THE JOACHIM KÜHN GROUP – Bold Music (MPS Rec. – 15 239 ST / LP-1969)

Label: MPS Records ‎– MPS 15 239 ST

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1969

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded on June 2/3, 1969 at MPS-Tonstudio, Villingen, Black Forest, W. Germany.

Graphics [Graphic Work] – Wolfgang Baumann

Photography By [Photos] – Alf Bludschun

Interviewee [Liner Notes] – Joachim Kühn

Interviewer [Liner Notes] – J. E. Berendt

Liner Notes [Translation] – O. E. Syman

Producer – H. G. Brunner-Schwer, Joachim E. Berendt

Recorded By – H. G. Brunner-Schwer, Willi Fruth

Rare original pressing on pink label MPS

Matrix / Runout (Side A – etched): A / 15 239 ST - 1

Matrix / Runout (Side B – etched): B / 15 239 ST - 2

side 1:

A1 - My Friend The Yogi ........................................................................................... 3:43

A2 - Nobody Knows You Tomorrow .......................................................................... 4:51

A3 - Bold Music ......................................................................................................... 4:27

A4 - Vampire Castle .................................................................................................. 4:30

side 2:

B1 - Depression And Illusion ..................................................................................... 3:25

B2 - The Third World War ......................................................................................... 9:10

B3 - Message From Upstairs ..................................................................................... 3:45

B4 - The Child Out There – Somewhere ................................................................... 3:26

Musicians:

Joachim Kühn – piano, alto saxophone, horn, shanai, bells, gong, steel drums, voice

J.F. Jenny-Clark – bass, cello

Jacques Thollot – drums, steel drums, tambourine, voice

Stu Martin – drums, bells, voice

1_   The title Bold Music says everything and nothing, this is a challenging and ambitious avant-jazz date that features Joachim Kühn tackling everything from piano to alto sax to antelope horn. It's nevertheless most audacious for tempering its outré leanings with soulful, melodic grooves and insistent rhythms that make the music more accessible and more idiosyncratic. Working in collaboration with bassist/cellist Jean-François Jenny-Clark, drummer Stu Martin and percussionist Jacques Thollot, Kühn fuses improvisational skronk and sound-library smoothness to make a record that occupies both extremes of the MPS label sound at the same time. Somehow, Bold Music is both free and easy, and that's a rare feat indeed.
(Review by Jason Ankeny / AllMusic)

2_   Bold music, indeed – a tremendous blend of avant garde jazz and groovier moments 
from pianist Joachim Kuhn! The style is a great illustration of the two key poles of the MPS label at the end of the 60s – the company's willingness to take a chance on freer jazz artists, but also its ability to sometimes focus those artists in a bit more, and get them to record tunes with a strong rhythmic pulse and nice sense of groove. Kuhn's working here not only on acoustic piano, but also alto sax, gong, antelope horn, and more – and other members of the group include JF Jenny-Clarke on bass and cello, Jacques Thollot on percussion, and Stu Martin on drums and bells! Titles include the groover "Depression & Illusion", plus "Third World War", "Message From Upstairs", "The Child Out There Somewhere", "Vampires Castle", and "My Friend The Yogi".

( © 1996-2018, Dusty Groove, Inc.)

If you find it, buy this album!

JOACHIM KÜHN – This Way Out (MPS/BASF Rec. ‎– 2921752-3 / 2LP-1973)

Label: MPS/BASF Records ‎– 2921752-3

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP / Gatefold sleeve / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1973

Style: Free Jazz, Modal, Free Improvisation

Recorded in January 1973 at MPS Studio, Villingen, W. Germany.

Design [Cover], Photography By – Bernhard Wetz

Photography By [Liner Photos] – A.C. Besgaard, Anne Delmas, G. Hasenfratz, R. Kühn

Produced by MPS-Records, Villingen

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): A 0666 121 S 1 / 2921752-3 -1

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): B 0666 121 S 2 / 2921752-3 -2

Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, etched): C 0666 122 S 1 / 2921752-3 -3

Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, etched): D 0666 122 S 2 / 2921752-3 -4

side 1

A1 - Brother Rolf ....................................................................................................... 1:53

A2 - Byg Bridge ......................................................................................................... 5:53

A3 - Amok ................................................................................................................. 5:50

A4 - She's A Beauty .................................................................................................. 4:30

A5 - Spaced In .......................................................................................................... 4:28

side 2

B1 - Body And Soul ................................................................................................... 5:11

B2 - Phallic Dance ..................................................................................................... 6:03

B3 - Juxtaposition ...................................................................................................... 3:46

