THE UNITED JAZZ + ROCK ENSEMBLE

We have nine incredible musicians here and the thought is "too many cooks in the kitchen" but they did this three times in the studio('78, '79 & '87) before going with live only releases which they had been doing anyways('77, '81, '88, '92 & '96) and into the 00's they started picking one of their members and playing that members music live which they've done many times. This project has been going on for decades and I understand that Wolfgang Dauner started this all back in 1975. So nine musicians here on their debut including five horn blowers which you all know is my issue here. Blasting horns is a pet peeve of mine, I don't get it. I can tolerate them more on their first two live records but the two studio albums I own are a difficult listen at times.

So I mentioned that the "rock" quota is not strong here, even the guys who represent that style are all Jazz based so there's that. Jon Hiseman on drums comes from a Jazz start but like Ginger Baker he felt he was too restricted so moved out into more blues based stuff like COLOSSEUM which is Jon's band. Eberhard Weber on bass, Wolfgang Dauner on keyboards, Volker Kriegel guitar and five horn blowers. But check out the names... Barbara Thompson who was married to Jon Hiseman, Ian Carr(NUCLEUS), Charlie Mariano, Albert Mangelsdorff and Ack Van Rooyen. I didn't know the latter two I mentioned when I got into this ensemble but sure know them both now.

"Yin" is really the only track that I'm really into and even it starts with a drum solo then blasting horns before settling in thankfully. Carr's "Gone With The Weed" is the opener and I love this guy, come on! And he shines later on this record. Despite the names this isn't for everyone but I will always be grateful to own the two live records, and in particular "Live Im Schutzenhaus" from 1977. Classy with musicianship at the highest possible level here.

Going into the music of this rather large group of musicians back in the day I was excited to see Ian Carr of NUCLEUS the most, just a huge fan of his trumpet playing and of his band NUCLEUS. Of course this project being based in Germany I was also excited to see Wolfgang Dauner and Eberhard Weber giving is a Krautrock perpective but also these Jazz greats like Volker Kreigel on guitar and of course the horn players. And speaking of horn players my biggest discovery through this project might be the trombone player Albert Mangelsdorff. In fact I remember hearing him on the song "Raga Yagapriya" here and shouting Mangelsdorff! about 6 1/2 minutes in. Such a unique style of playing. And his song "Raving Raven" the closer is my favourite on here. Such a cool tune starting out as the most jazziest track on here but it's that calm and how they come out of it that blew me away. The other musician that has so impressed me is Charlie Mariano. His composing skills and his playing on that Indian instrument called a Nagasvaram is incredible. I mean he plays soprano sax a lot and other saxes but he really brings a ethnic vibe to the proceedings with that Indian horn. So that song I mentioned earlier "Raga Yagapriya" is where Charlie struts his Indian stuff. Great track and a top three with Mangelsdorff's closer and tough to pick that third track but I think Weber's "Seriously Deep" tune will be that third top three number.

Almost forgot to mention that the opener which is divided into three parts and was written by Wolfgang Dauner and it features his son Florian playing drums on that third section called "African Dance" with his heavy style here. This would be the first album Florian would play on. I think it was 5 years after this before he was back on another album but man he has carved a career for himself commercially playing with many popular bands on the World's biggest stages. So cool to hear him here first. Still I'm glad that Jon Hiseman is the main drummer because he is a beast. Love his work.

Another solid 4 star album from this rather large ensemble.

What an entertaining release this is, some variety here too. Man so many highlights but lets start with my top three tracks. First off Mariano's "Red Room" which is also the longest piece on here. The crowd by the way can be very vocal but they know their music so it's actually a positive. Mariano solos here on his soprano sax and he's on fire at one point. Actually that sax, bass and drums bit sounds incredible. Mangelsdorff solos before 5 1/2 minutes after a bass solo. Hiseman sounds amazing here on the kit by the way. The crowd roars when we get bass only 7 1/2 minutes in. Piano joins in then eventually drums.

"Out Of The Long Dark" by Ian Carr is a top three. A melancholic track not so surprisingly, quite subdued. Kriegel solos on this one and along with the bass and piano leads the way early. Horns arrive sort of slowly pulsing. Love the sound of this one. Final top three is "South India Line". Man hearing Mariano on that ethnic horn live is an experience. I was laughing at one point I was so impressed. Bass solo too on this one.

Not quite as good as the first live album in my opinion but it's close. Both are deserving to be part of every person's Jazz collection for sure.

My favourite song by far on here is "Hey Day" an Ian Carr's composition that steals the show. This was also true of their first studio album "Teamwork" where Ian's song "Gone With The Weed" stood above the rest. I love that guy. "Hey Day" sounds like it could have been on one of those early NUCLEUS albums, it's that good. The melancholy and insane trumpet work from Ian makes this a must hear for NUCLEUS fans like me. Mariano's sole composition is called "South Indian Line" with that nadaswaram giving this a very East Indian vibe but I really like this one. An intense number at times with Barb on flute. Volker Kriegel wrote a couple of tracks and the guitarist is so talented. I have a few of his albums. He made the opener "Circus Gambit" and "Hypnotic Pignose". I like the way the opener builds then the horns come in blasting. I like how inventive those horns are later in this song. The latter track Volker did is all about the energy. Love the bass here too. Dauner created "Steps Of M.C. Escher" and it's all about the horns and piano. Dauner composed the final two tracks as well.

I appreciate this more than the first studio album they recorded. Again Ian Carr is just so talented but then so is the whole band.