GEORGE MRAZ
Morava (Milestone)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Though he was born in southern Bohemia, bassist George Mraz has had a lifelong interest in and affection for the music of his father's homeland, Morava, better known in the west as Moravia. For this album, he draws on those traditions, melding traditional melodies and instrumentation with the jazz music which has gained him international recognition.

To that end, he is joined by drummer Billy Hart and a pair of fellow Bohemian musicians, pianist Emil Viklicky and Zuzna Lapcikova on vocals and cymbalon. The result is jazz with a new flavor, especially when Lapcikova sings. Her voice provides an ethereal quality to the music, and her emotive abilities effectively erase the language barrier.

Perhaps the greatest revealation to me was the piano work of Viklicky, whose command of the bop tradition pulls the traditional selections into a new world.

Tastes differ, and if you're a straight vanilla fan, well, this one may be hard to grasp. If you like a swirl of something flavorful, though, then Morava is a treat.

Track List:

Aspen Leaf * Oh, Mountain * Gray Pigeon * Up In A Fir Tree * Myjava * She Walks In A Meadow * Little Black Swallow * Desire * Wine, Oh Wine * Gray Falcon * The Sun Goes Down * Jurenko, Jurenko

© 2001 - Shaun Dale