Curt Cress Clan

If you listened to the German jazz band, Passport, back in the 70s, you undoubtedly were impressed with the drummer. That was the (then) young upstart Curt Cress. During the Passport days, he was given an opportunity to record an album, and this is the result, recorded with Cress at age 22 in 1975. Kristian Schulze, the keyboard player from Passport, joined him, along with Dave King, Volker Kriegel, and Ack van Rooyen. The first three wrote most of the material.While Curt Cress features strongly in this album (as he did in Passport), this is more than just a drummer's album. Obviously there is a lot of influence from Passport, and the sound of passport (with their drummer and keyboard player) even though Klaus Doldinger was not involved. As with many electric jazz albums of the mid-seventies, this is a jazz-rock fusion effort, and funk influences flavor some songs.I loved this album, and was disappointed when it failed to appear on CD. I was ready to digitize the vinyl and burn my own, until I discovered that (finally!) they issued it on CD. According to the liner notes, only about 10,000 copies of the original vinyl album were sold. It's great to hear it again, and the digital transfer is very good.I would recommend this album to any fan of Passport, and those who enjoy "contemporary jazz-rock fusion" (also known as "temporary jazz-rock confusion" :-) ) or funky jazz may enjoy it as well.

......for the long-awaited reissue of "CURT CRESS CLAN" is finally here! In the 1970's, there was no finer "jazz-rock-fusion" group than Germany's Klaus Doldinger led PASSPORT. From 1973-1977 PASSPORT released a quintet of albums,  Hand Made , Looking Thru , Cross-Collateral , Infinity Machine  and  Iguacu  anchored by the funky, driven, virtuosic beats of Mr. Curt Cress. Just over the age of 20 when joining the band, Curt had already served apprenticeships in LAST, ORANGE PEEL and EMERGENCY. Led by composer, saxophonist and keyboardist Klaus Doldinger, the band on these classic albums consisted of main keyboardist Kristen Shultze, Bassist & guitarist Wolfgang Schmidt and Cress. With each release immediately recognizable by the continuing conceptional art of Wandry's Studio of Hamburg, who was to PASSPORT what Roger Dean was to YES, PASSPORT proved that the dreaded jazz-rock-fusion tag was not the"kiss of death" but a viable, exciting world of musical possibilities. Whether kicking up a storm of funky propulsion, flurries of syncopated accents or just sympathetic support, Cress had a distinctive sound and recognizable footprint. An extension of the heights reached on their masterpiece "Cross-Collateral," Cress, along with fellow band member Schultze, bassist Dave King, Ack van Rooyen on cornet and German guitar sensation Volker Kriegel, an alumni of 1974's  Doldinger Jubilee Concert , created an album that could easily be mistaken as an official PASSPORT release. With all tunes written by, or some combination of, Cress, King and Schultze, "CURT CRESS CLAN" has survived the test of time and is one of those fondly remembered albums that are not a letdown when rediscovered decades later. All the compositions could have easily fit on any of the previous PASSPORT classics. Lovingly reissued on CD by Sirena Records, "CCC" comes in a nice digipak with a booklet, liner notes in German and an amusing English translation. The CD-Mastering is exemplary, with no telltale signs of over-compression or "brickwalling." If you're a fan of high-caliber musicianship and exciting jazz-rock-fusion, look no further. Listening to "CCC" is like reconnecting to a welcomed old friend......1. Cyclone2, From The Back3. Fields4. Shuffle On Out5. Delphine6. "451271"7. No Answer8. Movin' Right Along9. Funk Offthe "clan":Bass – Dave KingCornet – Ack Van RooyenDrums, Percussion, Producer – Curt CressGuitar – Volker KriegelKeyboards – Kristian SchultzeOther fine CURT CRESS CLAN related releases:  VOLKER KRIEGEL Spectrum , Doldinger Jubilee Concert '75 , TRIUMVIRAT Pompeii , CURT CRESS Bang , ACK van ROOVEN Pictures From My Album Of Friends

......for the long-awaited reissue of "CURT CRESS CLAN" is finally here! In the 1970's, there was no finer "jazz-rock-fusion" group than Germany's Klaus Doldinger led PASSPORT. From 1973-1977 PASSPORT released a quintet of albums,  Hand Made , Looking Thru , Cross-Collateral , Infinity Machine  and  Iguacu  anchored by the funky, driven, virtuosic beats of Mr. Curt Cress. Just over the age of 20 when joining the band, Curt had already served apprenticeships in LAST, ORANGE PEEL and EMERGENCY. Led by composer, saxophonist and keyboardist Klaus Doldinger, the band on these classic albums consisted of main keyboardist Kristen Shultze, Bassist & guitarist Wolfgang Schmidt and Cress. With each release immediately recognizable by the continuing conceptional art of Wandry's Studio of Hamburg, who was to PASSPORT what Roger Dean was to YES, PASSPORT proved that the dreaded jazz-rock-fusion tag was not the "kiss of death" but a viable, exciting world of musical possibilities. Whether kicking up a storm of funky propulsion, flurries of syncopated accents or just sympathetic support, Cress had a distinctive sound and recognizable footprint. An extension of the heights reached on their masterpiece "Cross-Collateral," Cress, along with fellow band member Schultze, bassist Dave King, Ack van Rooyen on cornet and German guitar sensation Volker Kriegel, an alumni of 1974's  Doldinger Jubilee Concert , created an album that could easily be mistaken as an official PASSPORT release. With all tunes written by, or some combination of, Cress, King and Schultze, "CURT CRESS CLAN" has survived the test of time and is one of those fondly remembered albums that are not a letdown when rediscovered decades later. All the compositions could have easily fit on any of the previous PASSPORT classics. Lovingly reissued on CD by Sirena Records, "CCC" comes in a nice digipak with a booklet, liner notes in German and an amusing English translation. The CD-Mastering is exemplary, with no telltale signs of over-compression or "brickwalling." If you're a fan of high-caliber musicianship and exciting jazz-rock-fusion, look no further. Listening to "CCC" is like reconnecting to a welcomed old friend......1. Cyclone2, From The Back3. Fields4. Shuffle On Out5. Delphine6. "451271"7. No Answer8. Movin' Right Along9. Funk Offthe "clan":Bass – Dave KingCornet – Ack Van RooyenDrums, Percussion, Producer – Curt CressGuitar – Volker KriegelKeyboards – Kristian SchultzeOther fine CURT CRESS CLAN related releases:  VOLKER KRIEGEL Spectrum , Doldinger Jubilee Concert '75 , TRIUMVIRAT Pompeii , CURT CRESS Bang , ACK van ROOVEN Pictures From My Album Of Friends

Ein Kumpel hat sich diese Scheibe als LP vor etwa 20 Jahren aufeiner Platten-Börse für ein paar Märker gebraucht gekauft undseither besaß ich eine Kassette davon die ich immer mal wiederhörte. Ich hätte im Traum nicht daran gedacht das es mal einenCD-Reissiue davon geben würde bis ich hier drüber gestolpert bin.Deutsche Jazzrock Siebziger Scheiben waren und sind Minderheiten-programm und schon damals allzuoft in der angelsächsischen Neu-heitenflut schlicht untergegangen - trotz eindeutig guter musikalischerQualitäten,oder vielleicht gerade deswegen ?Umso löblicher dieser schöne Rerelease im Papier-FOC mit Heftchen.Akustisch sauber kommt auch die CD rüber. Und alles zum akzeptablenPreis. Musikloverherz was willst du mehr.

Un bel opus par le super batteur du groupe allemand PASSPORT. Certes un poil en dessous des meilleurs opus du groupe, mais de qualité.