JAZZ ALBUM OF THE WEEK. ....it is a full-scale display of arco and pizzicato bass duets and solos that is also an imaginative jazz use of this peculiar instrumentation. Mr. Brown and Mr. Egilsson collaborate on a gorgeously slinky blues and on a darkly singing treatment of "Body and Soul" and Mr. Egilsson explores the melodic potential of the bowed bass on a soulful version of "I Remember Clifford. John S. Wilson. THE NEW YORK TIMES ....The Fascinating Voyage' (Basses Loaded CD) album joins two men who are both consummate artists and consummate musicians and consummate bassists. They are Arni Egilsson and Ray Brown...After hearing just one track from the --Fascinating Voyage album (Stella by Starlight), it had already become one of my favorite bass records of all time. I have never heard horn-like Jazz lines played on a bowed bass the way Arni Egilsson playes them on this incredible jazz recording.....Egilsson's combining of superb classical bass technique with the "free-flight", spontaneous improvisation of a true jazz artist is something new. This combination has been jazz bassists' goal ever since Jimmy Blanton. and with Arni Egilsson it has finally been realized...... It just doesn't get any better than this. Charlie Parker and Art Tatum showed us what can be done in the overall realm of jazz. I believe Arni Egilsson's approach to bass playing has opened up a whole new world to all bassists... John Bany. INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF BASSISTS VolXlll Fall 1986 CADENCE ....Arni's best interpretations on standards are on "Summertime" and I Remember Clifford", but where he really shines is on the folk song "Sigrun"... when he loves a tune he makes you know it, and that is not a talent given to everyone. "Sigrun" is worth treasuring all by itself..." CADENCE The album has the nice feel of four friends getting together and playing for the fun of it. However, Egilsson has taken great care in the arrangement and presentation....this is a good recording, and the fun these four must have had making it carries over into the listening..." R. lannapollo, OPTION "With no "single" oriented producer to interfere with creativity here Arni Egilsson and colleagues take their sweet eloquent time with ten tunes though a "Fascinating Voyage". Egilsson's intense probing dominates. Each tune bears the imprint of his swinging bass steeped.in.pathos. bent tones, and his linear excursions that alternately explode and subside. Arni's bass is consistently brilliant. He plays in wnderfully close and resilient relationship with Pete Jolly. Jimmie Smith and Ray Brown.... Fascinating Voyage." it's a trip." -Johnny Adams for JAZZ KKML THIS MONTM On THE MONTEREY PENINSULA LIGHTHOUSE, JAPAN February 1989 issue Bravo Egilsson! This is a fantastic album for bowed bass fans. Its rare to hear arco bass playing throughout the entire album. In any case it is one of the most admirable albums coming from Main Stream. One definitely must listen to this album. Egilsson's bass playing is straight forward and beautiful. To bow honestly to the melodyline is not as easy as it seems. What is required there is not the tedchnique but the musical feeling. It is his pure joy and honesty of music that catches the audience's heart. What performs is not fingers, but his heart. In "I love You" he reminds me of Clifford Brown at his best, in "My Funny Valentine" he reminds me of the late Chet Baker, who moves me to tears. The rhythm section is amazingly superb, heavy pizzicato bass of Ray Brown, light fingering of Pete Jolly, simplistic handywork of Jimmie Smith all are very tasty. Doctor KATO RAY BROWN Ray Brown has been my idol since before I started playing Bass. When I was a teenager growing up in Iceland I bought all the albums that I could get my hands on and after going to England to study, I used to follow the Oscar Peterson trio around whenever their touring brought them there. After I decided I wanted to play bass, I would play along with Ray's albums and try to emulate what he was doing. That is how we learned to play jazz in those days. Of course I never got to be as good as Ray, but then who did! But Ray Brown wasn't just a jazz player. When he decided to stay in Los Angeles he was recognized as a first rate studio player, whose classical playing would have made any symphony orchestra bass section proud. As a colleague Ray was great to work with, totally unassuming and treated all of us like his equal. For example about a month after I met him we were doing a TV show together at Universal Studios. I think the composer was Benny Carter rather than J.J. Johnson. Of course Ray was there to play the jazz part and I the classical stuff, but when it came time to play the first jazz cue and the red