Muriel Grossmann - Union

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:45
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(11:12) 1. Happiness
(11:29) 2. Traneing In
( 8:29) 3. Sundown
( 6:13) 4. African Dance
( 8:20) 5. Union

The music on saxophonist Muriel Grossmann's Union is very familiar. Is that because all the compositions had been previously released? Not at all. Actually, the versions heard here are more vibrant than their first incarnations. Chalk that up to Grossman and company working and reworking these compositions in performances. The band's familiarity with the material blossoms into a stellar recording. That said, the session may not have happened. The band's long-time bassist Gina Schwarz was not available for this recording date. Grossman's quartet adapted. Fortunately when you tour with Llorenc Barcelo, a Hammond B3 master, the bass-lines can be a serviceable add-on. Maybe this different perspective acted as the spark for the musicians to focus and deliver this special recording.

The recording opens with "Happiness," one of two tracks that appeared on Natural Time (Dreamland Records, 2016), the other being "African Dance." "Happiness" is a meditative slow boiler with Grossman's tenor saxophone floating about the groove laid down by Barceló and drummer Uros Stamenkovic. When guitarist Radomir Milojkovic solos, it is in a style reminiscent of vintage George Benson with Lonnie Smith and Jack McDuff. But vintage is a misnomer. Grossman's "Traneing In," a nod to John Coltrane, mixes the flavors of Coltrane's "India" with an up-tempo country feel with her soprano saxophone and Milojkovic's guitar dancing over a shuffling pulse. "Sundown" and "Union" were previously heard on Reverence (RR Gems/Dreamland, 2019). Both pieces are spiritually filling, the sounds that make you understand music's higher calling. Grossman knows her Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Joseph Jarman and she embodies their spirit, especially the meditative side. From introspective to exuberant, "African Dance" is an irresistible piece that invites you to get up and shake your rump. Union is available as a download, CD, or as a limited edition 200 gram vinyl release. By Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/union-muriel-grossmann-rr-gems

Personnel: Muriel Grossmann: saxophone; Llorenc Barcelo: organ, Hammond B3; Radomir Milojkovic: guitar, electric; Uros Stamenkovic: drums.

Union

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Muriel Grossmann - Quiet Earth

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:17
Size: 92,8 MB
Art: Front

(11:05) 1. Wien
( 9:09) 2. African Call
( 8:34) 3. Peaceful River
(11:28) 4. Quiet Earth

Anyone familiar with Tibetan Buddhism will know that once their spiritual leader or Dalai Lama dies, officials set off in search of his reincarnation, interviewing and examining potential postulants. Listening to Quiet Earth by Austrian saxophonist Muriel Grossmann one cannot help but ask if she might be the reincarnation or avatar of the late John Coltrane. Certainly that is one heavy label to place upon Grossmann but, a few minutes into the opener "Wien," and there is little doubt this artist has the proper bona fides.

The composition carries that A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965) vibe with a reverence for the ethereal. She is backed by her longtime collaborators, guitarist Radomir Milojkovic, bassist Gina Schwarz, and drummer Uros Stamenkovic, plus organist Llorenc Barcelo who came aboard for the previous release Reverence (2019). Both recordings are available as CDs from Dreamlandrecords or as 200 gram LPs from RR GEMS. "Wien" doesn't parrot that Coltrane masterpiece, it expands upon the concept with Barceló's organ pointing towards the spiritual jazz of Larry Young, and Milojkovic's guitar chewing on some Delta blues.

Like every succession of the Dalai Lama, Grossmann's music carries not just the previous incarnation but also its lineage. "African Call" travels back to the roots of jazz to its motherland, Stamenkovic and Schwarz laying down the rhythms that fuelled the birth of blues, jazz, and rock. If one need more proof of Grossmann's incarnation, "Peaceful River" first finds her on soprano before swapping to tenor saxophone, as its Gospel blues expands into a kind of awakened devotional music where Stamenkovic works his ride cymbal very much in the manner of Elvin Jones. The title track opens with Grossmann drawing first from Ornette Coleman's sound before returning to the Coltrane spirit with her soprano saxophone. Her quartet blossoms with sleek solos by Milojkovic and Barceló before a brief saxophone, bass and drums improvisation acts as a kind of coming attractions preview. By Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/quiet-earth-muriel-grossman-rr-gems-dreamlandrecords

Personnel: Muriel Grossmann: saxophone; Radomir Milojkovic: guitar, electric; Gina Schwarz: bass; Uros Stamenkovic: drums; Llorenc Barcelo: organ, Hammond B3.

