Jankowskeynotes

After notching an international hit with the orchestral pop instrumental "A Walk Through the Black Forest," German pianist/composer Horst Jankowski went on to make more jazz-oriented recordings for the German audiophile label MPS. Jankowskeynotes is one of these albums, waxed in 1970 with an assortment of horn players and a vocal group, the Jankowski Singers. Like many instrumental artists in the '60s, Jankowski's Mercury recordings often straddled the line between pop and jazz; his efforts for MPS, on the other hand, lean more toward the jazz side but retain a good measure of pop accessibility. Part of the crossover appeal can be seen in the track list, which includes Jankowski's adaptations of pop hits such as Burt Bacharach's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," as well as a "Beautiful Music" rendition of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." "Baroness" incorporates mild jazz-funk elements, including a wah-wah guitar, but isn't funky enough to be categorized as such. Despite the presence of a vocal group and some tightly arranged passages, Jankowski and his session mates stretch out and improvise throughout, keeping one foot planted in the jazz camp. The carefully mastered CD version, released in Germany in 2004, is a straight reissue of the original album with new liner notes. Although the album lacks the repetitive pop hooks that made "A Walk in the Black Forest" so delightful, it displays Jankowski's chops as a jazz pianist and continues his exploration of the possibilities of crossover music.