B4 - All The Things You Are ...................................................................................... 3:35

B5 - Paris '72 ............................................................................................................. 0:58

side 3

C1 - This Way Out ..................................................................................................... 4:51

C2 - Do Dat Dudek .................................................................................................... 5:25

C3 - Sound Color One ............................................................................................... 2:00

C4 - Sound Color Two ............................................................................................... 1:16

C5 - Other Way Out ................................................................................................... 3:45

side 4

D  -  Unison Union .................................................................................................. 20:25

Musicians:

Joachim Kühn – piano, alto saxophone

Gerd Dudek – tenor & soprano saxophone, flute

Peter Warren – bass, cello

Daniel Humair – drums, percussion

JOACHIM KUHN "This Way Out" (1973 German, 16-track double LP on MPS, with red labels and 2921752-3 catalogue prefix, front laminated gatefold sleeve with 0666 121 overstickered catalogue number. Stunning advanced Jazz here from a label that putout some of the very best, forward thinking, and often glorious sounding Fusion records of the seventies.

Joachim Kühn is joined by Daniel Humair, one of Europe’s most celebrated drummers, along with bassist/cellist Peter Warren, whose play has graced the albums of such diverse greats as Clarla Bley and John Scofield. The impressionistic miniature Brother Rolph serves as an introduction, the up-tempo Byg Bridge spans over to the helter-skelter of Amok, while the well-named ballad She’s a Beauty precedes the straight-ahead swing of Spaced In. Kühn tenders a personal solo-rendering of the classic Body And Soul, then switches to alto sax on the harsh, ritualistic Phallic Dance.

Juxtaposition features contrasting solo and group dynamics, and the trio show their standards chops on the medium-tempo All The Things You Are. The musical snapshot Paris 72 book-ends the 10 trio pieces. German saxophonist Gerd Dudek, whose playing credentials include Carla Bley and Don Cherry, joins the trio on the next six pieces. He takes up soprano on the Latin-like This Way Out, while he’s on tenor and Kühn on alto with hell-bent free solos on Do Dat Dudek. Sound Color One and Two are miniatures that explore the possibilities of musical textures. Other Way Out is a free dialogue between piano and soprano, and Unison Union brings the quartet together in a display of intuitive inspiration. 16 pieces of creative brilliance.

If you find it, buy this album!

ROLF + JOACHIM KÜHN QUINTET – Transfiguration (LP-1967 - Re-LP-1972)

Label: MPS Records – CRM 637

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1972

Original released: / SABA – SB 15 118 ST (LP-1967)

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded January 19, 1967 at Peter von Zahn Studio, Hamburg.

Design [Graphic Work], Layout [Lay-out] – Gigi Berendt

Painting [Cover] – Wojciech Fangor

Photography By – Josef Werkmeister, Maria Rehfuß-Oberländer

Engineer – Henning Rüte

Producer – Joachim E. Berendt

Comes in a gatefold-sleeve

Matrix / Runout (Side A): 599392 -A / SB 15 118 - A

Matrix / Runout (Side B): 599392- B / SB 15 118 – B

A1 - Transfiguration ....................................................................................... 13:48

A2 - Lunch Date .............................................................................................. 8:22

B1 - Solo Flights ............................................................................................ 12:30

B2 - But Strokes Of Folk ................................................................................. 9:00

Personnel:

Rolf Kühn – clarinet, bass clarinet

Joachim Kühn – piano

Karlhanns Berger – vibraphone

Bab Guérin – bass

Aldo Romano – drums, percussion

One of the best records ever cut by the brothers Rolf and Joachim Kühn – a beautiful set of modally influenced tracks that show the strong modernist tradition in European jazz of the 60s! The album's quite sharp-edged for MPS in the mid 60s – and Karl Berger's vibes join the clarinet of Rolf and piano of Joachim – with rhythm support from Beb Guerin on bass and Aldo Romano on drums – both players whose own sense of freedom really unlocks the main soloists! Berger's vibes add a nicely chromatic quality to the record – and the whole thing's relatively free overall – starting with modal impulses, but hardly rhythmic at all, given the way the drums and bass move as freely as the other instruments. Titles include "Lunch Date", "Transfiguration", "Solo Flights", and "But Strokes Of Folk". (Heavy red label MPS pressing, with deep groove!

(Dusty Groove, Inc.)

If you find it, buy this album!

ROLF KÜHN JAZZGROUP – Going To The Rainbow (BASF – CRC 008/LP-1971)

Label: BASF – CRC 008

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1971

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Recorded at the Cornet-Studios, Cologne on December 14/15, 1970.