Quiet Earth

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Muriel Grossmann - Elevation

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:40
Size: 105,5 MB
Art: Front

( 9:53) 1. Elevation
(12:44) 2. Rising
( 8:24) 3. Chant
( 6:00) 4. Your Pace
( 8:37) 5. Peace For All

In some ways, listening to a Muriel Grossmann album is like stepping back in time. Reflections of Coltrane, Dolphy and Sanders catch the light in my mind’s eye, dancing spirits infused with the power of discovery and inner healing. But it’s so much more than that. Embodying the borderless, fearless, pan-continental energies of contemporary modern jazz, Grossmann’s playing truly embodies the directness and eloquence of the older generation whilst capturing a new, fresh and inspiring virtuosity that leaves me breathless with admiration.

Born in Paris, raised in Vienna, resident in Ibiza, saxophonist and composer Muriel Grossmann has released a dozen albums as leader, going back to the early 2000s. Featuring sounds ranging from hard-swinging modernist jams to free improvisation, expansive spiritual work to rhythm-focussed Afrocentrism, there has always been a distinctive thread of pure and heartfelt spiritual music at the centre of her work. You can’t play this music successfully if you don’t mean it like the music of her contemporary Nat Birchall, Grossmann’s engagement with the Coltrane tradition is sincere and deep. Her music resonates within the tradition, adding her own innovative voice to the story of modal and spiritual jazz in Europe.

“Elevation” is a vinyl only release from Jazzman, and draws on a selection from her 2016 CD album Natural Time (‘Your Pace’, ‘Peace For All’) and from 2017’s CD Momentum (‘Elevation’, ‘Chant’ and ‘Rising’). I discovered Grossman’s music relatively recently, through her two more recent albums, Reverence, and Golden Rule, both released on the RR Gems label. I instantly fell in love with her sound. Featuring her regular quartet of Radomir Milojkovic (guitar) Uros Stamenkovic (drums) and Gina Schwarz (bass), the music chosen for this album has the same feel and vibe to it as her more recent releases, encompassing all that is bold and beautiful about the way she and her band bring together a captivating sense of intimacy, joy and freedom from the glorious music they are performing.

Side A kicks off with a sense of urgency. The retro-feel to Grossmann’s music just adds to the vitality of it all. Crisp, sparkling, melodic invention mixes seamlessly with the deep grooves that arrive quickly, staying present for the tune’s duration, allowing for the gloriously spontaneous soloing to drift in and out of the title track. ‘Rising’ continues in a similar vein, the quartet creating a luxurious atmosphere that floats and slowly spills its gifts of life into the welcoming consciousness. As with all of the tunes here, the solid link between drums and bass, and sax and guitar, leaves a lasting impression, not unlike a late ’60s early ’70s improvisational Jan Garbarek/Terje Rypdal Quartet. Side B has a slightly less raw edge to it, with the sublime ‘Chant’ speaking volumes in a subtle, unhurried way. Alluring and timeless, ‘Your Pace’ is soulful and beguiling, it’s meditative melody enriched by the undoubted connection this group of musicians share. The closing piece ‘Peace For All’ features Grossmann at her best, her sax soulful and contemplative, before reaching out and soaring like a beautiful eagle flying over the most incredibly stunning mountain scenery. Emotive and strikingly innovative, this music is just so inspiring.By Mike Gates https://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/muriel-grossmann-3/

Personnel: Bass – Gina Schwarz; Drums – Uros Stamenkovic; Guitar – Radomir Milojkovic; Tenor Saxophone [Tenor], Alto Saxophone – Muriel Grossmann

