Rob Madna

[Larry Kart]

Distinctive and excellent. For more info go to Marc Myer's' recent post on  Madna (1931-88) on Jazz Wax. Lots of tracks from this album on You Tube.

[AllenLowe]

2 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Distinctive and excellent. For more info go to Marc Myer's' recent post on  Madna (1931-88) on Jazz Wax. Lots of tracks from this album on You Tube.

great pianist  - just to correct, other sources say he died in 2003.

Edited December 24, 2022 by AllenLowe

[Larry Kart]

12 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

great pianist  - just to correct, other sources say he died in 2003.

Sorry for my error -- 2003 is correct.

[Big Beat Steve]

Also recommended: His easily accessible recordings collated on the JAZZ BEHIND THE DIKES compilation. This series has received regular spins here for some 25 years (and the 2 CDs reissued by Philips in the 90s triggered my interest enough to get the vinyl twofer as well - for a change of format).

The Rob Madna tunes are among the more individualistic sessions on these compilations.
But FWIW the others deserve a listen too IMO - and overall these artists that made jazz their favorite idiom are not any more "derivative" - to quote a period reviewers' favorite "one-putdown-fits-all" blast 😉 - than many U.S. jazz recording artists a notch or two below the topmost-level jazz stars of that era. 

Edited December 25, 2022 by Big Beat Steve

[Daniel A]

I discovered Rob Madna by coincidence a while back when searching for recordings of the saxophonist Ferdinand Povel. The 5CD box mentioned by Larry above is excellent. Madna's arrangements are intricate and have a lot beyond the surface, while they are also swinging and accessible. He is also a very fine pianist with splendid timing.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Daniel A

[Larry Kart]

"Intricate ... a lot beyond the surface" --you can say that again. And yet everything sounds quite organic and unique to Madna, though my friend composer-arranger Bill Kirchner, who pointed me to Madna, detects a strong Thad Jones influence. Thad in fact tried to hire Madna to write for him but Madna had to decline because of  teaching obligations. I hear some Thad  in terms of intricacy, but Madna's  writing doesn't sound like Thad's to me. BTW a word should be said for the Dutch Jazz Orchestra. They have their own deep warm sound and play beautifully. Fine soloists too, Povel and tenorman Ton Roos among them.