UMUR

Jonas
Forum Newbie ·
Registered more than 2 years ago · Last visit 60 days ago

Favorite Jazz Artists

All Reviews/Ratings

19 reviews/ratings
FRANK ZAPPA - One Size Fits All (as Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention) Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Sheik Yerbouti Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Sleep Dirt Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
SOT - King Of Saltz Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
KING CRIMSON - The Power To Believe Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
SOT - Redwings Nest Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Zappa in New York Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Zoot Allures Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
PANDORA SNAIL - War And Peace Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Studio Tan Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
SECRET OYSTER - Secret Oyster Fusion | review permalink
SOT - Kogel Mogel Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
SOT - Soma Forms Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
SOT - Monster Master Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
WEATHER REPORT - Domino Theory Fusion | review permalink
WEATHER REPORT - This Is This Fusion | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Orchestral Favorites Third Stream | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Joe's Corsage Jazz Related Rock | review permalink
FRANK ZAPPA - Francesco Zappa Third Stream | review permalink

Jazz Genre Nb. Rated Avg. rating
1 Jazz Related Rock 14 4.00
2 Fusion 3 3.17
3 Third Stream 2 2.50

Latest Albums Reviews

SOT Monster Master

Album · 2022 · Jazz Related Rock
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
"Monster Master" is the fourth full-length studio album by Norwegian avant garde/progressive rock act SOT. The album was released through Sotanic Sounds in October 2022. It´s the successor to "Kogel Mogel" from 2016 although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2020 "Soma Forms" single. There´s been one lineup change since "Kogel Mogel" (2016) as drummer Anders Hunstad has been replaced by Arild Nyborg (who also played on the "Soma Forms" (2020) single).

Six years between albums is a long time even in our days, but SOT sound more or less like they´ve done since day one. Guitars, drums, and tuba (which often functions as the bass does in other music), and the occasional vocal part to spice things up. There´s a strong jazz/fusion influence heard throughout the album, but "Monster Master" is an eclectic release, so that´s just one of the musical influences heard on the album. The tracks are dynamic, shifting between atmospheric parts and wild busy avant garde rock sections. The tracks are also loaded with tempo changes and odd-metered time signatures. It´s quite adventurous music and you never really know where SOT will take you next, which is one of the great assets of the album. It´s highly entertaining and engaging all the way through the 42:50 minutes that it lasts.

The sound production is organic, stripped down, and of a good quality, suiting the material well. And it´s the organic way the music sounds and the organic way it is performed that are the greatest strengths of "Monster Master". Hearing the tuba being an integral part of music like this is pretty interesting too, and it´s quite unique. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

SOT Soma Forms

Single · 2020 · Jazz Related Rock
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
"Soma Forms" is a single release by Norwegian avant garde/progressive rock act SOT. The single was released through Sotanic Sounds in November 2020. It´s a one-track single bridging the gap between the band´s third and fourth full-length studio albums "Kogel Mogel" (2016) and "Monster Master" (2022). There´s been one lineup change since "Kogel Mogel" (2016) as drummer Anders Hunstad has been replaced by Arild Nyborg.

So four years down the line since the release of "Kogel Mogel" (2016), SOT suddenly pop up again with this one-track single. And what a single track it is. Powerful, technical, eclectic avant garde rock, featuring drums, guitars, samples, and something as untraditional as tuba. The tuba is of course not a surprise if you already know the preceding releases by SOT, but it´s still quite interesting to hear tuba used this prominently in rock music. Sometimes the tuba works like the bass does in other rock music, but because of it´s unique timbre, it adds a distinct atmosphere to SOT´s music, that you won´t find in much other music.

"Soma Forms" is a both well produced and well written track going through many different sections and musical styles, and it´s quite intriguing and relatively accessible in the world of avant garde rock. Compared to the relatively stripped down recorded live in the studio material from "Kogel Mogel" (2016), this single features a more layered and polished sound production, and personally I think that´s the right choice for SOT. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

SOT Kogel Mogel

Album · 2016 · Jazz Related Rock
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
"Kogel Mogel" is the third full-length studio album by Norwegian avant garde/progressive rock act SOT. The album was released through Sotanic Sounds in November 2016. It´s the successor to "Redwings Nest" from 2014 and features the same trio lineup who recorded the predecessor. All tracks were recorded live in the studio without overdubs during a five day recording session in June 2016 at Mølla Studio, Gjerstad, Norway.

Stylistically the material on "Kogel Mogel" is a continuation of the eclectic avant garde/progressive rock style of the band´s first two albums. The tracks are quite intriguing and relatively complex in structure, shifting atmosphere and musical styles in the matter of seconds. It´s still relatively accessible for an avant garde oriented release, but it´s not easy listening material by any means. In fact I´d say "Kogel Mogel" is SOT´s least accessible release of the first three albums. While the main instruments on the album are tuba (which often works as the bass does in other band´s), drums, and guitar, the album features occasional odd/silly type vocals, and some keyboards too. Some guest musicians also add saxophone and strings to some parts.

The influences are many and there´s for example a strong jazz influence heard throughout the album (especially on the tracks where saxophonist Grzech Piotrowski guests), but this is not as such jazz/fusion...it´s simply too weird and experimental for that. The technical level of playing is through the roof, and this is music which will keep you on your toes. It demands your attention and with the many shifts in style, pace, and dynamics, it´s impossible not to feel greatly entertained.

