Klaus Weiss

[Pim]

He’s the connection between two of my favorite players: Mal Waldron and Billy Harper. The two dates with Mal are great (On Tour and Childs Prayer) and recently I am spinning the one with Billy Harper and Cecil Bridgewater on MPS and that on is also excellent.

Now his drumming isn’t necessarily anything exceptional but he did form some very fine bands and played some really fine tunes. Is there more to discover and is he known around here by others?

[Rabshakeh]

There's a short thread from a while back:

 

[soulpope]

He had the Sunbird Project with two releases in the early 70`s (on BASF and Finger), which were quite sought after by "Rare Grooves" collectors .... was interested due to Jimmy Woode`s presence, but this kind of Fusion music didn`t to anything for me ....

[Pim]

11 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

There's a short thread from a while back:

 

Thanks!

[Peter Friedman]

I have the 3 Klaus Weiss CDs below.

[mjazzg]

I hope the album with Harper sounds better than it looks...that cover design?!

[clifford_thornton]

It's good (not great). The cover is ridiculous. It's not too hard to find in the bins around NY, so it must've gotten fairly good distribution.

[mikeweil]

Klaus Weiss was an important figure on the German jazz scene, one of the most swinging drummers in the Kenny Clarke tradition, like Joe Nay. But Nay did not keep his level, where Weiss always had good bands and taught a lot. He had good younger players in his band and kept the hard bop torch burning over here. I saw him live with the quintet, he swung and projected good spirits without making much of a show. I have a lot of respect for him. Maybe his records sound a bit academic, but the band live was always very good.

Edited February 7, 2022 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

18 hours ago, mjazzg said:

I hope the album with Harper sounds better than it looks...that cover design?!

The cover was changed for the CD reissue, both are hard to find.

That must have been recorded during one of the European tours of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, I suppose?

[Pim]

Yeah I think so. The cover is indeed awful but I really like the music. It’s nice to hear Harper play in a more relaxed atmosphere. He shines anyway. Most of the compositions were written by Mal Waldron and that’s pretty audible in a good way. As is stated before: his two albums with Mal, especially the live  date, are great. I gave them both a well deserved four stars on my blog:

https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2021/05/1978-klaus-weiss-quintet-childs-prayer.html

https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2021/05/1979-klaus-weiss-quintet-on-tour.html

19 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Klaus Weiss was an important figure on the German jazz scene, one of the most swinging drummers in the Kenny Clarke tradition, like Joe Nay. But Nay did not keep his level, where Weiss always had good bands and taught a lot. He had good younger players in his band and kept the hard bop torch burning over here. I saw him live with the quintet, he swung and projected good spirits without making much of a show. I have a lot of respect for him. Maybe his records sound a bit academic, but the band live was always very good.

Thanks for that info Mike  he sounds like a swinging drummer that plays with more free oriented players now and then. 

21 hours ago, Peter Friedman said:

I have the 3 Klaus Weiss CDs below.

So…. how do you like them?

[mikeweil]

These are the ones I have - will re-listen tomorrow.

[sidewinder]

Cult Library LP reissued by Trunk