Elevation

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Muriel Grossmann & Uno P. - Here and Now

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:10
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:46) 1. Listening
(5:53) 2. Flügel
(5:16) 3. Magnetic Universe
(4:12) 4. Joachim
(5:04) 5. Interaction
(3:17) 6. Kühn
(4:25) 7. Quintessence
(5:14) 8. Islandwind

Austrian alto, soprano, tenor saxophonist, singer and composer Muriel Grossmann was born in Paris and grew up in Vienna, where she initiated classical studies of flute at the age of five until twenty-one, when she switched to alto and soprano saxophone for further studies. Muriel Grossmann played and toured with various rhythm & blues, funk, world music and jazz groups and artists such as Hans Tschiritsch, Shani Ben Canar, Christoph Kurzmann, Geri Schuller, Pete Hoven, Robert Rehak, The Original Brothers. In 2002 she moved to Barcelona where she started to lead her own bands for recordings and concerts. Muriel Grossmann is resident in Ibiza since 2004, which marks a very fruitful recording and performing period.

Muriel Grossmann played and recorded with Joachim Kuehn, Wolfgang Reisinger, Rolf Kuehn, Martin Klingeberg, Thomas Heidepriem, Mark Vinci, Molly Duncan, Christian Lillinger, Johannes Fink, Robert Landfermann and Muriel Grossmann Barcelona Quartet featuring Radomir Milokovic on guitar, David Marroquin on upright and Marko Jelaca on drums, recording and performing original compositions. Grossmann played in Spain, Austria, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Greece, England, Morocco, South Africa, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, performing over 150 concerts a year. 2011-2014 Muriel Grossmann was performing and recording with quartet featuring Radomir Milojkovic (Belgrade) on guitar, Robert Landfermann (Cologne) on upright bass and Christian Lillinger (Berlin) on drums. Since 2014 she is working with Radomir Milojkovic (Belgrade) on guitar, Gina Schwarz (Vienna) on double bass and Uros Stamenkovic (Belgrade) on drums. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/murielgrossmann

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Muriel Grossmann; Drums – Uno P.

Here and Now

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Muriel Grossmann - Golden Rule

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:25
Size: 178,4 MB
Art: Front

(11:26) 1. Golden Rule
(11:21) 2. Core
( 9:12) 3. Promise
(10:17) 4. Direction
(14:51) 5. Traneing In
(12:07) 6. Trane
( 8:09) 7. Light

Since 2007, Austrian saxophonist and composer Muriel Grossmann has been assembling a catalog of arresting, deeply moving spiritual jazz from her perch in Ibiza, Spain. While she derives direct inspiration from John Coltrane's example, she employs a unique harmonic and polyrhythmic approach to composition and improvisation. It draws equally on blues, soul, and Eastern and European folk traditions. Adept on soprano, alto, and tenor, her nine previous albums are all linked by a unified sense of musical purpose and labyrinthine explorations of space, texture, and melody.

