Jazz Archives

So, around 40 minutes of not so well known band from Czech Republic, which surprisingly possess few quite fine musicians (I want to mention especially Jiří Jelínek, from here overlooked (so far) band ETC). In spite of having touch by funk, maybe even little bit of soul (after all, their main influence should be "Blood Sweat & Tears", which is unknown to me, but could be in similar style, jazz-funk fusion) with much more prog feeling than first album. After all, I know what this reminds me. A lot. Another Czech band from this era, Progres 2 and their album "Dialog s vesmírem", which was released two years later. Maybe this even influenced it. And also reminds of Hungarian band Solaris, with combination of flute and synths, so their "Marsbely" album. But this record can bring more. The reason why i want to give five stars, even star on verge of 4-5 is that it's probably the finest thing that was produced here. Yes, there were other jazz bands, but Mahagon went on another way, doing things differently. Yes, there are first 13 minutes, which are just above average, but rating this with 4 would be unfair. There are so many ideas and. For example, in work of Fermáta, even I like them, sounds sometimes quite the same. Like they're keeping themselves on beaten path. Ironically, this album is more adventurous and exploring, than Fermáta's concept album about adventurers.
5(-), worse rating is because of funk elements. Really very interesting album.

:::Review by Marty McFly:::

Mahagon - Mahagon (1977)

A1. Dny, Měsíce A Roky 3:10
Soloist, Saxophone [Soprano] - Jiří Niederle
Soloist, Violin [Electric] - Jan Hrubý
A2. Moře Klidu 5:15
Soloist, Electric Piano [Fender] - Michael Kocáb
Soloist, Flute - Jaroslav Šolc
A3. Člověk Kybernet 4:30
Soloist, Electric Guitar - Jiří Jelínek
Soloist, Saxophone - Jiří Niederle
A4. Sen O Zemi 1:45
Soloist, Piano - Michael Kocáb
Soloist, Vocals - Zdena Adamová
A5. Oči Nevidomých Zrcadel 4:10
Soloist, Guitar - Jiří Jelínek
Soloist, Violin [Electric] - Jan Hrubý
B1. Písečné Přesypy 3:35
Soloist, Bass Guitar - Petr Klapka
Soloist, Saxophone [Soprano] - Jiří Niederle
Soloist, Trumpet [Electric] - Jindřich Parma
B2. Půlnoční 6:30
Soloist, Electric Guitar - Jiří Jelínek
Soloist, Electric Piano [Fender], Clavinet - Michael Kocáb
B3. Dívka S Jablky 3:10
Soloist, Electric Guitar - Jiří Jelínek
Soloist, Vocals - Zdena Adamová
B4   Obrazárna 6:40

Credits
Acoustic Guitar - Jiří Jelínek (2) (tracks: A5)
Arranged By, Music By, Leader - Petr Klapka
Bass Clarinet - Štěpán Koutník (tracks: A2)
Bass Guitar - Petr Klapka (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B4)
Clavinet - Michael Kocáb (tracks: A3, B2 to B4)
Conductor [Strings] - Jan Hrábek (tracks: A3, A4, B4)
Drums - Ladislav Malina (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B4)
Electric Guitar - Jiří Jelínek (2) (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Electric Piano [Fender] - Michael Kocáb (tracks: A2, A5 to B4)
Flute - Jaroslav Šolc (tracks: A2, B2)
Piano - Michael Kocáb (tracks: A1, A4)
Saxophone [Soprano] - Jiří Niederle (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B4)
Saxophone [Tenor] - Jiří Niederle (tracks: A3, B4)
Strings - Smyčcový Orchestr Jan Hrábek (tracks: A3, A4, B4)
Trombone - Bohuslav Volf (tracks: A3, B1, B4)
Trumpet - Jindřich Parma (tracks: A3, B4) , Zdeněk Šedivý (tracks: A3, B1, B4)
Trumpet [Electric] - Jindřich Parma (tracks: B1, B4)
Violin [Electric] - Jan Hrubý (tracks: A1, A5, B4)
Vocals - Zdena Adamová (tracks: A2, A4, B2 to B4)