Lee Konitz & Walter Lang Trio - Someone To Watch Over Me

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 55:54

Size: 128.0 MB

Styles: Saxophone jazz, Piano jazz

Year: 2011

Art: Front

[9:20] 1. Someone To Watch Over Me

[7:39] 2. Autumn Leaves

[5:26] 3. I Fall In Love Too Easily

[7:10] 4. East Of The Sun

[9:21] 5. All The Things You Are

[7:18] 6. Gone With The Wind

[9:37] 7. The Way You Look Tonight

One of the most individual of all altoists (and one of the few in the 1950s who did not sound like a cousin of Charlie Parker), the cool-toned Lee Konitz has always had a strong musical curiosity that has led him to consistently take chances and stretch himself, usually quite successfully. Early on he studied clarinet, switched to alto, and played with Jerry Wald. Konitz gained some attention for his solos with Claude Thornhill & His Orchestra (1947). He began studying with Lennie Tristano, who had a big influence on his conception and approach to improvising. Konitz was with Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool Nonet during their one gig and their Capitol recordings (1948-1950) and recorded with Lennie Tristano's innovative sextet (1949), including the first two free improvisations ever documented. Konitz blended very well with Warne Marsh's tenor (their unisons on "Wow" are miraculous) and would have several reunions with both Tristano and Marsh through the years, but he was also interested in finding his own way; by the early '50s he started breaking away from the Tristano school. Konitz toured Scandinavia (1951), where his cool sound was influential, and he fit in surprisingly well with Stan Kenton & His Orchestra (1952-1954), being featured on many charts by Bill Holman and Bill Russo. Konitz was primarily a leader from that point on. He almost retired from music in the early '60s but re-emerged a few years later. His recordings have ranged from cool bop to thoughtful free improvisations, and his Milestone set of Duets (1967) is a classic. In the late '70s Konitz led a notable nonet and in 1992 he won the prestigious Jazzpar Prize. He kept a busy release schedule throughout the '90s and dabbled in the world of classical music with 2000's French Impressionist Music from the Turn of the Twentieth Century. The Mark Masters Ensemble joined him for 2004's One Day with Lee, and in 2007 he recorded Portology with the Ohad Talmor Big Band. He has recorded on soprano and tenor but has mostly stuck to his distinctive alto. Konitz has led consistently stimulating sessions for many labels, including Prestige, Dragon, Pacific Jazz, Vogue, Storyville, Atlantic, Verve, Wave, Milestone, MPS, Polydor, Bellaphon, SteepleChase, Sonet, Groove Merchant, Roulette, Progressive, Choice, IAI, Chiaroscuro, Circle, Black Lion, Soul Note, Storyville, Evidence, and Philogy. In 2011, he released his own trio album Knowinglee and appeared on the live ECM date Live at Birdland (recorded in 2009) with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Paul Motian. ~ bio by Scott Yanow

The pianist Walter Lang founded in 1999 the Walter Lang Trio. The trio released succesful Cd's such as "Walter Lang Trio plays Charles Chaplin" (1999), "Across The Universe" (2002), "Softly as in a morning Sunrise" (2005) "The Sound Of A Rainbow"(2005), that received the "Best Sounding CD Award" by the japanese "Swing Journal", as well as the CD "Romantische Straße"(2007) that got the Gold Disc Award by "Swing Journal". The trio has been touring all over the world, and is especially loved by the japanese jazz fans. 

In 2008 the Walter Lang Trio regrouped: Thomas Markusson from Gothenburg/Sweden is playing bass now and Sebastian Merk from Berlin/Germany is the new drummer. Their first CD „Eurasia“ came out in 2009. Toghether with Lee Konitz, the Walter Lang Trio recorded their first CD for JAWO Records „Someone to watch over me“, in 2011. Their latest CD's „Starlight Reflections“ and "Moonlight Echoes“ were released in 2013 and 2015 by the japanese label Atelier Sawano.