Engineering Wolfgang Hirschmann

Produced by Klaus Lorenzen

Comes in a gatefold-sleeve

German Original Press. Red BASF labels.

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): A-0051 A-1 / CRC 008 A

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): A-0051 B-1 / CRC 008 B

A1 - Houndhouse Rock .................................................................................. 4:50

A2 - Sad Ballade ............................................................................................ 3:39

A3 - T.C.B.  ..................................................................................................... 9:45

B1 - Going To The Rainbow ......................................................................... 12:55

B2 - Racing It Down ....................................................................................... 6:55

Musicians:

Rolf Kühn – clarinet

John Surman – baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, electric piano

Alan Skidmore – tenor saxophone

Joachim Kühn – piano, organ

Chick Corea – electric piano

Peter Warren – bass

Tony Oxley – drums, percussion

THE ROLF KUHN JAZZGROUP: "Going To The Rainbow" (BASF Records – CRC 008 / Gatefold Jacket / Rarity). Original 1971 high quality German pressing. Great free Improvisation with spiritual undertones influenced by Miles Davis. One of Kühn's timeless recordings for which he got assisted by heavy weights like John Surman, Alan Skidmore, Chick Corea and Tony Oxley. Absolutely stunning free improv with an addictive rolling groove that really puts the funky cat out there. Highest recommendation.

(Tiliqua Rec.)

If you find it, buy this album!

JEAN-LUC PONTY – Live At Montreux 72 (LP-1976-Inner City Records – IC 1003)

Label: Inner City Records – IC 1003

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1976

Original releaze: Les Disques Pierre Cardin – STEC 133 / France - 1972

Style: Free Jazz, Fusion, Experimental

Recorded live at the 1972 International Festival of Jazz in Montreux by Pierre Cardin

Album Design – Frank Vega

Photo – Tom Copi

Engineer – Stephen Sulke

Remix – Emmanuel Sciot

Executive Producers – Irv Kratka, Eric Kriss

A - Sonata Erotica ....................................................................................... 18:00

      a) Preludio

      b) Pizzacato Con Fuocco E Con Echo (Did You See My Bow?)

      c) Appassionato

B - Sonata Erotica ....................................................................................... 23:40

      d) Con Sensualita

      e) Accelerando E Rallentando

Experience:

Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin

Joachim Kühn – piano [Fender]

Jean-François Jenny-Clark – acoustic bass, electric bass

Oliver Johnson – drums

Naná Vasconcelos – berimbau, congas, gong, percussion

Jean-Luc Ponty "Experience" ‎– Live In Montreux 72, live recording 19.06.1972 at the 6th International Festival of Jazz in Montreux, contents of five movement called "Sonata Erotica" suite, one of the most interesting works from his early days in fusion...

... Ponty's solos here seem far more inspired than his efforts in the 1990s. The violinist makes good use of delays, accompanying himself on the intense solo "Pizzicato Con Fucco E Con Echo." A number of passages were used in Ponty's earlier "Concerto for Jazz Violin and Orchestra," found on his record with Kurt Edelhagen (Vantage LP 504). Supporting musicians included Joachim Kühn on Fender Rhodes, acoustic bassist J.-F. Jenny Clarke, drummer Oliver Johnson and percussionist Nana Vasconcelos. While this LP won't be considered essential to a lot of jazz fans, Ponty's followers will find that is very inspired and a rare opportunity to enjoy.

Extremely strange and exciting album.

If you find it, buy this album!

4. INTERNATIONAL ZAGREB JAZZ FAIR 1982, Yugoslavia / Various – Soul Street (Jugoton / 2LP-1983)

Label: Jugoton – LSY-65045/6

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Gatefold / Country: Yugoslavia

Released: 26. October, 1983

Style: Contemporary Jazz, Improvisation

IV International Zagreb Jazz Fair was recorded in Zagreb' GSP Kulušić and in KD Vatroslav Lisinski from October 12.-15. 1982.

Cover – Ivan Ivezić

Cover Lines & Photos – Mladen Mazur

Edited By – Vida Ramušćak

Editor-In-Chief – Dubravko Majnarić

Producer – Mladen Mazur

Recorded By – Mladen Škalec

A1 - Giorgio Gaslini Quintet – Soul Street (G.Gaslini) .................................... 14:15

A2 - Hans Koller Quartet – Soma (H.Koller) ..................................................... 9:05

B1 - Stan Tracey Trio – Sophisticated Lady (D.Ellington) .............................. 11:39

B2 - International Festival All Star – Green Apples (D.Kajfes) ....................... 11:05

C1 - Bacillus Quartet – Soul Street (L.Gardony) .............................................. 7:20

