AprilCadence2013

Jazz Stories: A Photo History
humair, as well as bassist henri Texier, and the three provide spirited propulsion for
an energetic Woods. all, Gruntz included, play their asses off throughout; he also
penned one of the album’s tunes.
The mps Years, by the George Gruntz concert jazz Band (motor music 533
552, 1996). a sampler spanning five albums, from 1971 (the proto-cjB) to 1980,
this is a valiant stab at an impossible task, which is to contain a decade’s evolution
of this occasional but substantial group
onto a single cd. it covers a lot of waterfront, displaying growth in several
directions. if this piques further interest, my recommendation would be to consult the
aforementioned discography and choose what comes next based on which album’s
personnel most floats your boat. it’s different every time.
close encounTer, by franco ambrosetti Quintet (enja 3017, 1978).
Trumpeter franco, son of saxophonist flavio, was another cjB co-founder, and he
shared a longer and more varied history with Gruntz than any other musician. here
we hear Gruntz supporting, with flying colors, as he had for Woods but now with
another decade’s experience, and it shows, beautifully.
newcomer Bennie Wallace had just recorded his own first album a few weeks
before playing this date, which includes his only known work waxed on soprano sax.
hard to find but worth the search.
happeninG noW!, by the George Gruntz concert jazz Band ‘87 (hat arT 6008,
1988). recorded live at Texas’ fabled caravan of dreams, this is about as hugely
powerful as the cjB juggernaut ever got. setting the stage on fire seems to have
been standard operating procedure,
never more so than with the Gruntz-penned finale “emergency call,” all 19:55
worth. if you’re only going to get one of his large-ensemble albums, this is The one
to Get. another obscure gem to search for is the same label’s sampler Kimus #1
(hat arT 6000, 1988) with a nearly 23-minute version of “emergency call.” make
sure your seat belt is fastened.
serious fun, by the George Gruntz Trio (enja 6038, 1990, also mesa/
Bluemoon 79659, 1990). a live one from Gruntz’s home town of Basel, in trio with
bassist mike richmond and drummer adam nussbaum, featuring franco ambrosetti
as special guest. This album’s title best enunciates what Gruntz was all about, i.e.,
embracing just as much profound enjoyment in the process of playing the music
as in plumbing one’s own deepest depths to create it. Though i wasn’t in the club
during this recording, many times i did see George relishing every note while
he played, and can imagine him grinning as he played this gig, with a smile
surpassing that of the cheshire cat.
BiG Band record, by ray anderson (Gramavision 79497, 1994). subtitled
‘performed by the George Gruntz concert jazz Band,’ this are all raybone’s tunes
arranged by George. anderson and Gruntz both had a hand in choosing the 18
musicians, resulting in about as ‘out’ a roster as cjB ever had, and they deliver
the goods repeatedly, especially with avant-dixieland on “seven monsters,” and
78 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013