PROTOTYPE

Compared to "Adama" a few years prior, "Prototype" despite its title is a far more conventional jazz album (apparently the title stems from the fact that Seffer plays a prototype Selmer bass sax on the record, featured on the cover photo; indeed the album seems to have been sponsored by Selmer saxophones and may have been some sort of demonstration record, who knows).

At this stage the music of Yochk'o Seffer has no more than a nodding acquaintance with the Zeuhl scene that made Seffer, well, if not famous then at least a name recognised by a few dozen. Only in some of the quick unison movements such as on "Sod" can we hear some remnants of the precipitous stuff so abundant on the Neffesh-Music albums, and the acoustic double bass work here is jazz through and through, and is worlds apart from the trademark electric Zeuhl bass.

On "Prototype" Seffer has assembled a standard jazz trio of sax, double bass and drums played by Americans Barre Phillips and Barry Altschul, respectively. A few of the tracks furthermore sports a violin (played by Debora Seffer) and on a couple of works we also hear a cimbalom playing what would conventionally be the piano part. Never one for conventional sounds, Seffer, who plays saxophones on 4 different sizes from bass to sopranino on this record as well as bass clarinette. The muscicianship is first rate, as always on Seffer's albums, and some arrangements are quirky and interesting such as the long duette between double bass and bass saxophone on "Ritual performance" starting out as a unison, heading into a dancing galloping competition, before converging again. Also typical of Seffer's music is to draw on Hungarian folk music for inspiration, something that's probably easier to hear on "Prototype" than his earlier albums where the compositions were so convoluted as to disguise its indivitdual elements.

There is the danger of getting saxophone overdose here, though, especially during the final tune "Solo for Seguie" which is just a 7 minute unaccompanied alto sax solo. That said, seveal tracks are pretty straight up and down contemporary jazz with a hint of free jazz here and there, and while a very safe purchase if you're enthused by saxophone driven contemporary jazz, it shows less of the mind-blowing invention and compositional ingenuity of the Neffesh-Music albums or "Adama", which are my points of reference.