claudia (2003) {Cuneiform Records ‎Rune 187}
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© 2003 Cuneiform Records ‎| Rune 187
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / New Chamber Music / Modern Creative / Drums

This second release from the Claudia Quintet (and their first on the Cuneiform label) not only offers Claudia's great blend of instrumental textures from tenor sax/clarinet, vibraphone, accordion, acoustic bass, drums, and percussion, but also provides a satisfying stroll among multiple musical genres. Drummer John Hollenbeck is the group's composer, and his clever pieces move effortlessly from funky chamber jazz to minimalism (both rhythmic and ambient), with some African elements and "new music" vocabulary thrown in for good measure. A good example of Hollenbeck's eclecticism (one of many) would be the piece "…Can You Get Through This Life With a Good Heart?," which was inspired by a quote from Joni Mitchell in a PBS documentary. It opens, in Hollenbeck's words, with "the harmonic clouds and space of Morton Feldman," which eventually give way to a pensive folk melody stated by accordion and vibes.

Mihály Borbély Quartet - Hungarian Jazz Rhapsody (2014) {BMC CD 187 rec 2011}
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© 2014 Budapest Music Center Records | BMC CD 187
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Saxophone

Hungarian jazz doesn't receive same the level of attention as Western Europe and Scandinavia. Other than acclaimed jazz guitar legends, Gabor Szabo and Attila Zoller, there haven't been many household names within this idiom. Yet the BMC Records label has been a catalyst by producing gifted progressive jazz artists, such as the Dresch Quartet, and here, saxophonist Mihaly Borbely who titles his album and performs Zoller's composition, Hungarian Rhapsody.