New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble
Live In Europe

I met them on one of those evenings when you couldn't ask for more from fate; I was blissfully sleepy as the world was passing by and I watched it go from the windows.

Anything at that moment I would have listened to from afar, letting myself be passively cradled by rhythms not entirely to my liking (as, unfortunately, I've had to learn to do over the years and through social life), and I knew this very well. But the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble truly refreshed me, and even though the haze of sleep made everything more polished and blurred, I perfectly remember the impact those solos, those themes, that clear dynamism of swing applied to the most immediate facets of the "Jamaican style", made on me.

The most interesting thing seemed to be the intention to give an almost jazz-like dignity to the pieces: the improvisations stood out and took on a predominant role within largely instrumental tracks; it wasn't just a matter of style (we're all used to hearing so much jazz borrowed from ska): whether because of the excellent skills of the instrumentalists, the smart, functional, and above all beautiful arrangements, or the charm of novelty, but I liked this big band immediately and a lot.

Plunging swiftly into their production, delighting my ears with numerous magnificently reproduced standards (Boogie Stop Shuffle - a piece by Mingus, one of my favorites by the way; several by Ellington, Take Five, and who knows how many others) I decided to delve into the live made in Europe of 2000.

At a glance, I spot tracks that can only promise well, indeed, excellently: I Mean You, Harlem Nocturne, Elegy, once again beautiful and very functional standards when needed. But let's proceed in order.

The album opens with a rather unpleasant song (yes, it sounds strange, but it’s also strange to hear such bad songs, especially when they're used as the opening to such beautiful albums), Time of Day; then follows the aforementioned I Mean You, engaging and lively, where distinctly swing arrangements (which characterize, as mentioned, the entire production of the group) marry magnificently and naturally with explosive and restless ska rhythms. The following Harlem Nocturne is a track from about 70 years ago that regains all its beauty and freshness thanks to the leading voice of Freddie Reiter's saxophone, the leader, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist of the ensemble. The romantic and refined atmosphere of the nocturne gives way to the blues (sung this time) so full of boogie and energy: More Whisky. In Don Tojo the ska component is as prominent as ever, but once again the solos follow one another masterfully and consciously: it’s not easy, but beauty (and I would say "refinement") and fun can come together and result in remarkable and striking products, like the following aforementioned Elegy, a compositional masterpiece and in this case executive. And once again a masterpiece seems to be Prime Suspect: "raw" atmospheres, from the fetid New York Bronx. Very fascinating.

Even in the tracklist, there’s plenty of intelligence and good sense: each track is followed by its complement or its opposite. This is the case with the happy Properly, where pleasant and light reggae atmospheres restore a breath of freshness and foreshadow the next discourse in Tilt-a-Whirl.

The album closes in pure and splendid rude style, with Low Blow, and you too, like the audience, end up cheering and smiling at this work so mature, complex but accessible. Because, many forget, but music is art, and "art cannot be so easy nor so immediate". No, I don't agree with this anonymous quote, but surely this album is proof that art can certainly be beautiful but also fun and no longer folded in on itself in romantic or sterile intellectualism from university, academy, or conservatory.

Once again "nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, but everything transforms". If jazz had been born to remain only in the hands of jazz musicians, it would be a truly very sad world.