Golden Rule is Grossmann's tenth album and it's deep. This is the third date with her current quartet, comprising Austrian bassist Gina Schwarz, Serbian guitarist Radomir Milojkovic, and Serbian drummer Uros Stamenkovic. The communicative intuition of this group is not only empathic, it seems telekinetic in its anticipation, coloration, and articulation of Grossmann's inspired compositions informed directly by meditation. The title-track opener commences with soft, squalling sound on the soprano saxophone, gently strummed chords, and a bassline that evokes "A Love Supreme" before Stamenkovic's double-timed multivalent rhythm attack. Grossmann offers an inverted quote from the Coltrane tune as a theme but moves off into a serpentine bluesy solo as Milojkovic delivers his trademark vamp drones. The swirl of sound languages at work here, particularly in the interplay between Schwarz and Stamenkovic, is propulsive and earthy, even as Grossmann and her guitarist find their way into the stratosphere before bringing it back home some 11 minutes later. No matter how intense the exchanges between players, the music remains warm, open, and welcoming. By contrast, her tenor horn on "Core" wraps itself in stuttering trancelike guitar arpeggios before they aggressively dig into modal blues and spiritual funk together. After the abstract opening statement on "Promise," Milojkovic delivers a jagged, inquiring solo that is as cavernous rhythmically as it is harmonically. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is on the nearly-15-minute "Traneing In," where guitar chords, clattering cymbals, and shimmering snares roil up around Schwarz's upright bass in what initially seems to be a psychedelic folk-rock tune. While the cadence circles, Grossmann's soprano begins its departure immediately above this luxuriant din, poetically exploiting the margins, transcending them, and bringing back new ones for her accompanists to explore. She is in constant motion, adding ballast, foundation, and risk to the simple melody, freely allowing the ensemble to whirl around her "singing" on the horn. Milojkovic's solo adds a pointillistic contrast as it weaves rock and jazz traditions through the bassline and crashing cymbal work establishing a wily Eastern groove. On "Trane," she multi-tracks her soprano and tenor horns in a mantra-esque statement backed by restrained waves of electric guitar, minimal bass, and percussion before the ensemble begins to play the skeletally architected meta-melody and Grossmann's delve into the gutbucket modal blues on the tenor. Golden Rule is an 87-minute journey; it soothes, provokes, exhorts, cajoles, and beckons the listener ever deeper into its inner articulations of peace and turbulence in Grossmann's always affirmative language that is as pregnant with spiritual meaning as it is breathtaking sophistication.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/golden-rule-mw0003241531

Personnel: Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Muriel Grossmann; Bass – Gina Schwarz; Drums – Uros Stamenkovic; Guitar – Radomir Milojkovic

Golden Rule

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Muriel Grossmann - Reverence

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:48
Size: 181,9 MB
Art: Front

( 9:54) 1. Okan Ti Aye
( 9:26) 2. Union
( 9:42) 3. Water Bowl
( 8:57) 4. Sundown
( 9:47) 5. Chase
( 9:02) 6. Tribu
(10:23) 7. Afrika Mahala
(11:34) 8. Morning

Since the late 1990s, the Spanish island of Ibiza has been synonymous with two things: electronic dance music and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine aka MDMA or ecstasy. Austrian-born saxophonist Muriel Grossmann has lived on Ibiza since 2004 and her intense wall-of-sound style of astral jazz suggests she is familiar with both those pillars of Ibizan nightlife. Grossmann has not spent her time in Ibiza simply partying and chilling, however. Reverence is her eleventh album since moving to the island. She fronts her regular quartet comprising bass guitarist Gina Schwarz, drummer Uros Stamenkovic and guitarist Radomir Milojkovic, who has been with her since her debut, Homecoming Reunion (Dreamland, 2007). The group has been expanded for Reverence by Hammond B3 organist Llorenc Barcelo, who makes a terrific addition to the lineup.

Grossmann's main saxophone is the tenor, though she also plays alto and soprano. Her composing style is strictly modal and her sound evokes late period John Coltrane and post-Coltrane Pharoah Sanders. Her harmonic palette is limited but she makes up for it through the exuberance and commitment of her playing. Milojkovic brings echoes as diverse Sonny Sharrock, James Blood Ulmer and Grant Green; Barcelo's B3 is winningly retro; and Schwarz and Stamenkovic drive the groove. Such is the band's hard-wired intensity on some of the tracks that it touches on La Monte Young and drone music. "Count Basie once said about his band that he wanted it sounding like one big drum," says Grossman. "That's what I aimed for with this album." She hits the target, ramping things up with a little Phil Spector along the way and enriching the percussive mix with African instruments including a balafon, kalimba and ngoni. Reverence is a double album which clocks in at around 77 minutes. The pace is mostly high energy but Grossmann rings the changes with more restrained and reflective passages. If you like some rocket fuel with your astral jazz, this one is for you. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/reverence-muriel-grossmann-rr-gems

Personnel: Muriel Grossmann: saxophone; Radomir Milojkovic: guitar, electric; Llorenc Barcelo: organ, Hammond B3; Gina Schwarz: bass; Uros Stamenkovic: drums.

Reverence

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