''First Prize'' is an album by pianist and composer
George Gruntz
George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...
's Concert Jazz Band, which was recorded in Switzerland in 1989 and released on
Enja Records
Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971.
The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review by
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.
Life and career
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...
stated "This is a particularly fun outing ... both complex and full of wit and color. ... there is plenty of variety and many brilliant moments. George Gruntz's 18-piece group was one of the finest of the period, and this sometimes-eccentric CD is a perfect introduction to his music".
Track listing
All compositions by George Gruntz except where noted
# "So Easy" (Larry Schneider) – 8:09
# "Gorby-Chief" – 11:25
# "Speaking of Love" – 7:47
# "Trance-Figurations" (Franco Ambrosetti) – 5:42
# "Amnesty" – 8:08
# "E.B.S.B.M.O." (
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...
) – 9:18
# "Band Switch" – 7:18
# "Fishin' With Gramps" ( Ray Anderson) – 5:16
Personnel
*
George Gruntz
George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...
– piano, arranger
*
Franco Ambrosetti
Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio Ambrosetti, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Stanton Davis – trumpet, flugelhorn
* Mike Mossman – trumpet, flugelhorn
* Manfred Schoof – trumpet, flugelhorn
*
Marvin Stamm
Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter.
Career
Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...
– trumpet, flugelhorn
*
Sharon Freeman
Ahnee Sharon Freeman is a jazz pianist, French horn player and arranger.
Freeman played French horn for the jazz opera '' Escalator over the Hill'', Gil Evans's 1973 album '' Svengali'', and in 1983 she worked on a piece of jazz Christmas music. ...
– French horn
*
Tom Varner
Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown, New Jersey, Morristown, New Jersey, United States) is an American jazz French horn, horn (French horn) player and composer.
Varner grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, where he started playing in the orc ...
– French horn
* David Bargeron – euphonium
* Joe Daley – euphonium
* Howard Johnson – tuba, bass clarinet
*Chris Hunter – flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
*Ernst-Ludwig Petrowski – flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
* Bob Malach – flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
* Larry Schneider – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
* Vinny Golia – baritone saxophone, bass flute
* Mike Richmond – bass
*
Adam Nussbaum
Adam Nussbaum (born November 29, 1955) is an American jazz drummer.
Early life
Nussbaum was born in New York City on November 29, 1955. He grew up in Norwalk (Connecticut), Norwalk, Connecticut, and first played the drums at the age of four. Aft ...