Vince Mendoza & Metropole Orchester - FAST CITY
Vince Mendoza & Metropole Orchester -][- Fast City: A Tribute To Joe Zawinul [Import-Zyx Music, 2010]
I first came across these on youtube-they are great to watch, with a core group of Zawinul alumni, including Victor Bailey on bass, Alex Acuna percussion, Amit Chatterjee on guitar and vocals, and Peter Erskine drums, you know this is a smokin’ band. Jim Beard does the keyboard duties and an excellent job he does indeed. The Metropole Orchestra is one of the best around and with gorgeous and highly detailed arrangements by Vince Mendoza (who also conducts,) this is a superb homage to the master. Mr Z would’ve been very proud of this record. In many ways I prefer this set to the Absolute Ensemble’s Zawinul album, mostly because I just like the choice of tunes and the arrangements better.
Of course if Mr Z had been around to play on this as he did on the Absolute’s equally great CD, it would’ve been mind blowing. I own a copy of this concert on DVD and much of this is taken from the same live concert as the one from German TV-high energy, ridiculously tight and wonderfully recorded to boot. There are several tracks that were from a performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival which are just as great. Erskine and Bailey make it all feel good, so even with a large ensemble which could have been rather unwieldy, this set swings like a mofo. A must have for Zawinul and WR fans. —Brian Whistler | Amazon.com
Original Release Date: November, 9 2010
..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..
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