Mathias Claus

Best Of Jazz That Rocks

If you want to experience musical adventures, you should listen to Mathias "Mat" Claus' new album Best Of Jazz That Rocks. The music of this jazz avangardist is incalculable, improvising, surprising, challenging. Be warned: Only open-minded listeners can stand his music. Mat's music cannot be categorized. He plays jazz, smooth jazz , salsa, latin jazz, rock, pop, fusion. This album is a collection of his recently established collaboration with other musicians in the professional US mp3 music scene. Mat is not only an outstanding musician but also a great arranger, composer and an organizer at all. He succeeded to bring a lot of musicians together from countries like USA, UK, Germany or Italy. There is no live meeting, every musician provides his part from his own studio in an overdubbing procedure.

Power Sources is a fusion piece with a lot of jazz improvisation. Melody-structures are broken by Mat's extensive solos on piano and synthesizer. Nigel uses the freedom of play for a powerful fusion sax solo.

El Baile De Don Jibaro is a salsa composition dedicated to his friend from Puerto Rico, Don Jibaro, a guitar player that spends a lot of energy to help the people of his country. Remarkable his work on piano with breathtaking runnings. The originality of his music-style appears in the overemphasized use of the synthesizer.

Heavenly love is a smooth jazz piece featuring Peggy Morris (vocals, fluite and alto sax). A showpiece for Peggy indeed with outstanding fluite and a sax solos. Especially her fluite play is absolutely impressing. Her scatting vocals combined with Mat's synthesizer and piano play set a new dimension. Mat's comment: Composed in Germany by Mat, rhythm section completed in Italy with a fantastique Steve Gaddish groove by Filippo Bertacche (thanks Filippo, some of the best drum tracks I played with !!) and in New York by my masterbassplayer Bill Lawrence. The pure playback was turned to gold by Ohios amazing multitalented Peggy Morris from group Morris Code.

Waltz fo Nicolas is a jazzy waltz featuring Nicolas Genest on trumpet. Pure straight jazz in a classic version with acoustic instruments, I thought first. But Mat's love to his synthesizer cannot be hide.

The synth explodes in Volcano Cubano. Salsa meets experimental techno fusion jazz. This tune is hardly to describe. A very uptempo tune. Sue Maskaleris, a latin queen from New York, majored in composition at Manhattan School of Music and award winner of many worldwide jazz competitions managed to follow the instrumental speed until to the end.

Mat composed the tune Requiem on the occasion of a very sad event, the death of his over all loved father. A contemplative and soulful solo piano piece.

Miles Bytes is a very experimental synth piece. Mat comments:  "How would Miles Davis sound if still alive ? Maybe like this Trip Hop session piece. This is a sound experience based on hop beats plus jazz improvisations.

I C Light features Mike Fijal on trumpet in a slow tempo tune with tablas rhythm, an extensive piano solo play with a lot of jazz improvisations.

Movimientos del Paraná features Argentinian guitarist Daniela Martin on guitar and surprsingly Peggy Morris' vocals with a latin jazz touch. Didn't know that she can sing Spanish so perfectly. Daniela Martin guitar licks are awesome answered by Mat's piano play.

Small talk features Chris Hicks energetic sax play with Bobby Brewer's bottle neck, wah-wah and distortion guitar and Mat's synthesizer force. High voltaged fusion jazz /rock mix. Reg Marshall's drums give the tune a further propulsing drive.

Well and at last a pop tune with electronic and jazz elements. Treasury is obviously Patty Stucki's homage to Kate Bush. But the tune changes from his popish beginning to a fusion tune with an extensive piano solo play before it returns to the song motive.

If you are searching the unusual, get this album. It will test your personal taste and musical understanding.

© HBH

• Mathias Claus - Piano, Synthesizers, Samplers
• Nigel Hitchcock - Alto Saxophone (1)
• Chris Dagley - Drums (1)
• Laurence Cottle - Bass (1)
• Bill Lawrence - Bass (3,4,9,10)
• Filippo Bertacche - Drums (3,4,9)
• Bob Johnson - Tenor Saxophone (4)
• Reg Marshall - Drums (10)
• Peggy Morris - Vocals, Alto Saxophone, Fluite (3,9)
• Nicolas Genest - Trumpet (4)
• Sue Maskaleris - Vocals, Keyboards
• Mike Fijal - Trumpet
• Daniel Martina - Guitar
• Chris Hicks - Alto Saxophone
• Bobby Brewer - Guitar
• Patty Stucki - Vocals

• More informations about this album here:

http://www.cdstreet.com/cgi-bin/artist_products.cgi?1234770&12346474

http://www.mathiasclaus.com/E/index.html

http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/80/mathias_claus.html#songs

• The album will be available at

http://www.cdstreet.com/cgi-bin/artist_products.cgi?1234770&12346474

http://www.mathiasclaus.com/E/index.html

Lyrics

by Peggy Morris