light was about to go on, Ray hands me his part and says: "You got it kid" Speaking of being intimidated!! Of course I saw my life flash before my eyes, but I did survive!! As crazy as it might sound, there were times when Ray was hired as the legit bass player and me as the jazz player. Not that Ray couldn't handle the classical part, but frankly I ain't no Ray Brown!! Let me add one more story. In my opinion the very best music for a T.V. Show ever composed with the Bass in mind was Lalo Schiffrin's "Mission Impossible". Of course a lot of that music was written around Ray Brown's Bass solos. Ray was a very busy studio player in those days and often had to send a substitute player to cover for him, mostly at the beginning or the end of a session and frequently I was Ray's sub. The first time I subbed for him on the "Mission Impossible" show he asked me to get to the studio about 4 PM and finish the session for him. To explain, Ray knew that my basses are set up with the strings close to the fingerboard and a very easy and light action, since I am basically lazy. At any rate, Ray says: Don't bother to bring a bass, I'll leave mine there, you just play it and the cartage company will pick it up at the end of the session". I got to the studio ( old Paramount studio F) about 3:30 PM and they were just about to make a take. Ray hands me his bass and says "Its all yours" and with that he was gone. Immediately the red light comes on and I looked at the part. It was black with notes =BASS SOLO=. I started plucking away only to realize that the strings were about TWO FEET from the fingerboard and the action was heavier than a Mack Truck!! I lived through this, but I bet you Ray was laughing all the way to the next gig. One day I'll get even with him!! I know that Ray Brown has been honored all over the world, but I did not know that one of his fans is the President of Austria as are many members of his cabinet. A year before his death I had an opportunity to attend a ceremony that simply blew me away. The Republic of Austria awarded Ray Brown their highest civilian Medal of Honor for Arts and Sciences. The Medal was pinned on him by the Minister of Culture at the end of Ray's concert in Vienna. The Hall was packed and Ray received a standing ovation. Not bad for a jazz bass player!! Equally impressive is that when I met Ray in Europe a few weeks earlier, he had been on the road for about two months. So when I left him I said "will you be coming home soon?" He laughed and said: "Are you kidding. I still have 35 one nighters to do!!" And he was telling the truth. So what's this business of being 75 years old? A schedule like that would kill me! There never was a bass player like Ray Brown There never will be another bass player like Ray Brown. I am proud and thankful for the chance to be his friend! ======== Basses Loaded been enjoying quite a bit of airplay lately. Here are some comments by the radio personalities: A wonderful cd. swing2jazz@hotmail.com Arni I just love this album. I can't stop playing it. I am a big Ray Brown fan and I think this collaboration is stunning. I particulalrly love the Cole Porter, and Stella by Starlight, oh I love them all... Your original blues composition is also very beautiful. The bowed bass speaks to the soul I think. Kind regards and thanks, Helen Jarroe Cairns FM89.1 info@cairnsbeaches.com Great Cd. wonderful to hear the mixing of a few basses on one cd. Sounds great, playd it on my show many times. Good stuff! Dave Hughes Small ensemble jazz - you can't beat it. And this stuff is great. Although predominantly standards, they are interpreted in a fashion that is most interesting. The inclusion of an icelandic folk song is fascinating. Hi. I'm impressed about this bass work. Arni bring bass playing to a higher level and does things you would not beleive. Impressive, strong and world class. Both his CD's have been played on Blue Note at Nye Radio Larvik in Norway and we will sure do more. Keep up the good work! Regards from Eivind This was TREAT! I know that I previously provided feedback, & seein' a 2ND Arni Egilsson release suggested this e-mail. Paul Warburton, our (CO/Denver) resident virtuosic elder bass states-musician (played for a monthon the west coast w/ Bill Evans in about '65, of course knew of him. Amazin' that even after a significant immersion on my part in The Jazz Culture, new & unknown to me prodigious talentzz present themsevles. I'm listenin' forward. UTNG, dig, Peter fans loved it william jervis hat a truly great album. I can hardly wait to play it on air. The only problem is, with SO MANY really excellent tracks, it will be hard to choose which one to play first. Using my own personal music rating system of each track, which has as