"Kogel Mogel" features an organic, raw, and detailed sounding production, which to my ears is a slight step down in quality from the sound production of the first two albums, but it´s still overall a good quality production. Upon conclusion "Kogel Mogel" is a both challenging but also immediate avant garde rock album and while I prefer the first two albums to this one, a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved.

FRANK ZAPPA Joe's Corsage

Live album · 2004 · Jazz Related Rock
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
"Joe's Corsage" is a full-length album release by US avant garde rock act Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention. The album was released through Vaulternative Records in May 2004. "Joe's Corsage" features archive material recorded in 1964-1965. Some or probably most of it while the band were still called The Soul Giants. The album was compiled by archivist Joe Travers. Most of the material are demo recordings of tracks that in their final form would appear on the band´s debut album "Freak Out! (1966)", but also a few tracks that would appear on "Absolutely Free (1967)" and "We're Only In It For The Money (1968)". In addition to the demos there are also a couple of live cover tracks by Righteous Brothers and Marvin Gaye. There are also a couple of interludes on the album where Frank Zappa speaks of the origins of the band and his influences, taken from interviews from the sixties.

If you are already familiar with the early material by the band and the doo woop/r´n´b style of tracks like "Anyway the Wind Blows" and "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder" you pretty much know what to expect from "Joe's Corsage". The versions on this album vary from the ones that ended up on the studio albums, but for the most part the tracks aren´t terribly different from the studio versions. A track like "I'm So Happy I Could Cry", which ended up being titled "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" on "We're Only In It For The Money (1968)" featuring a new set of lyrics, is one of the tracks that sound a bit different from the studio version, but otherwise I think there are little here that´ll be of interest to anyone but the most hardcore collectors. Still the recordings are of good quality with a, for the time, remarkably good sound production and of course there´s nothing wrong with the quality of the material either, so a 3 star (60%) rating is fair.

FRANK ZAPPA Orchestral Favorites

Album · 1979 · Third Stream
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
"Orchestral Favorites" is a live album release by US artist Frank Zappa. The album was released through DiscReet Records in May 1979. It´s the successor to "Sheik Yerbouti" from March 1979. All material featured on "Orchestral Favorites", was originally meant to be featured on the shelved "Läther" box-set, but ended up being released as one of four individual album releases, instead of the collective work that would have been the "Läther" box-set.

The 5 tracks featured on "Orchestral Favorites" were recorded during three sessons on the 17th-19th of September 1975, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus with conductor Michael Zearott and the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. The first two sessions were recorded as concerts with an audience, while the last session was done without an audience. Zappa spliced the best parts from the three sessions together and added an overdub guitar solo on "Duke of Prunes". It´s a combined classical orchestra and rock group performance, so in addition to the classical music instruments like violin, oboe, and clarinet, the music also features regular rock music instrumentation of guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums. The music is fully instrumental.

The melodic, dynamic, and symphonic "Strictly Genteel" opens the album. An early version of this composition with vocals was included on the "200 Motels" (1971) film and soundtrack. Themes from "200 Motels" (1971) are also used on the closing track "Bogus Pomp". "Pedro's Dowry" and "Naval Aviation in Art" are avant garde tinged classical music pieces, showing Zappa´s more experimental side. "Duke of Prunes", which was originally featured on "Absolutely Free" (1967), is featured here in a re-arranged classical orchestra/rock group version. The above mentioned overdubbed guitar solo is pretty intense, featuring an almost constant near feedback noisy approach.

While "Orchestral Favorites" certainly features a couple of intriguing moments, it´s arguably the least interesting release culled from the shelved "Läther" material. According to Zappa he spend around $200,000 on this project, and honestly I can´t say I think those money was well spend. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong though as there are enough great elements to warrant that rating.

Latest Forum Topic Posts

  • Posted more than 2 years ago in Does Zeuhl belong in JMA?
    As I wrote it was just an example of how a non-jazz tag could work if it is deemed that some releases in an artist´s discography are not "jazz" enough. As such I´m not commenting on Magma or Zeuhl. It´s not exactly my area of expertice.
  • Posted more than 2 years ago in Does Zeuhl belong in JMA?
    [QUOTE=Sean Trane][QUOTE=UMUR] On MMA we have a non-metal tag option, which means that the release can´t be reviewed. If you have a similar option here on JMA, maybe you can tag the first couple of Magma releases with the jazz-related rock tag and apply the non-jazz tag to the rest. ...ah the beauty of individual release tagging. [/QUOTE]   I personally feel that there is enough jazz on all Magma albums that they should be reviewed.    [/QUOTE]  I don´t know which releases should be tagged non-jazz and which shouldn´t (maybe you are right that non of them should be tagged non-jazz) because I´ve only listened to the first couple of albums at this point. It was just an example of how things could work.
  • Posted more than 2 years ago in Does Zeuhl belong in JMA?
    On MMA we have a non-metal tag option, which means that the release can´t be reviewed. If you have a similar option here on JMA, maybe you can tag the first couple of Magma releases with the jazz-related rock tag and apply the non-jazz tag to the rest....ah the beauty of individual release tagging.

Shouts

Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Natsuki Tamura-Satoko Fujii-Ramon Lopez : Yama Kawa Umi Avant-Garde Jazz
NATSUKI TAMURA / SATOKO FUJII
Buy this album from MMA partners
Horns Locked Hard Bop
NICK HEMPTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Solstice Post-Fusion Contemporary
PAOLO RUSSO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Why Not? Eclectic Fusion
ZAKK JONES
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us