Fire

GEORG BREINSCHMID: Fire
Preiser, 2012

CAFÉ JAZZ – Yay! This is a super-fun mix of swing and silliness from Austrian bassist Breinschmid, who comes originally from the classical orchestra world but has jazz chops to spare. Some tracks are trios with violin & piano, and others are duos with trumpet. Some are live, some are studio recordings. Styles are a jumble, with straight-up jazz jostling with folk-dance rhythms, novelty numbers and playful improvisations. Several tracks also have vocals, in German with a Viennese dialect.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11

1. 2:44 – fast, nutty trio romp; technically a polka
2. 4:27 – goofy uptempo duet, swings like mad as trumpet & bass trade off
3. 3:50 – breezy trio samba, pizzicato violin; everybody trades off solos
4. 5:49 – vocal duet with bass: a lazy swing, strange lyrics about amnesia
5. 7:33 – cool trio dance in odd meter; opens up for solos, then gets hot
6. 5:11 – uptempo duet in bizarre time signatures, plus a falsetto “Ode to Joy”
7. 8:23 – ballad: solo piano sets up a lovely, very gentle waltz for the trio
8. 6:47 – spoken intro; great trumpet & humorous vocals about “serious music”
9. 6:56 – traditional Hungarian tunes for trio, played with sweeping flair
10. 4:57 – happy little duet stroll: bass dances around trumpet melody
11. 8:38 – unpredictable tune roams far & wide… even into the chicken dance!
12. 6:04 – nostalgic duet vocal about Old Vienna… and back-alley abortions
13. 6:06 – Parisian-style musette waltz for quartet, with some wacky surprises
14. 1:21 – happy little bounce: vocals about voodoo-doll revenge

BONUS DISC

1. 3:48 – straight jazz trio, swings nicely
2. 5:49 – same as #4 on main album, but with more going on in the vocals
3. 9:40 – brisk quartet runs through a wide variety of rhythms and folkdances
4. 5:51 – outtakes from #12 on the main album

[ Fo ] - April 2012