Manu Katche Neighborhood CD

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 Very Nice Laid Back Jazz
Drummer, Manu Katche, has been making a name for himself as one of the world’s better drummers. That may be a matter of opinion but I confess I do like him pretty much. I would describe his style as ‘soft-spoken’. I first heard the cut "February Sun" from this CD on Cable Radio before I ordered it. I love the Scandinavian Jazz genre from the ECM label so when I saw the incredible artists accompanying Katche, ordering this CD was a no-brainer for me. This CD is a bit of a departure from the typical ECM album. This is an easy album to listen to, maybe a little too easy for some. The music is quiet, moody, melodic and perhaps not-very-challenging for some of you. When my wife first heard a few cuts, she said “that’s nice music”. She hates avant guard jazz so that should give you an idea just how smooth this CD is. Some negative reviewers complained that this CD was nothing more than smooth jazz but that misses the mark. There’s more here than just smooth jazz. Jan Garbareck, Tomasz Stanko and Marcin Wasilewski on piano keep it interesting enough. Manu Katche’s drumming is quite good and he manages to stay out of the way of the other musicians. I like bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz playing on this CD as well. The group as a whole reminds me a bit of the Swedish group E.S.T. If you can imagine, Jan Garbareck, and Tomasz Stanko, playing with E.S.T. then you can imagine what the group sounds like. Those two horn players do some really nice work together and are worth the price of the CD alone. My modest system (hybrid tube-integrated and MMG speakers) gives a very nice sweet presentation of this type of music. It’s detailed enough to bring Katche’s percussion forward and give the horns a biting presence. Plus it does a fantastic job of realistically imaging small jazz groups like this. I recommend the CD for those that want a laid back change of pace, especially if you’re a Jan Garbareck, and/or Tomasz Stanko fan.
Submitted by mp3support (Oak Creek, WI, USA) 
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 Manu Katche Neighbourhood
i do not agree with Andrew from Ottawa yes this is smooth music maybe you don't like this kind of music then go to something else for one i love this kind of music yes another war Quebec Ottawa just a joke
Submitted by mracoustat (Quebec Canada)
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 This is a Must Have
This is a "must have" for all collectors of fine music. I recommend it to everyone and also give it as a gift to friends. Each musician contributes brilliantly, which prompts one to search for their individual discographies.
Submitted by Lynn (Chicago, IL, USA)
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 New fan from South Africa
Awesome stuff, I have recommended Neighbourhood to everyone, to all my friends, even an audipohile sound nutcase friend of mine who not only thinks the sound engineering is great but actually likes the music. Add to that, my wife is Polish and so there is a bit of pride that the Poles are holding their own. Wasilewski - awesome pianist. Jan Garbarek knows how to create mood, Keep it up!!!!!
Submitted by hpaulse (Cape Town, South Africa)
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 High brow lounge jazz
This is deeply skilled and intelligent smooth jazz, but it's smooth jazz nonetheless. It's hard to know what ECM was thinking here. It's even more frustrating to know what these musicians are capable of and have to listen to such excruciatingly disengaging music. It's as close as this label has come to producing elevator music.
Submitted by Andrew (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
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