Werner Muller Orchestra - Jazz Mutations

Symphonic Jazz at it's finest and a rare musical find from post-war Berlin. Unknown performances of the orchestra under the direction of Werner Müller, recorded September 1961 at the studio of Hochschule für Musik. Excellent crossover of Westcoast, Hard Bop, Modern Classical and Blues. Most of the tracks composed exclusively for the occasion, such as "Jazz Suite" (Robert Farnon), "Jazzific 59/16" (Julien Francois Zbinden), "Versionen einer 12-Ton-Reihe" (Klaus Wüsthoff), "Blues Variationen" and "Jazz Mutations" (Helmut Brandt). They open up an exciting new chapter of Progressive Jazz in Germany. Exclusive vinyl LP & Digital featuring Müller's most advanced recordings. This album documents the rare, unknown performances of the Berlin based orchestra under the direction of Werner Müller (1920-1998). The recording took place on September 29th 1961. A mere six weeks before the start of the building of the Berlin Wall. Müller had been working in the western part of town for over thirteen years. His orchestra performed the popular dance music of the day where progressive Jazz was unheard of. Therefore, the "Jazz Mutations" presented here for the first time, stands out as a rare musical find. The recording shows that Müller and his orchestra had something else to offer, namely an excellent crossover of Modern Jazz, symphonic classical music and contemporary avant-garde. Their music is a rich mixture of Westcoast Jazz, Hard Bop, Modern Classical and Blues. Similar to the sounds of Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Bill Holman. 1995, together with the RIAS Big Band in a reunited Berlin. Almost sixty years later his advanced recordings from 1961 are finally rediscovered. They open up a sophisticated and exciting new chapter of Symphonic Jazz in Germany.