MARGITZA: August in Paris. Warm. St. Sonny. E Jones. PROTSCHKA: Mina. Black Forest. Hymn for the Suffering. Tom’s Groove / Peter Protschka, tpt/fl-hn; Rick Margitza, t-sax; Martin Sasse, pno; Martin Gjakpnovski, bs; Tobias Backhaus, dm / Double Moon Records DMCHR71397
Having previously released the live album Twilight Jamboree, German trumpeter-bandleader Peter Protschka here features his first studio recording. Half of the piece in this set were written by hs tenor saxist, the American Rick Margitza, with the other half written by the leader. The songs are not played in the order listed above, but interspersed: one piece by Margitza, one by Protschka, repeated throughout the set.
“Our long-standing repertoire is huge and that’s why we decided to record it on a studio album,” Protschka explained his motivation. “The band was well rehearsed, because the recordings were made during our tour last September. As a result, the band was documented as it actually sounds live.”
Protschka’s group, which has been together for nine years, is fairly conservative in its approach. Their tunes have real melodies—something I really miss in much of today’s jazz—and although they explore some interesting harmonic relationships, some of which sounded fresh to me, there’s not much here that will set your ears a-buzzing. It’s all very reminiscent of late 1950s-early ‘60s jazz, much of it relaxed and mellow (Protschka often forsakes the trumpet for the flugelhorn) yet not ultra-Romantic or a musical soporific.
Much of the charm of this recording comes from its exquisite musical balance. Protschka gives great credit for this to the studio technicians who set up the balances and recorded it. “We were all happy from the first second,” Protschka said after listening to the tapes. “Sound engineer Klaus Endel sent out great vibes and mastered a good sound.”
Indeed, the richness and warmth of sound presented here go a long way towards one’s enjoyment, as does the obvious rapport that Protschka and Margitzka have for each other. Their chase chorus in the opening number, “August in Paris,” is typical of what one hears throughout the set. None of this music is groundbreaking, but it has quality and integrity. These musicians aren’t just playing in this style to please lounge lizards, but to please themselves. Protschka’s “Mina,” for instance, has some interesting features in the basic melody, which includes some stepwise harmonic movement and two bars where the meter changes, and unlike many such pieces I hear, he and Margitzka continue these meter and harmonic changes into their improvisations. Protschka switches to trumpet for this track, to good effect.
The rhythm section is a well-knit but relaxed trio that largely plays as a unit behind the two horns, although if you listen carefully you’ll hear some nice little fills from pianist Martin Sasse, who also gets a solo chorus here. He’s a good player, but tends to get a bit too wrapped up in circular figures that just fill space.
Although a very slow ballad, I was impressed by Protschka’s “Hymn for the Suffering,” not only for his own excellent flugelhorn solo but also for the very good solo by bassist Martin Gjakpnovski. The biggest problem I had with this album is that there is little variety in tempo, and very little in keys, from one number to the next. Taken separately, each piece is satisfying and interesting, but heard together, there’s very little variety and, after a while, things tend to run together. Protschka would have done well to omit some of these medium-tempo pieces and replace them with more vivacious ones. Of the music on this album, only “Black Forest” has an entirely different metric layout. Margitza’s “St. Sonny” is played at a faster pace, being based on Sonny Rollins’ classic 1960s piece, “St. Thomas.” These are really excellent tracks that show what this band is really capable of, but the real gem of this set is the blistering-fast “E Jones,” a tune reminiscent of the hard-bop style of Cannonball Adderley.
A good album, then, and one worth listening to carefully for the excellent interplay of these musicians, if not a disc that will thrill you overall.
—© 2022 Lynn René Bayley
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