Someone To Watch Over Me

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Walter Lang - Eurasia

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:01
Size: 130,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:23)  1. Last Train Home
(3:57)  2. Ack Vaermaland (Dear Old Stockholm)
(5:45)  3. Nights of Skopje
(6:05)  4. Ringo Oiwake
(4:01)  5. Que Reste T'il De Nos Amours? (I Wish You Love)
(4:31)  6. Estate
(7:02)  7. Madrid After Dark
(7:08)  8. Belalim
(5:27)  9. Omorfi Poli
(5:37) 10. Traveling Far

German pianist Walter Lang is big in Japan, with Eurasia being the sixth CD released there on the M&I Records label. A listen to any of these discs reveals something for the discerning taste of the Japanese jazz fan. Lang records mostly in the trio format piano, bass and drums and his approach in this setting can be said to fall in the interactive Bill Evans Trio mode, with a graceful lyricism, a supple use of touch, and an exquisite feel for engaging melodies, on both the tunes he chooses to cover and on his own original compositions. The set of music on Eurasia embraces the theme of a road trip across the great expanse of the Eurasian continent and begins for no other reason than to open with a beautiful melody in America, with Pat Metheny's nostalgic "Last Train Home." Spare single notes by Lang paint a poignant picture, expanding, as the trio-mates enter the tune, into a passing landscape of ephemeral beauty. A jump across the Atlantic lands in the familiar "Ack Vaermaland" (Dear Old Stockholm). 

A visit to Yugoslavia features Dusko Goykovich's rhythmically insistent "Nights of Skopje," while "Ringo Owake" represents Japan. The set also travels to France with "Que Reste T'il De Nos Amours" (I Wish You Love), Italy (Bruno Martino's "Estate"), Spain with the Lang original "Madrid After Dark," Turkey (Belalim), and Greece (Omorfi Poli). In a group of tunes originating in diverse cultures, the universal language of melody is the thread that ties the set together. Lang has a fine ear (and two magical hands) for an engaging melody, and his trio he works with at least three, including the modernized drum 'n' bass dance groove group, Trio Elf is as simpatico and interactive as any that can be heard in the piano trio format. Eurasia is a beautiful, first rate piano trio set one of the best of the year, and with its release Lang has risen to the top level of jazz piano artistry. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eurasia-walter-lang-m-and-i-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Walter Lang: piano; Thomas Markusson: bass; Sebastian Merk: drums.

Eurasia

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Walter Lang, Lee Konitz - Ashiya

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:57
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Monk's Cottage
(5:55)  2. The Good Way
(3:57)  3. Open Water
(0:24)  4. Interlude I
(4:40)  5. Ashiya
(5:14)  6. Soft Wind Blowing
(4:35)  7. Way Too Early
(3:38)  8. What A Treat
(3:54)  9. Valse Elegance
(6:08) 10. Casa Do Tom
(1:08) 11. Interlude II
(7:42) 12. Farewell
(1:47) 13. Epilogue

The veteran German jazz pianist Walter Lang welcomes alto sax great Lee Konitz for this special duo session. While they had worked together on-stage several times, this marks their first CD together. It is a bit unusual to hear Konitz focusing almost exclusively on another musician's material without adding a few of his own quirky reconstructions of standards, but all goes well, as the two players fit hand in glove. The meandering opener, "Monk's Cottage," has a recurring call-and-response theme. "The Good Way" has a classical air, with Konitz making a late entrance in a very lyrical setting. The ballad "Ashiya" has a melancholy air, with Lang's piano behind Konitz suggesting a lonely person pacing the floor in despair. The lush romanticism of "Valse Élégance" and the elegant "Casa do Tom" are also highlights. The two musicians collaborated on two brief interludes and the closing "Epilogue."~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/ashiya-mw0000781594

Personnel: Walter Lang (piano); Lee Konitz (alto saxophone).

Ashiya

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Jenny Evans - Gonna Go Fishin'

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:29
Size: 146,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:13)  1. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
(6:28)  2. Hope
(4:43)  3. Love is the answer
(6:04)  4. The Man I Love
(5:31)  5. Stolen moments
(5:47)  6. Für eine Nacht voller Seligkeit
(3:36)  7. In a natural way
(5:40)  8. Still She Dances
(6:00)  9. Black coffee
(5:39) 10. I'm gonna live till I die
(3:44) 11. Angel Eyes

English singer Jenny Evans covers a wide range of material in this live recording made at Munich's Jazzclub Unterfahrt. The rich-voiced alto conveys her emotions with powerful renditions of "The Man I Love," "Black Coffee," and "Angel Eyes." 

She has a lot of fun with the Duke Ellington-Peggy Lee collaboration "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" and scats up a storm in Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments." She contributed the lyrics to Dusko Goykovich's "Love Is the Answer" and arranged it with an Afro-Cuban flavor while just as easily switching gears to the exotic Middle Eastern sound of Rabih Abou-Khalil's "Still She Dances," with some more fine scatting, along with sensational drumming by Guido May and additional percussion by Biboul Darouiche. Evans' adventurous spirit and clear diction add to the value of this very enjoyable CD. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/gonna-go-fishin-mw0000007110

Personnel:  Jenny Evans (vocals); Peter O'Mara (guitar); Walter Lang (piano); Biboul Darouiche (percussion).

