Hans Koller Oktett & Wolfgang Dauner Trio - Jazz Studio - H.G.B.S Number One (2017) [Hi-Res]

This is a classic – the jazz album that signaled the beginning of Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer’s storied SABA-MPS record company, and pointed the way to the label’s next two decades of creative, beautifully recorded music performed by some of the greatest players in jazz. Saxophonist Hans Koller stands as the most important figure in post-war Austrian jazz and was a major influence on the German scene. Besides his fame as a band leader, he played with such masters as Lee Konitz, Oscar Pettiford, and Martial Solal. On Jazz Studio, Koller heads an octet fronted by five saxophones. Four tightly arranged compositions explore the ins and outs of the mainstream. They include H.G. B. S.’s swinging, straight ahead Ganz Private, the cleverly arranged Racy, the sax showcase Five at a Time, and the bop-inflected Fips. Jazz Studio is also the first album in German keyboardist-composer Wolfgang Dauner’s long, successful career. His various experiments fusing jazz, classical, rock and avant-garde elements catapulted him to the front of contemporary European jazz. Here, his trio includes bassist Götz Wendland and the well-known Kurt Bong on bongos. Dauner takes on Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So in lilting ¾ time, while there’s a quickened ‘twilight’ feel to Sonny Rollin’s Oleo. The evergreen At The Darktown Strutter’s Ball is given a leisurely twirl before upping the tempo, and Dauner and co. turn the Latin jazz classic Cubano Chant into an expressive tour de force. A historic album featuring Koller’s mainstream persona, and Dauner’s inventive interpretations.

DarHans Koller, tenor saxophone
Karl Drewo, tenor saxophone
Rudi Flierl, tenor saxophone
Darek Humble, alto saxophone
Helmut Reinhardt, baritone saxophone
Götz Wendland, bass
Kurt Bong, bongos
Sperie Karas, drums
Hans Hammerschmid, piano
Wolfgang Dauner, piano

Digitally remastered