Playground is the eagerly-awaited second ECM album from star French drummer Manu Katché. His first ECM record, Neighbourhood, garnered many prizes and awards, and was a favorite among jazz fans. The new recording pick... more »s up where Neighbourhood left off, and in the interim the group has coalesced into a rip-roaring and fully-integrated band. Manu's group, featuring a Polish/Norwegian confederacy of young players, is energized by his hard-driving drums, and together, the quintet - whose strong new frontline features Mathias Eick and Trygve Seim - plays exciting, zestful music. Playground's rhythm section is - as on Neighbourhood - the powerhouse team of Manu, Marcin Wasilewski and Slawomir Kurkiewicz. Katché's four band mates represent the leading line of young European jazz artists, and on two tracks, guitar guru David Torn joins the group lending a magical touch with his unique sound. Manu's compositions are all new, and every tune is extremely accessible - catchy melodies and toe-tapping rhythms abound! Manu Katché is one of the best-known drummers in the world today. His listening constituency extends far beyond jazz through his playing on hundreds of rock and pop records, including discs by Peter Gabriel, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, the Bee Gees, Tori Amos, Tracy Chapman and many, many more. However, he has always maintained that jazz is his first love and he has been an ardent follower of music on ECM since he was 15. He first appeared on ECM with Jan Garbarek in 1990 and went on to perform on five of Garbarek's ECM albums. Neighbourhood was Katché's first ECM leader album and was released in 2006.« less
Playground is the eagerly-awaited second ECM album from star French drummer Manu Katché. His first ECM record, Neighbourhood, garnered many prizes and awards, and was a favorite among jazz fans. The new recording picks up where Neighbourhood left off, and in the interim the group has coalesced into a rip-roaring and fully-integrated band. Manu's group, featuring a Polish/Norwegian confederacy of young players, is energized by his hard-driving drums, and together, the quintet - whose strong new frontline features Mathias Eick and Trygve Seim - plays exciting, zestful music. Playground's rhythm section is - as on Neighbourhood - the powerhouse team of Manu, Marcin Wasilewski and Slawomir Kurkiewicz. Katché's four band mates represent the leading line of young European jazz artists, and on two tracks, guitar guru David Torn joins the group lending a magical touch with his unique sound. Manu's compositions are all new, and every tune is extremely accessible - catchy melodies and toe-tapping rhythms abound! Manu Katché is one of the best-known drummers in the world today. His listening constituency extends far beyond jazz through his playing on hundreds of rock and pop records, including discs by Peter Gabriel, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, the Bee Gees, Tori Amos, Tracy Chapman and many, many more. However, he has always maintained that jazz is his first love and he has been an ardent follower of music on ECM since he was 15. He first appeared on ECM with Jan Garbarek in 1990 and went on to perform on five of Garbarek's ECM albums. Neighbourhood was Katché's first ECM leader album and was released in 2006.
CD Reviews
Manu starting to come of age as a leader
David J. Ohanlon | Lilyfield, NSW Australia | 10/01/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"So, what's changed since Manu Katche's Neighbourhood? Well, the tunes are generally better (some even "swing" with very good changes of tempo & dynamic), Manu's playing is less busy & more supportive, we don't have the huge expectations of great Trumpet & Saxophone artistry (because Stanko & Garbarek have been replaced by the relatively unknown & generally excellent Matthias Eick & Trygve Seim) & both the arrangements & playing "breathe" a lot more. What's the same? Well, Wasilewski's piano playing is still a highlight & the music overall is still best classed as "mellow jazz" (in fact the opener "Lo", beautiful as it is, sounds like a Neighbourhood offcut) so we can't quite say the handcuffs are completely off but this is a definite improvement. Tracks best highlighting the improvement/"change" in direction are "So Groovy", "Snapshot" & "Inside Game"."
Another winner for Manu Katche!
J. Rich | 09/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Neighborhood" was Manu Katche's first album for ECM Records and was to some degree a little bit of a let down or at least for me it was. Don't get me wrong, there were some great songs and great musicianship on that album, but for whatever reason, I thought it wasn't as good as one would expect from those musicians. That album had some fantastic players like Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko and Norwegian sax legend Jan Garbarek and of course Stanko's pianist, Marcin Wasilewski and bassist, Slawomir Kurkiewicz.
This time around Katche has a new frontline with Norwegians Trygve Siem on saxophone and Mathias Eick on trumpet and guitarist David Torn on two songs. The rhythm section is the same as "Neighborhood." The musicians on this album are all top-notch and deserve wider recognition.
I can't talk too much about the music, because words can't describe music, but I will say that this album is great from start to finish. If you like European jazz, then you will not be disappointed.
If you own "Neighborhood," then pick this one up too. You'll probably find yourself listening to it more than his first one."
Reincarnation of the cool
C. Schuengel | Bussum, The Netherlands | 11/11/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I eagerly awaited this CD, as I heard the quintet live in Amsterdam, a couple of months after they had been recording this in New York. I am happy to say the same atmosphere of the concert pervades this record. The brilliant rhythm section I already knew from Neighbourhood, and recent Tomasz Stanko recordings, creates an exciting and beautiful soundscape. The Norwegian horn line up was a revelation, however. Clearly from the school of Jan Garbarek, these Vikings show mastery and a fine sense of style. Although playing generally in service of the collective, it is clearly Katche who is responsible for the restraint that these players exercise. It is the enormous reserve you are hearing behind the deceptively simple lines, that makes you want to listen to this group again and again. It the same secret that Miles Davis but also somebody like James Brown used to great success. I hope these guys keep touring and recording for some more, as an advertisment for how European jazz has come into its own.
Why not 5 stars? It's a matter of taste. In addition to the composure and style, I would have liked to hear one track where they would really have gone wild, cuffs off, messing things up. Like Stanko said in an interview, next to a little bit of mess, you appreciate beauty even more fully..."
Gorgeous Jazz Masterpiece
D. Brier | Wisconsin USA | 08/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a beautiful sonic landscape. It marries gorgeous tonal brass melodies over lovely rhythmic foundations. I enjoyed it better than Manu's first, and it bears no resemblance to his work with Peter Gabriel. It stands alone with melodious solos and are a treat from start to finish, which as a rarity these days.
Carry on Manu!"
Playground
Beverly Welch | Minneapolis, MN | 11/13/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Playground
This is a haunting piece of Euro Jazz that somehow fits the times in which we live. Manu Katche's compositions and the technical ability of the musicians playing with him use their instruments to speak of the world-weariness so many of us feel and to the quest for spiritual connection we seek with each other and with the universe in which we live. I especially liked the trumpet solos by Mathias Eick. Katche's drumming is steady, inventive, yet never overpowering."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1