Stunning chronicle of a lost set of recordings by timeless talent.

Ah, jazz. This website tries its very best to stay away from stereotypes, but for this review, I really can’t avoid it, because it applies to me. This stereotype (and, as with all such tropes, it is not universal, and has far more nuance than modern society allows us to appreciate) is that “young people hate jazz”, the complexities, the chaos which is inherent in much of the playing around to destroy the ordered way of doing things, the moments when a guitarist goes completely off script in that guitar solo to jam and show you just how clever he or she is. My younger self did not do jazz. Indeed, when I first heard Crimson’s Lizard and, to a lesser degree, Islands, I thought them the ultimate betrayal of the ordered manner of “progressive rock” as embodied in the first two classic albums. Now, as an older and, I hope, wiser chap, I put them up on a pedestal with the likes of Red. I can listen to the finery of Miles Davies and appreciate him for the genius he was, whereas the twenty and thirty something Laz would have blasted you for listening to such tripe.

So, to Jonas Hellborg. This artist has about the most detailed musical CV it is possible to have. He has collaborated with the likes of Ginger Baker, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Public Image Ltd (when I first came across his work), and a host of others. His label Bardo Music will be releasing The Concert of Europe in June, and you can get the CD by going to https://www.propermusicgroup.com/ in UK & Europe, http://www.soundpollutiondistribution.se/ in Scandinavia, and http://www.cityhallrecords.com/ in USA.

There is an interesting story behind this release. In 1984, Hellborg was on tour with Mahavishnu and was introduced via producer Bill Laswell to genius and legendary drummer Ginger Baker. There was a resultant tour with Baker and equally prolific and legendary keyboardist Bernie Worrell. Out of this touring experience, there was a recording session, which remained sleeping in a cupboard until being rediscovered and released here.

There are five pieces of music on the CD. We open with Moon Suite, just short of fourteen minutes long. From the outset with the swirling organ, delicate percussion, and gorgeous bass, you can hear precisely how much this trio enjoyed playing together. Listening to the drums and percussion grooves here, you appreciate just how much of an influence Baker was on the likes of Bruford and Peart, especially. For the first four minutes, the music is powerfully sparse, until we then get an expansion with some dirty keyboard riffs and Hellborg producing some heavy sounds. This passage of music is extremely dystopian, as if there is some kind of emergency exemplified by the dark notes below the organ. Gradually, the darker undertones dissipate leaving the organ and noodling keys with the initial sparsity of drum, bass, and percussion returning for the final section of the suite. I love the effects Hellborg produces, and he leads the trio into the groove laden finale featuring string effects and uplifting, soaring keys signalling the emergency is over and success have been achieved. As we move into the final 90 seconds, there is an extended jam which is not unlike, and will be enjoyed by fans of, Barrett era Floyd.

Zakir follows. The bass melody is quite delightful, with the keys and drums playing a far lighter and melodic background than the previous track. I have embedded a sample of the audio track below.

African Genesis is a far more experimental piece of music, opening with some delicious funky vibes from all three. It is another longer track, weighing in over ten minutes. It is this type of track I referred to above, pretty much breaking the rules of what we define to be music, and it is very clever with some keyboard sounds, especially, which do not seem to belong anywhere but work well within the context of what is happening. As we progress, the interplay between Hellborg & Baker is fascinating, both clearly hitting off each other with some heavy chops booming out of the speakers whilst the keyboards create a little bit of chaos above. I suspect it was Baker who was responsible for the “London Bridge is falling down” section midway through, but whoever it was, it is an amusing, if very short, passage which segues into some clipped keyboards, with the rhythm section still booming below. As we move towards the denouement, the dystopia in the synths returns, and there is a realisation that the rhythm section has crept up on you and taken over your headphones or speaker. For the closing minute, sans keys, you can visualise the dancers and musicians in the continent shaking and moving with grace and rhythm.

Ashhark is the shortest song here. It opens at a fast pace with the three of them playing against each other. After a short pause, the main melody becomes clear, featuring some powerful and delightful bass fretwork from Hellborg, who is a master of his instrument. The three of them talk to each other without speaking a single word in a funky jazz delight which never lets up in intensity.

The album closes with Tim Hunt, who is sadly no longer with us, but was the engineer at Marcus Studios where this set of songs was recorded. This is, therefore, a deeply personal issue for the artist. The keyboards which open this are as black as night, with some very heavy bass riffs chugging underneath supported by a rolling drum riff by Baker. Just short of three minutes in, there is a very subtle passage which is as close as the album comes to something symphonic progressive rock fans might recognise. Before you realise it, it is gone, and the chaos returns, breaking the rules, smashing up what you might want or expect. The closing seconds take a slice of progressive electronica and leave you wondering how it fitted in with what preceded it. It doesn’t, but then it does. Breaking and creating rules.

The Concert of Europe is the sound of three extremely accomplished musicians playing exceptionally well, and in all honesty, I am somewhat surprised that these pieces have taken so long to see the light of day. I am glad they have. This is not a work to be taken, or listened to, lightly. It is challenging and complex, with three virtuosos bouncing off each other and producing music which you would not be playing at a dinner party attended by the local great and the good. Having said that, if, like me, you still love a lot of adventure in your music and life as a whole, you wouldn’t be at the bloody dinner party in the first place, and neither would the protagonists you listen to here.

That twenty something year old youth who thought that life didn’t get any better than Script for a Jester’s Tear would have hated this album. The fifty something man can appreciate and enjoy both.

Readers please note that the release of the CD has been put back to September 2023, and at the request of the distributors, music on this review has been edited to one minute samples.