Fast City - A Tribute To Joe Zawinul (2010)

Following their collaboration with guitarist John Scofield, Holland's Metropole Orkest under arranger Vince Mendoza visits the rich repertoire of Joe Zawinul for this venture. It features former Zawinul associates such as bassist Victor Bailey, guitarist/vocalist Amit Chatterjee and drummer Peter Erskine, caught on two live shows in 2008. The programme includes classics such as "Orient Express", "Nubian Sundance" and "In A Silent Way", and the power and flexibility of this fine orchestra are well suited to representing Zawinul's majestic sweep and dramatic impact. The strings echo his use of vocal chants and airy melody on a reflective "Jungle Book", the trumpets blister the paint on the slamming title track, and keyboardist Jim Beard does an effective job though almost inevitably without the late maestro's throwaway incisiveness on some exuberantly note-warping synth solos." (John Fordham, The Guardian)