CD ECM Records Manu Katche: Playground

2007

Manu Katche - tobe
Mathias Eick - trompeta
Trygve Seim - saxofon tenos si sopran
Marcin Wasilewski - pian
Slawomir Kurkiewicz - contrabas
David Torn - chitara

This is late-night music with the smoky atmospheres of Kind of Blue. … What wins you … is the quality of the soloists, whether the lyrical piano of Marcin Wasilewski, the darting saxophone of Trygve Seim, or the mellow Miles Davis trumpet of Mathias Eick. Katché allows himself more space than on Neighbourhood but is never overbearing. This is music that quietly beguiles.
John Bungey, The Times

This music on Playground takes up where Neighbourhood left off, albeit with some changes in personnel and more tightly focussed musical moods; here is beautifully burnished, rounded melodies woven with solos that take up where the melody leaves off, an almost perfect integration of the written and the improvised. … Every body pulls together with selfless music making creating an instant classic.
Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise

Katché and his band navigate the twists and turns of Playground with aplomb and personality. The album also exhibits a sense of spaciousness that places it even more firmly in the audiophile category. Combined with the stellar performances, that makes this Playground a true joy.
Ross Boissoneau, Jazziz, November 2007