| Jazz |
Superb tribute album to Kurt Weill, a composer whose titles on this album are taken from two periods: one is from the first part of his life, in Germany, and the second one from his life in America after his departure from Nazi Germany in 1933. Even though he died too young (at 50) Kurt Weill left a significant mark on his era. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Weill was particularly involved in vocal music and musical theatre. His musical theatre work and his songs were extremely popular in Germany. His best-known work is “The Threepenny Opera” (1928), a reworking of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, written in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. It contains Weill’s most famous song, “Mack the Knife”… you will not find on this record, instead Sam Braysher offers us a wonderful interpretation of “Liebeslied” (Love Song) also from “The Threepenny Opera”. Weill continued to work with Brecht on another musical, “Happy End” (1929), best known for the beautiful song “Bilbao Song” that is also included in this album.
It is Sam Braysher, a young and excellent saxophonist, who selected the titles on this opus and who invited for the occasion 3 exceptional musicians, Matyas Gayer on piano, Dario Di Lecce on double bass, Steve Brown on drums, and a very talented singer, Sara Dowling, winner of the Best Vocalist at the British Jazz Awards in 2019. The result is a unique, moving, interconnected, creative, and exceptional entity, all coming together making it far greater than the sum of each individual part. This is the genius of Sam and his friends, knowing how to revisit Weill’s works with all the inspiration of a vast musical culture. Each track, like a treasure hunt, allows us to celebrate the essence of the original works. There couldn’t be a more beautiful tribute to Kurt Weill than this album with, icing on the cake, these three tracks sung by the wonderful voice of Sara Dowling.
We must highlight the very natural integration of the fourth track, “Ships Adrift”, a composition by Sam Braysher and which could pass for a title by Kurt Weill as it blends so wonderfully into the rest of the pieces played on this album. And indeed, you might want to delve into the notes in the booklet to check who the composer is, and indeed it is Sam Braysher… This fourth track demonstrates that Sam is among the very best saxophonists alive. Sam Braysher is one of those artists who deserve international recognition, thanks to his creativity, his respect for jazz, and his ability not only to reinvent existing works but also to reinvent himself.
The notes contained in the booklet provide a lot of information on the reason for the choice of titles, their arrangements, the period during which they were composed by Kurt Weill… A booklet whose quality must be emphasized as too many albums are provided with the minimum of information.
For our part, we find nothing to criticize about this album, which comes close to perfection and can engross us to the point of spending hours listening to it. The beautiful cover is by Mariano Gil, and we’re adding this CD to our pile of “Indispensable” albums.
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, November 3rd 2024
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