Revox Master Tape, Michael Naura Quartet – Call

“The new pieces have little in common with the bebop and cool jazz influences of the old Naura Quintet.” This was written by journalist Siegfried Schmidt-Joos in 1970 in the liner notes for pianist and bandleader Michael Naura’s album Call. Joos went on to explain that Naura had assimilated “the contemporary sounds of free jazz and rock” as well as “the collective playing styles of the younger generation of musicians.” This was Naura’s first album in eight years, and it certainly presented him in a new light. Two members of his old quintet, vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter and drummer Joe Nay, remained with the group, and both—like Naura—had effortlessly mastered the new rock- and blues-oriented styles. With the addition of Eberhard Weber, a jazz-rock pioneer had joined the band. “This musician from Swabia with the face of an old Botticelli angel,” as Naura described the electric bassist, had a major influence on the new sound of the quartet. All the pieces on this MPS recording were composed by Naura. Born in 1934, Naura dropped out of journalism school in Berlin to become a musician. Vibraphonist Schlüter was already with him when Naura formed a band in the 1950s. This first group was heavily influenced by the style of pianist George Shearing. Naura and Schlüter continued to play together into the new century. Drummer Joe Nay, whom Naura called “the perfect arsonist,” died in 1990.

Label: MPS

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