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Binding: Audio CDEAN: 0602517373211 Label: Ecm Records Manufacturer: Ecm Records MPN: 000966402 Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Ecm Records Release Date: September 25, 2007 Studio: Ecm Records Editorial Review: Album Description: Playground is the eagerly-awaited second ECM album from star French drummer Manu Katché. His first ECM record, Neighbourhood, garnered many prizes and awards, and was a favorite among jazz fans. The new recording picks up where Neighbourhood left off, and in the interim the group has coalesced into a rip-roaring and fully-integrated band. Manu's group, featuring a Polish/Norwegian confederacy of young players, is energized by his hard-driving drums, and together, the quintet - whose strong new frontline features Mathias Eick and Trygve Seim - plays exciting, zestful music. Playground's rhythm section is - as on Neighbourhood - the powerhouse team of Manu, Marcin Wasilewski and Slawomir Kurkiewicz. Katché's four band mates represent the leading line of young European jazz artists, and on two tracks, guitar guru David Torn joins the group lending a magical touch with his unique sound. Manu's compositions are all new, and every tune is extremely accessible - catchy melodies and toe-tapping rhythms abound! Manu Katché is one of the best-known drummers in the world today. His listening constituency extends far beyond jazz through his playing on hundreds of rock and pop records, including discs by Peter Gabriel, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, the Bee Gees, Tori Amos, Tracy Chapman and many, many more. However, he has always maintained that jazz is his first love and he has been an ardent follower of music on ECM since he was 15. He first appeared on ECM with Jan Garbarek in 1990 and went on to perform on five of Garbarek's ECM albums. Neighbourhood was Katché's first ECM leader album and was released in 2006. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Gorgeous Jazz MasterpieceThis CD is a beautiful sonic landscape. It marries gorgeous tonal brass melodies over lovely rhythmic foundations. I enjoyed it better than Manu's first, and it bears no resemblance to his work with Peter Gabriel. It stands alone with melodious solos and are a treat from start to finish, which as a rarity these days. Carry on Manu! Rating:  - Worst album everManu Katche was known to me as one of the grooviest drummers on the planet. So why would you put your name to a band that doesn't reflect your own personal style and display those fantastic groves that you are famous for? Surely I am not the only drummer who has bought this album on the strength of your reputation as an innovative drummer. This album could have redeemed itself had the compositions been of a standard worthy of such a musician. The horn section seriously is enough to ... Read More Rating: - Big future for Manu KatcheThis is the first time I hear of Manu Katche. Am I surpised? Yes; as a second release for this young drummer, he fits well among the great Jazz drummer composers, like Cobham, Williams and Roach. His music is by far different yet it is simply; beautiful. Would I recommend this album? You bet, if you are a Hardcore Jazz listener, you will find this album extremely fresh, tight and well arranged. Playground Rating: - PlaygroundPlayground This is a haunting piece of Euro Jazz that somehow fits the times in which we live. Manu Katche's compositions and the technical ability of the musicians playing with him use their instruments to speak of the world-weariness so many of us feel and to the quest for spiritual connection we seek with each other and with the universe in which we live. I especially liked the trumpet solos by Mathias Eick. Katche's drumming is steady, inventive, yet never overpowering. Rating: - Reincarnation of the coolI eagerly awaited this CD, as I heard the quintet live in Amsterdam, a couple of months after they had been recording this in New York. I am happy to say the same atmosphere of the concert pervades this record. The brilliant rhythm section I already knew from Neighbourhood, and recent Tomasz Stanko recordings, creates an exciting and beautiful soundscape. The Norwegian horn line up was a revelation, however. Clearly from the school of Jan Garbarek, these Vikings show mastery and a fine sense of style. ... Read More |
