Klaus Ignatzek Group - Live at Leverkusener Jazztage (Remaster 2023) (2024) [Hi-Res]

In spring '96, Rainer Wiedensohler got the idea to re-release the 1986 album Klaus Ignatzek Group, Live in Leverkusen as a CD. Not only that, but he thought of adding two bonus tracks. He asked me to listen to the original tape and select two extra tracks which would fit. These recordings were a whole decade ago and not only hadn't I listened to them for a long while: I only had a dim recollection of the gig. I was thus very curious on putting the tape into the machine, and was taken back 10 years to the night the recording was made.
Naturally, my inner distance to these tracks had also grown in the space of 10 years. So it was more with the ears of a critic that I found myself listening to them once again. I was actually very surprised to feel the fascination of the concert returning, just as it had been 10 years before. The band was still brewing up that infectious blend of fun, energy, freshness, swing and, above all, GROOVE! May­be it was because at the time we had been touring across Europe in the previous four weeks, taking in such places as Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva and Munich, and were all fired up for this gig.
Bobby, Roman, Dieter and Mario all show their great crea­­tivity on these cuts and provide plenty of hints about the heights they were going to reach in the years ahead, a period in which they all developed into artists of great repu­tation.
Bobby Watson, musically moulded by his years as musical director with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, is as great a soloist as he is bandleader, and his creativity has been captured on countless recordings. It is surely the depth of his work which prompted readers of the American jazz magazine "Downbeat" to award him the accolade of Jazz Musician of the Year during the late eighties.
Roman Schwaller, was a long-time member of the famous and innovative Vienna Art Orchestra. After a short intermezzo in the NDR big band, he took some time out from music, dedicating himself to his second big passion - parachute jumping! Luckily for us, in 1995 he re-emerged on the less dangerous but probably just as exciting world of music and has made a name on the international music scene with his jazz quartet.
After this album was recorded, Dieter Ilg became a member of the Randy Brecker band for several years, at the same time playing with other big names on the music scene. With so much experience under his belt, it is no surprise that he has become established as the head of his own combo.
I'm not the only one who considers Mario Gonzi, just 20 summers old on the night of this gig, to be one of the most fascinating and exceptional drummers around. I know that my feelings are also shared by artists like Art Farmer, Paquito d'Rivera and Claudio Roditi, in whose line-ups he has played (not forgetting Roman Schwaller in whose quartet he is now playing!).
Before I sign off I'd just like to say "thank you" to Rainer for his idea for re-issuing this festival recording, and also for including the two previously unreleased tracks (A Wheel within a Wheel by Bobby Watson, and Ball Games by Dieter Ilg), and adding to the pleasure of those who appreciate jazz by extending the album by about thirty minutes.
Working on and listening to this project has given me a lot of pleasure. I can only hope that you the listener will be equally fascinated by the magic of these recordings.
Klaus Ignatzek

Bobby Watson - alto saxophone
Roman Schwaller - tenor saxophone
Klaus Ignatzek - piano
Dieter Ilg - bass
Mario Gonzi - drums

Tracklist:
1.01 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - A Wheel Within a Wheel (Remaster) (13:31)
1.02 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - Deformation (Remaster) (11:08)
1.03 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - Ball Games (Remaster) (15:22)
1.04 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - In Good Spirits (Remaster) (9:48)
1.05 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - Blue Energy (Remaster) (12:44)
1.06 - Klaus Ignatzek Group - Conversation (Remaster) (10:22)