C2 - B.P. Convention & Friends – Song For Zagreb & Night Before Corrida

        (J.Kühn & F.Pauer) .................................................................................. 18:13

D1 - Bennie Wallace Trio – Tune Pangs (B.Wallace) ....................................... 9:08

D2 - Martial Solal Big Band – Valse a 3 Temps (M.Solal) ............................... 13:04

A1.  GIORGIO GASLINI QUINTET:

Giorgio Gaslini - piano; Claudio Allifranchini - alto, soprano sax, flute; Maurizio Caldura - alto, tenor sax; Giancarlo Paven - bass; Paolo Pallehatti - drums

A2.  HANS KOLLER QUARTET:

Hans Koller - soprano, tenor sax; Fritz Pauer - keyboard; Paul Schwartz - keyboards; Uve Schmidt - drums

B1.  STAN TRACEY TRIO:

Stan Tracey - piano; Roy Babington - bass; Clark Tracey - drums

B2.  INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL ALL STAR:

Peter Ugrin - trumpet, flhorn; Simeon Sterev - flute; Miroslav Sedak-Bencic - tenor sax; Hans Solomon - tenor sax; George Haslam - bariton sax; Davor Kajfes - piano; Aladar Pege - Bass; Salih Sadikovic - drums

C1.  BACILLUS QUARTET:

Tony Lakatos - sopranino, tenor sax; Laslo Gardony - piano; Pal Vasvari - bass; Gabor Szende - drums

C2.  B.P. CONVENTION & FRIENDS:

Petar Ugrin, Ladislav Fidri - trumpets; Franc Puhar, Zvonko Kosak - trombones; George Haslam - bariton sax; Joachim Kühn - piano; Bosko Petrovic - vibraphone; Neven Franges - el.piano; Damir Dicic - guitar; Mario Marvin - bass; Salih Sadikovic - drums

D1.  BENNIE WALLACE TRIO:

Bennie Wallace - tenor sax; Mike Richmond - bass; Dannie Richmond - drums;

D2.  MARTIAL SOLAL BIG BAND:

Martial Solal - cond, piano; Bernard Marchais, Roger Guerin, Eric LeLan - trumpets; Francois Jeanneau, Pierre Gossez, Jean-Louis Chautemps, Jan-Pierre Debarbat - saxes; Jacques Bolognesi, Jean-Louis Chautempsee Harper - trumpet; Erich Kleinschuster - trombone; Mark Sterckar - tuba; Frédéric Sylvestre - guitar; Pierre Blanchard - violin; Hervé Derrien - cello; Césarius Alvim - bass; Umberto Pagnini - drums

In Bled 1960. held the first Yugoslav Jazz Festival, which will later move to Ljubljana. For affirmation of jazz in the seventies (in this region) most significant were the "Zagreb Jazz Fair" and "Belgrade Jazz Festival", and the eighties: "Naissus Jazz Festival" (Niš), "Belgrade Summer Festival", and jazz festivals in Skopje and Novi Sad.

Enjoy this very rare double LP from ex-Yugoslavia:

4. INTERNATIONAL ZAGREB JAZZ FAIR 1982 – SOUL STREET (Jugoton LSY-65045/6) 

The list of musicians is impressive.

If you find it, buy this album!

ASSOCIATION P.C + JEREMY STEIG – Mama Kuku - Live! (LP-1974)

Label: MPS Records – 21 21840-6

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: Germany / Released: 1974

Style: Fusion, Free Improvisation

Recorded June 1973 live at Arkadenhof, Alte Universität Freiburg/Br., Germany (Tracks A1 to A5) and in Salle de Spectacles Epalinges/Lausanne, Switzerland (Track B)

Design – Bernhard Wetz

Engineer – Claude Blanc (tracks: B), Conny Plank (tracks: A1 to A5)

Engineer [Assistance] – Jean-Pierre Molliet (tracks: B), Raymond Bernard (tracks: B)

Mixed By – Conny Plank

Producer – Joachim E. Berendt

A1 - Mama Kuku . . . . . 5:46

         (Siggi Busch, Toto Blanke)

A2 - Bold'n Steig . . . . . 5:45

         (Jeremy Steig, Joachim Kühn)

A3 - Dr. Hoffmann . . . . . 4:30

         (J. Steig, J. Kühn, P. Courbois, S. Busch, T. Blanke)

A4 - Ecnelis . . . . . 4:46

         (Pierre Courbois)

A5 - Bassamagic . . . . . 4:17

         (Jeremy Steig)

B   - Lausanne . . . . . 21:52

         (J. Steig, J. Kühn, P. Courbois, S. Busch, T. Blanke)

Toto Blanke – guitar

Joachim Kühn – electric piano [Fender]

Siggi Busch – bass

Pierre Courbois – drums, percussion

+

Jeremy Steig – flute, piccolo flute, bass flute

With their clever combination of free jazz, rock and other musical markers, it's a wonder that Dutch percussionist Pierre Courbois and Association P.C. never received more credit. Released in 1974 on MPS, provides an opportunity to hear this largely spontaneous group in fine form, culled from a series of 1973 performances in Germany and Switzerland that also featured guest flautist Jeremy Steig.

