Presale - Expected Soon

Tracklist:

Leningrad Jazz Ensemble - Aria

Sh Jazz Quintet - Delilah

Josef Blaha Trio - Inter Mezzo Forte

Csaba Deseo Ensemble - Beyond The Csitári Mountains

Manfred Ludwig-Sextett - Skandinavia

Anatoly Vapirov - Mystery

Zbigniew Namyslowski - Piatawka

Andrzej Trzaskowski Quintet - Synopsis (Expression I)

Tomsits Quartet - Dhrupad

Nicolai Gromin Quartet - Corrida

Valery Kolesnikov, Vyacheslav Novikov, Vladimir Molotkov & Alexander Christidis - Rainbow

Tone Jansa - Goa

S+HQ - My Girl (And Other Things)

Pege Jazz Workshop - Hungarian Folk Song

One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind".

In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was 'going on behind'. We see that music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical.

Our liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz….The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome.

We chronicle the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. "Whether it's by improvisation in the African-American jazz tradition, or by a village kobza player standing on top of a damn hill - he feels connected to the stars".

Gatefold 2LP with pictures, liner notes & download code.