much to do with what I feel my listeners will enjoy as it does with what I personally feel about the quality of a particular track, Basses Loaded didn’t have a single “Dud” track that I wouldn’t play on air… which is something pretty rare. I now have both Basses Loaded (clever name, by the way) and Bassus Re-Surrectus, which leads me to ask the question: Arni, will you be releasing any other jazz albums in the near future? I certainly hope so! Well done. Congratulations! Now, I hope you’ll excuse this next comment, but in all honesty, Arni, I feel that the artwork on the cover of Basses Loaded is horrible and could give the impression that the CD might be a cheap comedy album instead of the top quality Jazz recording that it is. I often wonder how many potential sales are lost for a reason as silly as this. All the best, Harold Ellison "The Jazz Cafe" TripleU-FM Nowra, New South Wales Australia hce42@austarnet.com Jesse & Mr. Egilsson: Howzzit --- I was delighted to have received "Basses Loaded". I was even more pleasured by my treat of listening to two consummate world-class bassists (w/ no less than Mr. Jolly & Mr. Smith!!) conversing with fingers & bow!! A sonic joy for myself, my co-broadcasters, & KRFC FT COLLINS'(CO) radio audience. My only regret about your CD, being a baseball fan, is that the double entendre of the bases being loaded, didn't come through with any baseball repetoire, of which Jazz is loaded. Thanx. UTNG (Until The Next Gig), dig, Peter Poses, Host of "OverNight Jazz: The Soundz Of Surprize" --- www.krfcfm.org. This is an excellent Cd lk. There cis some outstanding bowed as well as plucked work which lifts the bass into a front line instrument. Ray Brown. one of my akll time favourite bass players provides a solid platform and the rhythm section is outstanding. Tracks played to air: Body and Soul (5 times), It Could Happen To You (3 times) and Blues For Ray. A great CD. David What a great little album full of gems!I particularly enjoyed Sigrun, Stella by Starlight ,It Could Happen and I Remember Clifford. Arni plays quite finely on the bow and Pete Jolly was great on the piano. It was a superb outing for Ray Brown also and lets not forget Jimmie on the drums just keeping it all going. Hey! Summertime was something great also especially for Ray. This is a super album and I will be playing tracks from time to time on my national Jazz program, A Jazz Hour, which goes out weekly across Australia via the CBAA satellite. Thanks boys for some great programming numbers. Barry O'Sullivan Presenter. Superb album. Creative while at the same time urging listenability. Larry Dane-Kellogg ARNI EGILSSON - Bassus Loaded What a play. And what a playing way. Here it's back ARNI EGILSSON's bass and all his fresh power into rendering the great classics of the past (COLE PORTER, GEORGE GERSHWIN) and his own original (Blues for Ray) the same pleaasure for us to listen to. Speaking his refined musical language with piano (PETE JOLLY) and drums (JIMMIE SMITH), he finds his proper land for passion and playing with the other bass contribution (RAY BROWN). And it's great for us to change our emotions from involving swing, to deep blues, to curious and interesting experimentation. Good. Preferred tracks: 4 Blues for Ray - 2 Body and Soul - 8 I Love You Scazzola Giovanni Pietro his is one of the most enjoyable CD's I have received from RADIODIRECTX. I usually don't care for violins in my jazz, but this CD really swings. I have already played a cut on my show, Jazz Liner Notes. Thanks. ...Fred Friedman I thoroughly enjoyed it. What a versatile and accomplished player, and in such illustrious company. Good to hear the bass in a variety of roles. John MacInnes Fantastic album Alex Pijnen Kick my butt and send me back to school. I need to play my 5 string more, I've been firmly shown up. Very Classy Stuff on this recording. I love this CD.......Thank You, Arni, Pete, Ray & Jimmie. Dusty Durst This is absolutely extraordinary music...jazz at its finest and purest and from all participants, the courage and dedication to push through an obscure vision that is brilliantly realised. On the 'Night Train Show' it's been very VERY popular, my usual practice of playing a couple of tracks on one show before putting the album away for(at least)a few weeks and bringing it back again later went out of the window on week one due to the phone calls, initially curiosity but gathering momentum as the track listing was given...after seemingly endless " I remember Clifford!!! ooh could you play that???" and similar calls for for "Body and Soul" and 'Summertime" I gave in and broke my own programming rule and played it all. That was before the (Australian) summer holidays and now it's on again tonight, "It