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You couldn't have asked for a more sensitive, intuitive acoustic bassist in the '70s, '80s, and '90s than George Mraz. From Stan Getz and Joe Henderson to Hank Jones, Oscar Peterson, Jimmy Rowles, and Tommy Flanagan, the Czech bassist has accompanied one heavyweight after another since arriving in the U.S. in 1968. But surprisingly, Mraz didn't record as a leader until 1991. His first two albums, 1991's Catching Up and 1995's My Foolish Heart, were recorded for the Japanese Alfa label, and it wasn't until 1995's Jazz that Mraz finally recorded for an American label as a leader. Much of this excellent hard bop/post-bop CD finds him leading a trio that includes Richie Beirach on acoustic piano and Billy Hart on drums, although the trio becomes a quartet when tenor saxman Rich Perry steps in on Wayne Shorter's "Infant Eyes" and Mraz's brief "Pepper" (written for baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams). When Beirach shows us his lyrical side on Jimmy Rowles' "The Peacocks," Bill Evans' "Time Remembered," and the standard "Moonlight in Vermont," you can't help but admire Mraz's tremendous sensitivity -- in fact, Mraz enjoys as strong a rapport with Beirach as he did with Flanagan and Peterson. Produced by Todd Barkan, Jazz makes you wish that a U.S. label had recorded Mraz as a leader long before 1995. ~ Alex Henderson
Recorded in September and October 1995.
Personnel: George Mraz (strings); Rich Perry (tenor saxophone); Larry Willis, Richie Beirach (piano); Billy Hart (drums).
Audio Mixer: Michael Semanick.
Liner Note Author: Doug Ramsey.
Recording information: Clinton Recording Studios, Inc., New York, NY (09/1995/10/1995).
Photographer: Steve Maruta.
Unknown Contributor Role: Larry Willis.
Personnel includes: George Mraz, Billy Hart, Richie Beirach, Larry Willis, Rich Perry.
JazzTimes (2/97, p.114) - "The exquisite sound of George Mraz's bass suffuses this new release with deep rich colors. Mraz plays soul to soul--the sounds he produces coming from deep within and reaching the same place in the listener..." George Mraz Jazz Songs | 1. | Moonlight in Vermont |
| 2. | Cinema Paradiso Love Theme |
| 3. | Infant Eyes |
| 4. | Happy Saint |
| 5. | Foolish Door |
| 6. | Your Story |
| 7. | Spring Is Here |
| 8. | Pepper |
| 9. | Time Remembered |
| 10. | Peacocks, The |
| 11. | Cinema Paradiso (Reprise) |
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Jazz Review
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