Gonna Go Fishin'

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Walter Lang Trio - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 53:18

Size: 122.0 MB

Styles: Piano jazz

Year: 2005

Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Monsieur Hulot

[5:18] 2. D'afrique

[4:37] 3. Autumn Leaves

[3:45] 4. October Breeze

[4:41] 5. Alone Together

[5:40] 6. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

[8:27] 7. Spring Is Here

[4:31] 8. Casino Estoril

[4:23] 9. Call On Bill

[4:03] 10. Pensao Central

[3:55] 11. Monsieur Hulot (Bonus Track)

You'll oftern hear it said of a jazz record that it pays to give the music your full attention. That's usually good advice; much of the jazz offered up doesn't fall into the "hit you over the head" category. Subtleties and nuance often prevail, which is especially true of piano trio sets. But I've found another tack to take on the initial encounter: I put a disc on as background music and go about my life. The winning sounds refuse to fade into the background; they insist on your attention. They reach out and grab you and say, "Listen to me."

The Walter Lang Trio's Softly As In A Morning Sunrise passes that test. It takes you by the shoulders and spins you around so that you face the speakers and gives you a little shake, the way the best contemporary piano trios—led by the Jarretts and the Mehldaus—do.

The set opens with a quirky, sharp-edged melody, piano alone, joined soon by bass/drums, on the Lang-penned piece "Monsieur Hulot." It's apparent right away that the group cohesion is first-rate, a push/pull, give and take conversation where the players are listening, responding, and complementing each others' remarks.

Seven of the eleven tunes are Lang originals, songs that sound as though they could be classics, especially the aforementioned opener, as well as "Casino Estoril," which churns along of a buoyant momentum; the spicy "Pensao Central"; and the beautifully pensive "Call on Bill." The set is well-paced, with the trio swinging back and forth between extroversion and introversion, working with a fine choice of standard fare that they put their own stamp on with reverence: "Autumn Leaves," "Alone Together," "Spring is Here," and the title tune.

A fine disc that should earn the Munich-based trio some attention on this side of the Atlantic. ~Dan McClenaghan

Walter Lang: piano; Nicolas Thys: bass; Rick Hollander: drums.

Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

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Philipp Weiss & Walter Lang - PWL

Size: 124,6 MB
Time: 53:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Waltz For Debby (3:25)
02. Close Enough For Love (3:24)
03. Young And Foolish (5:14)
04. Through The Ages (4:26)
05. Someone To Watch Over (6:21)
06. Smile (2:39)
07. Blame It On My Youth (5:20)
08. The Days Of Wine And Roses (3:04)
09. A Child Is Born (4:54)
10. The Way You Look Tonight (4:32)
11. Some Other Time (3:42)
12. Because Of You (3:24)
13. Stargate (3:15)

Personnel:
Philipp Weiss - Vocals
Walter Lang - Piano

Deeply rooted into jazz and matured over the years Philipp Weiss and Walter Lang present renditions of selected jazz standards in such a vibrant and passionate manner that will take us to a place of beauty and poetry. Their intimate interaction is both lustrous and easy as well as powerful and orchestral. The audience will experience an evening of chamber music as if Schubert stripped his 'Winterreise' of its classical appearance and made it into a jazz extravaganza.

Philipp Weiss:
Philipp Weiss is the first internationally acclaimed ‘German crooner’.He won the special award of the ‘Deutsche Verband der Konzertdirektionen’ (German Association f Concert Management) in 2005 followed by the “Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis” (Bavarian Award for Outstanding Performance in the Arts) in 2008.
His debut album titled 'You Must Believe In Spring' was released for Universal Music. He recorded it with the Steve Kuhn Trio in New York in 2004. His work got high praise from the critics.He collaborated with stars such as Didier Lockwood, Till Brönner, Kim Sanders, Nicola Conte, Fabrizio Bosso, Lew Soloff, Billy Drummond and Konstantin Wecker.

Walter Lang:
Walter Lang is a mainstay of the European Jazz scene and a celebrated star in Japan. Countless concerts with his own groups or in collaboration with artists such as Lee Konitz, James Moody, Chico Freeman or Dusko Goykovich bear witness to his immense versatility and creative force.
His reputation as composer and arranger is outstanding. The renowned Fono Forum writes: “Lang’s appealing compositions have that distinct quality inherent in most truly great music: Entertaining from the first second, they reveal a deeper sense with every listen.”
“Jazz at its best! A sound that burns itself into your memory.“

PWL

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