Liner notes by Ted Shapiro
The world knows Muriel Grossmann as a bandleader, saxophonist and composer of highly individual and original music. Some would say she helped shape the worldwide revival of spiritual jazz, a movement strongly reflected in her seminal 2018 release Golden Rule. The world knows albums such as Universal Code, Union and Quiet Earth, or her powerful performances across the globe with her long-standing quartet featuring Radomir Milojkovic on guitar, Abel Boquera on Hammond B3 organ and Uros Stamenkovic on drums.
That is one side of the story.
But here in Ibiza, where Grossmann has lived and worked for over two decades, another side of the artist reveals itself. Locals know her not only as an internationally touring artist but as a dedicated working musician, someone who returns every summer to play night after night in restaurants, clubs, hotels and bars. For more than twenty years she has maintained this remarkable routine, performing almost daily for months at a time, refining her craft in front of live audiences in the oldest and most honest way jazz has always evolved: through performance.
If the concert stage shows the visionary composer, these nights reveal the craftsman.
Away from the recording studio and international tours, Grossmann immerses herself in the language of the tradition — the timeless vocabulary of swing, blues and early modern jazz. Drawing inspiration from masters such as Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Ben Webster and Lou Donaldson, she continues the lifelong jazz tradition of learning by playing, developing her sound through constant performance.
This work inevitably leads back to the repertoire that shaped the music: the songs of the 1930s, 40s and 50s — what many consider the golden age of jazz.
The project presented here, The Echoes of Swing, reflects that dedication. In this particular set the music of the 30s is revisited — swing music, the music of Lester Young, Count Basie and other prominent jazz figures of that era. The group features Elias Meiri on piano, Radomir Milojkovic on guitar, Cuni Mantilla on bass and Esteve Pi on drums.
Elias Meiri is a longtime friend from Muriel’s Vienna years in the 1990s, where their musical paths first crossed. Meiri is a highly sophisticated pianist who spent several years in New York performing with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman before settling in Vienna in 1988. When the two musicians reconnected years later, their shared love for the swing tradition — and particularly the legacy of Oscar Peterson — naturally led them back to the piano bench and into the music. From these encounters the idea emerged to document this side of Grossmann’s musical world.
An important role in the development of this repertoire was played by the legendary hospitality entrepreneur and business leader Giuseppe Cipriani, who, as someone aptly said, gave a whole new meaning to the word style. Performing in his venues around the world gave the group early opportunities to develop and refine this music in front of discerning international audiences. In these elegant environments, jazz once again fulfilled one of its historic roles: music that enhances atmosphere and elevates experience — where beautiful melodies meet joyful, sometimes foot-tapping performances and human connection.
The record opens with the up-tempo rhythm changes titled Tally Ho, Mr. Basie, a 1962 Count Basie number. Muriel takes the first solo and right away we know that we are in the world of Lester Young. Grossmann solos with ease and in the established format of that particular style, paying homage and respect to the aesthetics of the jazz style of the 30s, particularly that of the great Lester Young. In fact all interpretations are deeply rooted inside those aesthetics. Flying Home being the primary example, oders a brief, focused and stylistically truthful performance on guitar, tenor saxophone and piano.
The beautiful 1928 Broadway composition I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby is another good example of a great swinging tune being adapted for a smaller band where the rhythm section and especially the guitar play that defining role of bringing the whole music into one swinging pulse. With the emergence of bebop by the mid-40s the guitar lost its role as a member of the rhythm section, but in swing music a band without rhythm guitar was not possible. The prime exponent of swing rhythm guitar was jazz great Freddie Green, who defined the role of guitar in the Count Basie Orchestra and in jazz as a whole, making it an inseparable part of the music. You may not hear it loudly, but if you take it away you will know that something is missing — those pulsating swinging quarter notes.
Topsy is another favourite swinger from that era, composed by Eddie Durham, one of the greatest composers, arrangers, trombonists and guitarists, and also a distinguished member of the early Count Basie band. Here on this recording the song is taken at a relaxed medium tempo allowing the soloists to stretch and tell the story.
Side B opens with It’s Sand, Man, with 8 bars of introduction by drummer Esteve Pi, whose biography reads like a who-is-who of both national and international names that he has performed and recorded with. As every in-demand sideman, Esteve Pi is not only a remarkable accompanist but also a great soloist when the situation calls for it, like here in this composition where he plays an excellent 32-bar solo.
The 1942 composition Chelsea Bridge by Billy Strayhorn is often regarded as one of the most poignant compositions in jazz. This rendition opens with a beautiful guitar intro, after which leader Muriel Grossmann plays the melody where she displays all the beauty of her tone and the intricacies of this great song.
Jive at Five is a lesser-known Count Basie late-30s gem composed by Harry “Sweets” Edison, where we can hear bassist Cuni Mantilla creating bass lines that are both imaginative and inspiring for the rhythm section as well as for the soloists.
The composition that closes the record is the legendary Lester Young tune Lester Leaps In, taken here as an up-tempo workout where we find the group in full-fledged flight.
What makes this recording particularly compelling is its honesty. The music that this great quintet performs doesn’t demand attention — it draws the listener in through its sheer beauty, feel-good mood and its not-imposing nature.
For listeners familiar with Muriel Grossmann’s more expansive spiritual jazz recordings, this album reveals another essential piece of the artistic picture: the working musician, the tradition bearer, the player who understands that innovation grows strongest from deep roots.
This recording oders not a departure, but a complement — another chapter in a story still unfolding.
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