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ACT FAMILY BAND The Jubilee Concerts ACT 9860-2

 

1. Send In The Clowns

2. Walk Tall

3. Savannah Samurai

4. Suffering

5. Missing A Page

6. Quo Vadis

7. B & H

8. Dodge The Dodo

9. We Are Family

    

   Since its first release in 1992, the ACT label has proved to be a major presence in European jazz, fostering and promoting both established and new talent. Under the guidance of founder Siggi Loch, ACT has become a by-word for imaginative and innovative music. On April 2^nd 2017, a day of concerts, celebrating the label's 25^th Anniversary and featuring thirty-four artistes on the ACT roster, took place in the Berlin Konzerthaus. This album of recordings taken during that day makes an appropriate memento of the occasion. Inevitably, in a collection of this kind, some tracks have more appeal than others. Those with a taste for free jazz will be drawn to Missing A Page, a Joachim Kühn original by the veteran German pianist and composer, which pairs Kühn with French saxophonist, Emile Parisien. There was no doubting the enthusiasm of their audience for this full-throttle piece. Similarly, B & H will have its fans. At just over twelve minutes in length, this idiosyncratic, surreal, helter-skelter Vincent Peirani composition is almost unclassifiable. It is certainly different.

   For my part, Suffering, by the Swedish multi-instrumentalist (here he plays cello), Lars Danielsson, spoke most to me. A super-group do justice to a fine composition. Notable are Rantala's command and fluency on piano, Nguyên Lê's extensive and impassioned guitar and the excellent Nils Landgren on trombone. Landgren chips in as a vocalist on Sondheim's Send In The Clowns and manages to convey well the poignancy of the song. He also briefly contributes on trombone. Michael Wollny is exquisite on piano. Walk Tall is a complete contrast. Landgren is known for his Funk Unit and the specially assembled group of musicians live up to that job description with a dynamic ensemble performance. Judging by their response, the audience clearly enjoyed Savannah Samurai, a catchy tune given the full treatment, nimble and humorous, by two virtuosos of the bass, Dieter Ilg and Lars Danielsson. Quo Vadis, meanwhile, has violinist Adam Baldych centre stage. At first marked by a gentle charm, the piece moves into more experimental territory as it progresses, with a dash of folkiness thrown in also. Joachim Kühn shows impressive vigour on piano while Baldych sounds completely at home in a jazz setting.

   The penultimate track, Dodge The Dodo, is performed by Tears For Esbjörn and features Noa (drums) and Ruben (guitar), sons of the late, lamented Esbjörn Svensson of EST fame. This hustling, bustling number reminds us of EST's musical accessability and the excitement the group generated. Amidst the overall cohesion and wonderful sound here, Ruben contributes a guitar solo of real substance. We Are Family, if a tad repetitious, provides a rousing finale by all concerned, led by Ida Sand. The album overall is a reminder of a great occasion yet, of course, only reflects some of the array of talent linked with ACT. May the next twenty five years be crowned with similar distinction!

   James Poore

10. Track 1 Nils Landgren - Trombone, vocals, Michael Wollny - Piano

    Track 2 Nils Landgren - Trombone, Michael Wollny - Piano, Ulf Wakenius - Guitar,

    Lars Danielsson - Bass, Wolfgang Haffner - Drums

    Track 3 Dieter Ilg, Lars Danielsson - Bass

    Track 4 Nguyên Lê - Guitar, Iiro Rantala - Piano, Nils Landgren - Trombone, Lars

    Danielsson - Cello, Dieter Ilg - Bass

    Track 5 Joachim Kühn - Piano, Emile Parisien - Saxophone

    Track 6 Adam Baldych - Violin, Joachim Kühn - Piano, Dieter Ilg - Bass, Eric

    Schaefer - Drums

    Track 7 Andreas Schaerer - Voice, Emile Parisien - Saxophone, Vincent Peirani -

    Accordion, Michael Wollny - Piano

    Track 8 Iiro Rantala - Piano, Adam Baldych - Violin, Magnus Lindgren - Flute,

    arranger, Nils Landgren - Trombone, Lars Danielsson - Bass, Ulf Wakenius,

    Ruben Svensson - Guitar, Noa Svensson - Drums

    Track 9 Ida Sand (lead), Cæcilie Norby, Viktoria Tolstoy, Andreas Schaerer - Vocals

    Nils Landgren - Trombone, Magnus Lindgren, Emile Parisien - Saxophones,

    Adam Baldych - Violin, Michael Wollny, Jan Lundgren - Piano, Joachim

    Kühn - Fender Rhodes, Vincent Peirani - Accordion, Ulf Wakenius, Nguyên

    Lê - Guitars, Lars Danielsson, Dieter Ilg - Bass, Wolfgang Haffner, Morton

    Lund - Drums

 

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