Directed by Fritz K Renold, the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra is captured at a concert performance at the Jazzar Festival in Switzerland performing eight tunes by the director as well as a closer “Beirut.” There’s also an impressive guest list here, including Randy Brecker/tp, Mike Marinieri/vibes, Christian Jacob/p, Alphonso Johnson/b, Kevin Bryan/tp, Christian Kramer/tb and Rodney Holmes/dr. Johnson makes his presence most palpably felt on some funky licks on “I Got Ilse” and”Alkapuri” which both feature Brecker’s trumpet and some clever arrangements of the horn sections. Some bluesy moods swarm up on “Papa Rolf” while Jacob shows his lyrical swing on pi ano during “A New Kind” and his touch on the keyboards on ”Mandela.” The band glows on “Beirute” which as Felix Piringer delivering a solo on the ewi in a replica of Michael Brecker’s original version. The embers burn a medium orange here, not too hot, nor too cold.
Shanti Records