Mihály Dresch Quartet with Archie Shepp: Hungarian Bebop

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Archie Shepp (ts)
Mihály Dresch (ss, ts)
Ferenc Kovács (vln)
Mátyás Szandal (b)
István Baló (d)
Kálmán Balogh (cimbalom)

Label:

Budapest Music Centre Records

November/2014

Catalogue Number:

BMC 066 Rec 2002

RecordDate:

date not stated

Not surprisingly, given the title, Mihály Dresch's themes, particularly with violin as a counterpoint, have a strong Hungarian accent. But once the solos kick in, the core values are late 1960s modal jazz with long solos unfurling over fairly straightforward harmonic movements. This is, of course, bread and butter for Archie Shepp, who is at something approaching his gruff best. Warm, tender and duetting empathetically with the leader on ‘Búzai Song’, he plays self-effacing soprano on his self-penned ballad ‘Steam’, is fiery and elegiac on the title track and always sensitive to his surroundings. Leader Dresch, a solid saxophonist with a clean, rounded technique, is a useful foil for Shepp. And his compositions are interesting, full of twists, turns and Hungarian accents, though three slow-to-middle tempo numbers in the middle is a mistake – titles like ‘I Was Beaten Because’ and ‘Sorrow Sorrow’ capture the vibe. The bonus, for me, was the violinist, Ferenc Kovács, who, plays with passion and commitment throughout.

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