Freedom needn't imply lack of form, as Mama Kuku kicks off with the effervescent title track. Bassist Siggi Busch opens alone with a combination of long, resonating notes, strummed chords and harmonics. Guitarist Toto Blanke joins in with a cued figure that signals Courbois and pianist Joachim Kühn to accompany in a fiery, overdriven modal solo that comes from John McLaughlin territory, albeit closer to John Surman's Where Fortune Smiles (Dawn, 1971) rather than the more rockified Mahavishnu Orchestra. Blanke ends his solo with another cue that leads into a relaxed, repetitive Latin-esque figure for Steig's solo, where the flautist moves seamlessly between the in and the out.

"Bold 'n' Steig" is a purely spontaneous Steig/Kühn duet. By this time Kühn had already established a reputation as a stylistically encyclopedic player, as comfortable in the mainstream with Joe Henderson as he was in more avant-garde settings with Don Cherry. Here, the duo covers considerable territory—from neoclassicism to outré but funky rhythms—but always with a sense of purpose that gives the piece a surprisingly structured feel. Steig made his name as one of the first jazz/rock flautists, but here his ability to move synchronously with Association P.C.'s ever-shifting landscapes proves that a traditionally mellifluous instrument can be as jagged and assertive as any other. Steig's flute dominates the droning but increasingly dynamic "Dr. Hofmann," but it's everyone in the pool on the idiosyncratic and aggressive "Ecnelis"—a tune that prompted Steig to ask Courbois and Busch, "How come you can play completely without rhythm—and it swings!"

Plans for the musicians to send each other sheet music prior to meeting and rehearse before their first performance never happened. A potential disaster for some, Association P.C.'s extant chemistry had already been honed on four other MPS albums. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Lausanne," a 22-minute free improvisation that, like the five other considerably shorter pieces on Mama Kuku, leaves an impression of preconception where clearly there was none.

Based on the varied textures, rhythms and tonalities of Mama Kuku, Steig's falling below the radar in the early 1980s is a real shame, a sentiment true for all members of Association P.C. save Kühn, who has gone on to a long, varied and internationally visible career. It's yet another example of a fine improvising group that disappeared into the flotsam and jetsam of history.

By JOHN KELMAN, March 29, 2008 (AAJ)

If you find it, buy this album!

JOACHIM KÜHN – Cinemascope (LP-1974, MPS/BASF Records)

Label: MPS Records/BASF – 21 22270-5

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold & Country: Germany / Released: 1974

Style: Fusion, Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded May 74 at Conny's Studio.

Artwork By [Cover Art] – Gabriele Laurenz

Artwork By [Design] – Bernhard Wetz

Engineer – Conny Plank

Photography – Bernhard Wetz

Producer – Joachim Kühn, Rolf Kühn

A1/A2 - Zoom - Part 1/Part 2 . . . . . 9:11

               (Written-By – Joachim Kühn, Toto Blanke)

A3 -       One String More . . . . . 8:17

               (Written-By – Joachim Kühn, John Lee)

A4 -       Vibrator . . . . . 2:23

B1/B2 - Travelling - Part 1/Part 2 . . . . . 11:35

               (Written-By – Joachim Kühn, Rolf Kühn)

B3 -       Success . . . . . 5:13

B4 -       Black Tears . . . . . 5:23

Joachim Kühn – leblanc alto sax, fender rhodes electric piano,

                           rabox loudspeaker unit, stramp amplifier

Toto Blanke – electric guitar

John Lee – bass, bass (electric)

Gerry Brown – drums, percussion

Rolf Kühn – arranged, conductor (string orchestra)
Zbigniew Seifert – electric violin (track A3)

Joachim Kühn, talented jazz and fusion keyboardist who had many albums through the 60s and 70s (and beyond). "Cinemascope" is probably the rarest from this time frame, and the one that is most aligned with my personal focus from a musical standpoint. A very strong fusion effort, with Toto Blanke lighting it up on guitar. Features a brilliant gatefold cover.

If you find it, buy this album!