Mengis Gruppe 6, Manuel

The Pond

Label: Hatology Country: Switzerland

"When Manuel Mengis' debut disk Into the Barn came out in late 2005, it took listeners by surprise. Here was a triple storm: strong instrumentalists, killer compositions, and the kind of tight ensemble playing that only comes from loads of time working things out together. Mengis and his Gruppe 6 delivered a combination of post-Bop acumen and rollicking audacity with a wily ability to blur the lines between compositional form and intrepid improvisation ... Two and a half years have gone by, and finally the young Swiss trumpet player and his musical partners are back with a resplendent follow-up. Mengis has never been one to rush things ... So dig in to this arresting follow-up. Let's hope that we don't have to wait another three years to hear from Gruppe 6 again. But rest assured that Mengis will take his time, planning out his next moves and executing them with the resolve and inventiveness that stamps this music as truly original. And that sort of measured deliberation is something that is all too rare these days."-Michael Rosenstein, from the back cover

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