Turtles in Bloomington, MN

Turtles
, released in 2007 by German
jazz
label
Enja
, was actually recorded live in 1968, at
The Domicile
, a
club in Munich. The band, led by German saxophonist
Olaf Kuebler
, features pianist
Jan Hammer
, bassist
George Mraz
, and drummer
Cees See
--
Hammer
and
Mraz
had just fled from Czechoslovakia and lived at
the Domicile
, becoming part of the club's house band together with
Kuebler
See
for three months, during which time they played almost every night. What makes this archival release interesting is that it was recorded before the musicians went on to do what they became famous for: the performance took place before
became the manager of underground band
Amon Dueuel
and played with
the Police
,
Udo Lindenberg
, and
Eberhard Schoener
; it took place before
became the keyboard wizard in
John McLaughlin
's
Mahavishnu Orchestra
and composed the
Miami Vice
theme; and it took place before
played with
Oscar Petersen
and became one of the most highly regarded
bassists. In 1968, this band simply consisted of four newcomers who performed an entertaining
set. The group's musicianship is excellent:
is an empathetic accompanist and delivers an intense solo on "Blues for Jiri,"
gets several fine solo spots, and
swings effortlessly with his
Turrentine
-influenced tenor sound. The set mostly sticks to an earthy
hard bop
style, with several compositions by the group members (
's title tune is especially catchy) mixed with covers (the standard
"Stella by Starlight,"
"Let It Go"
), but there are also excursions into
bossa nova
(
"Solamente"
) and
free jazz
"Cork Screw"
) -- both popular currents in late-'60s
. On two
soul-jazz
numbers,
switches to Hammond organ, and
Michael Dennert
replaces
. To make this set even better, the sound quality is excellent -- not only for an almost 40-year-old archival recording. There is nothing earth-shatteringly original to be heard here, and the musicians were still forming their own distinctive voices, but this album is both an interesting look at an early stage in these musicians' careers, and a thoroughly enjoyable recording with excellent performances. It makes you wonder what other gems
's and
's archives might hold. ~ Christian Genzel