Triple CD review: Kurt Edelhagen & His Orchestra - The Unreleased WDR Jazz Recordings 1957 - 1974

This has just absolutely made my day! I know now how Columbus felt when he discovered the world was round or how I felt when I first heard The Atomic Mr Basie. This 3 CD set is up there with them and you can throw in the first sub four minute mile, the Moon landing and Steve Bruce still hanging on to his job at NUFC for good measure.

Forty tracks covering the period from 1957 to 1974 and featuring some of the greatest ever musicians from America, Europe and the UK many of whom played with the legendary Clarke-Boland Band and, indeed, Francy Boland does contribute several of the arrangements.

Edelhagen, was for many years the leading bandleader on mainland Europe providing a musical home for a whole gang of outstanding musicians as the personnel listings show. 

To even attempt to pick out just one stand-out track is impossible - perm any 1 from 40!

The musicians wail like as though there were no tomorrow and, with Brexit, maybe there isn't for today's players! 

With so many great musicians it's almost impossible to single any out one individual but, admittedly with a degree of parochialism, Derek Humble is fantastic. If you've previously thought of him as just a great lead alto player then think again! You'll be knocked out by his solos. If they haven't  got a blue plaque for him in Wheatley Hill they most certainly should have - even a statue. Lobby the council and bring this CD with you as irrefutable evidence.

If you're strapped for cash, sell some of your Basie's and Ellington's - sell your mother-in-law. 

Lance

PS: Having now reached CD3 which is still excellent with Maynard hitting the highs it doesn't quite match the other two discs. Mark Murphy sings Mc Arthur Park which, although credited to Jimmy Webb is totally different to MacArthur Park and nobody's left any cakes out in the rain - strange. Mark sounds good.

Release date March 26. Pre-order (£22.99)

CD1: Tubbes; El Mo; Mosquito’s Nightmare; Snap It; K-JD 485; Fatsination; I Remember Clifford; Blues For Bohemia; Save Your Love For Me; Till; Sweet Georgia Brown*; Sumphin; Black Velvet; Bohemia After Dark; Flookey Pootsey; KE.

Jimmy Deuchar, Milo Pavlovic, Fritz Weichbrodt, Dusko Goykovich (trumpets); Helmut Hauk, Christians Kellens, Ken Wray, Manfred Gätjens (trombones); Kurt Aderhold, Jean-Louis Chautemps, Derek Humble, Franz von Klenck, Eddie Busnello (saxes); Francis Coppieters (piano); Johnny Fischer (bass); Stuff Combe (drums). * Plus Toots Thielmans.

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CD 2: Yah-Yah-Blues; Sabbath Message; Chinatown, My Chinatown; Blues Fifteen; Shaw ‘Nuff; Beach; A Cool Day; Russian Roulette; Oliver Haydn Whigham III; 4 For Berlin; Work Song; In The Night; I Will Give You.

Hanne Wilfert, Shake Keane, Rick Kiefer, Horst Fischer (trumpets); Jiggs Whigham, Manfred Gätjens, Otto Bredl, Nick Hauck (trombones); Derek Humble, Heinz Kretzschmar, Wilton Gaynair, Karl Drewo, Kurt Aderhold (saxes); Bora Rokovic (piano); Peter Trunk (bass); Dai Bowen (drums).

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CD 3: Our Delight; Ole; Mo’ Joe; The Sentence; 4+3; Mc Arthur Park; Oni Puladi; Not Later Now; Triple Adventure; Black Eyed; Ow Dallab.

(Collective): Maynard Ferguson, Shake Keane, Benny Bailey, Manfred Schoof, Kenny Wheeler (trumpets); Jiggs Whigham, Albert Mangelsdorff (trombones);  Wilton Gaynair, Karl Drewo, Manfred Lindner, Ferdinand Povel (saxes); Bora Rokavic, Gordon Beck, Rob Franken (piano); Peter Trunk (bass); Gary Bogel (guitar); Philly Joe Jones, Tony Inzalaco, Ronnie Stephenson (drums); Mark Murphy (vocal).