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Muriel Grossmann: Quiet Earth

By Mark Corroto
August 9, 2021
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Anyone familiar with Tibetan Buddhism will know that once their spiritual leader or Dalai Lama dies, officials set off in search of his reincarnation, interviewing and examining potential postulants. Listening to Quiet Earth by Austrian saxophonist

Muriel Grossmann

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Muriel Grossmann one cannot help but ask if she might be the reincarnation or avatar of the late

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane. Certainly that is one heavy label to place upon Grossmann but, a few minutes into the opener "Wien," and there is little doubt this artist has the proper bona fides. The composition carries that A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965) vibe with a reverence for the ethereal. She is backed by her longtime collaborators, guitarist

Radomir Milojkovic

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Radomir Milojkovic, bassist

Gina Schwarz

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Gina Schwarz, and drummer

Uros Stamenkovic

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Uros Stamenkovic, plus organist

Llorenc Barcelo

organ, Hammond B3

" data-original-title="" title="">Llorenc Barcelo who came aboard for the previous release Reverence (2019). Both recordings are available as CDs from Dreamlandrecords or as 200 gram LPs from RR GEMS. "Wien" doesn't parrot that Coltrane masterpiece, it expands upon the concept with Barcel��'s organ pointing towards the spiritual jazz of

Larry Young

organ, Hammond B3
1940 - 1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Young, and Milojkovic's guitar chewing on some Delta blues.

Like every succession of the Dalai Lama, Grossmann's music carries not just the previous incarnation but also its lineage. "African Call" travels back to the roots of jazz to its motherland, Stamenkovic and Schwarz laying down the rhythms that fuelled the birth of blues, jazz, and rock. If one need more proof of Grossmann's incarnation, "Peaceful River" first finds her on soprano before swapping to tenor saxophone, as its Gospel blues expands into a kind of awakened devotional music where Stamenkovic works his ride cymbal very much in the manner of

Elvin Jones

drums
1927 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Elvin Jones. The title track opens with Grossmann drawing first from

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman's sound before returning to the Coltrane spirit with her soprano saxophone. Her quartet blossoms with sleek solos by Milojkovic and Barcel�� before a brief saxophone, bass and drums improvisation acts as a kind of coming attractions preview.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Wien; African Call; Peaceful River; Quiet Earth.

Personnel

Muriel Grossmann

saxophone

Radomir Milojkovic

guitar, electric

Gina Schwarz

bass

Uros Stamenkovic

drums

Llorenc Barcelo

organ, Hammond B3

Album information

Title: Quiet Earth | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: RR Gems/Dreamlandrecords

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