Title: Rifs aplenty, but where's the melody?
Product review: Mr. Mengleburg may very well be famous in Holland for his jazz stylings, but he falls way short of my expectations. His compositions seem to be flying fingers and crashing notes, with no heed to finding a melody line. I like to at least recognize an old standard when I hear one. After putting the CD into a random pattern play, I sat back to listen. After a few tunes had played, I began to scan the list of titles as I had yet to recognize anything. I was astounded to learn I had been listening to old standards--Begin the Beguine, Someone To Watch Over Me, etc. Not one song had I recognized. Improvisation is wonderful, but not to the extent of wiping out the entire melody line. On the positive side, "House Party Starting" was fairly benign, and the rhythm section sublime. But I could not recommend this album, nor any of the Misha Mengleburg's music to anyone I know.
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