could Happen To You". It has happened to me and I suspect it'll keep on happening; congratulations on an extraordinary acheivement, I only wonder why it's taken two launches to have the effect it's having. Don Smith 'Night Train Show' 3 RPP FM Moprnington Victoria AUSTRALIA Don Smith Loved it. Wonderful music-making. Lenny Mazel KCME-FM This dynamic trio record has been an instant favorite...with such great tracks as Stella By Starlight...Blues For Ray and also Summertime. Arni can play! Eric Cohen We love this music very much. Arni Egilsson has a way of musical thinking that fits in the format of our program Afterdinnerjazz. I'm glad we received other albums today and I will certainly have some tracks in our program in the weeks to come. John van Eijsden Radio Hoogeveen, Netherlands Fantastic CD with good performance. Just straight forward jazz by a trio that knows what the are doiing. Keep on the good work, love to hear more from you Jacques Jongmans Great CD! I appreciate the sound as well as my DJ's. Album is on Heavy Rotation. Dave Doyle Creative, hot, and traditional. Thanks a lot. All on the air. Victor Kaminskiy ou need to have this CD in your collection, this is too good. For all music lovers, no excuse to not have this right now on your CD players, because no collection is complete without this essential. Gi Dussault Co-Host & Co-Producer Upper Room Radio Show www.upperroomwithjoekelley.com Gi Dussault An engaging collection of tracks from what must be a unique quartet with two great bass players. Love it. TONY WICKHAM Radio Maldwyn, UK What can I say about this release, if your looking for that old school attack and sound, Ray Brown is the man, coming from the era of unamplified / pull the hell outta the string 10 inches off the fingerboard style, you've arrived at the right place, sadly Ray's now passed but he's left with him a legacy that's unmatched, Arni Egilsson is no slouch either! there's lots of fantastic arco work here which is oh so soothing to my ear (i'm also a doublebassist so i'm kinda biased!) I think any jazzhead will be happy with this release, I know I am. Cheers Marc Decho Great musicians showing their experience. Just what you would expect from jazzmen of their ilk - quality all through. Martin Wright 3ZZZ Melbourne Australia This is jazz great J.Otis killer sounds! Hi Arni, I love this recording. It must have been a real joy for you to be part of this recording. A while back, I featured a track from the album. I will be featuring more music in the near future. The music gels with rhymic tenacity, and melodic overtones. Beautiful music indeed. Take care, Randy McElligott A true grand slam!!!! ("ballgame over Yankees win...Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee YANKEES WIN!!!") As John Sterling would say. Great sound and tunes.. keep up the good work Bob Parzych Hello Jesse, Received the following CD's 1) Arni Egilsson - Basses Loaded 2) Arni Egilsson - Bassus Resurrectus exquisite albums!!! Never heard of Arni Egilsson, he is sensational. He slipped under my radar, but no longer. Will let the world know. Peter Kuller xcellent album , the two double-basses work perfectly together , the other two musicians are great as well. It was a great idea to have Ray Brown on this recording , fabulous musicians working together can really produce a great work such as this , highly recommendable to all jazz listeners alike. Pascal Dorban Radio ARA , Luxembourg long last wish has been fulfilled with these two CD's with a special attention to Double Bass, because i like Jazz with a great Double Bass very much, today received the CD's and will be taken into airplay as from coming tuesday. Joost van Steen Thank you for sending on this C.D. This is a terrific C.D. from start to finish , the use of a bow on the Bass is both unusual and refreshing. With 4 such quality Musicians it is difficult to go wrong and the interaction between them is very evident. I was especially impressed with the interpretation of some well known Classic Tracks and it was great to hear the great Ray Brown, the years have not diminished his playing. This will most certainly feature in future Jazz programmes Regards John Reid. Keith Community Radio. Banffshire. Scotland ====== Arni Egilsson has earned an inernational reputation as a Double Bass soloist both in classical music and jazz. He has recorded a Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (NIDUR by Icelandic composer T. Sigurbjornsson) under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy and on this CD his distinctively unique arco jazz style is heard with the legendary Ray Brown, who is simply the most famous jazz Bassist of our time, accompanied by the brilliant Pete Jolly on piano and Jimmie Smith on drums