| Playground | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg.webp) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | January 2–7, 2007 | |||
| Studio | Avatar, New York City | |||
| Genre | Improvised music, jazz | |||
| Length | 70:04 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 2016 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Manu Katché chronology | ||||
| ||||
Playground is an album by drummer and composer Manu Katché recorded in the first week of 2007 and released September 25, 2007 on ECM.[1][2]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| All About Jazz | [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek says "Playground is an exciting new chapter in Katche's evolution as a leader; but more than this, bodes well for the future of jazz: it never loses sight of itself, but moves the various threads of its subgenres further without stretching any of them to the breaking point."[3]
In JazzTimes Jeff Tamarkin wrote "Manu Katché must be the least egotistical drummer on the planet. Although he’s rarely out of earshot on Playground, and the vision is clearly his, there’s not a moment when he hogs the spotlight ... most of the star turns go to the Norwegian hornmen, Trygve Seim on tenor and soprano saxophones and trumpeter Mathias Eick, and to the Polish pianist, Marcin Wasilewski. But they too keep things in check, and Playground, despite brief flashes of intensity, often teeters toward the smooth-jazz chasm—it never quite falls in, but it comes awfully close."[6]
On All About Jazz John Kelman noted "Playground is, like its predecessor, first and foremost an outstandingly honest record and proves, yet again, that accessible music needn't be lightweight or predictable."[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Manu Katché
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lo" | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Pieces of Emotion" | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Song for Her" | 6:24 |
| 4. | "So Groovy" | 5:50 |
| 5. | "Morning Joy" | 5:27 |
| 6. | "Motion" | 5:14 |
| 7. | "Project 58" | 6:13 |
| 8. | "Snapshot" | 4:53 |
| 9. | "Possible Thought" | 6:03 |
| 10. | "Inside Game" | 5:06 |
| 11. | "Clubbing" | 7:03 |
| 12. | "Song for Her (Var.)" | 6:22 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Manu Katché – drums
- Mathias Eick – trumpet
- Trygve Seim – tenor and soprano saxophones
- Marcin Wasilewski – piano
- Slawomir Kurkiewicz – bass
- David Torn – guitar (tracks 1 & 12)
Technical personnel
- Manfred Eicher – producer
- James A. Farber – recording engineer
- Sascha Kleis – design
- Darius Khondji – photography
References
- ↑ Manu Katché discography, accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ ECM Releases, accessed October 24, 2016
- 1 2 Jurek, Thom. Playground – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- 1 2 Kelman, J., All About Jazz Review, accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 810. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ↑ Tamarkin, J., JazzTimes Review, November 2007 - accessed October 24, 2016