SZOBEL

HERMANN SZOBEL is a true musical enigma whose cult following as only grown big time since he released his one and only album SZOBEL in 1976 and then disappeared for time immemorial. Considered a child prodigy in his native Vienna, Austria, a six year SZOBEL spent the majority of his time practicing Chopin pieces. After some time he would also find inspiration in more contemporary artists like Marital Solal and Keith Jarrett but it was Frank Zappa who turned him onto the possibilities of jazz-fusion in a totally new paradigm and sent him off into a bizarre new world of fusionist's dreams.

By the age of 17, the enigmatic SZOBEL was commissioned to record an album and a team of seasoned jazz and classical musicians were assembled to help him accomplish this daunting task since SZOBEL was a bona vide virtuoso pianist who had constructed some of the most demanding and complex musical scores since that sound as if they are part jazz, part classical and part avant-prog chamber rock a la Henry Cow. The team included Michael Visceglia (bass), Bob Goldman (drums), Dave Samuels (percussion, marimba, Vibraphone) and Vadim Vyadro (tenor sax, clarinet, flute.)

The recording sessions were awkward as SZOBEL was eccentric, unpredictable and at least half the age of the other musicians on board so the whole process was deemed laborious and time consuming. However despite it all, SZOBEL managed to crank out one of the true under appreciated gems of the entire jazz-fusion stock of the 70s with his unique brand of jazzed up fusion. While SZOBEL's finger-melting piano antics are clearly the star of the show, the music was constructed to showcase a band experience and therefore every musician has time to explore the sonic textures that ooze out of every motif with gusto.

While primarily in the field of jazz, the subordinate genera of rock and classical conspire to create an intricately designed series of technical workouts. Generally speaking the tempos flutter around slowly with energetic explosions of virtuosic workouts displaying a wickedly cool contrast. It's almost as if the Weather Report suddenly flicked on the switch and became the Mahavishnu Orchestra during its most demanding moments. Decorated with suffocating polyrhythms and nuanced virtuosic stampedes of sound, SZOBEL is an album that both captures the zeitgeist of 70s jazz-fusion while steering the technical gymnastics into breathtaking performances more akin to some of Cecil Taylor's most outrageous works.

Completely an instrumental affair, the five tracks each exhibit a mysterious charm much like the teenage mastermind who crafted them. While the main jazzy elements give this SZOBEL album a clear connection to the 70s jazz-fusion sounds, the extra touches of the marimba and vibraphone add a warmth that is missing from much jazz and despite the music being focused on the technical workouts, the compositions are well balanced and crafted in clever nuanced ways that display SZOBEL's talents as a composer to be equal with his technical fury. Despite the roster of influences on board, SZOBEL managed to sound like a seasoned professional with a sound all its own on HERMANN's first (and only) album at the tender age of 17.

Despite a bright and promising career from one of the under-appreciated jazz heroes of the 70s, HERMANN SZOBEL suffered a nervous breakdown during the recording sessions and joined the short but notable list of musicians like Syd Barrett who at their prime suddenly retreated from the music scene and thrust themselves into hermitic isolation. In fact SZOBEL not only left the world of music as quickly as he entered it but seemed to disappear completely with nobody knowing where he went or what he has done all these years since. While rumored to live in Austria still, he has obviously completely reinvented himself and successfully escaped attention ever since which is a true shame because SZOBEL is one of the most delicately designed jazz-fusion albums i've ever come across. While this album was obscure even when it was released, like all slow burners, SZOBEL's one and only album has become a belated classic.