Uzeb - The Last Concert 1991 (full show)

In its twelve-year run, Canadian fusion group UZEB never cracked the US market, though they were immensely popular at home and in Europe. Between 1981 and 1990 the group released ten records documenting its remarkable growth and maturity. Initially a quartet, it was the last few years when, pared down to a trio, UZEB released its most memorable music, beginning with Noisy Nights (Avant-garde, 1988). While its last release was the double-disc live album, World Tour '90 (Avant-garde, 1990), UZEB would continue on for another couple of years, culminating with a large outdoor show for the 1992 Montreal Jazz Festival.

The Last Concert, recorded at Montreal's Place Des Arts Salle Wilfred Pelletier in 1991, is not literally the group's final performance, but with a more controllable environment for recording, it's a better opportunity to hear and see just how far UZEB had evolved from its early days. Watching the group in concert fifteen years after the fact demonstrates conclusively just how much stronger the group was as a trio, and what a shame it was that UZEB never achieved greater success in the US.

Anyone following UZEB at the time knew just how much it had evolved from a group of brash youngsters often prone to overplaying into a more mature collective for whom groove was paramount and energy a given, with space an equally important component. By the time the group became a trio with founding members Paul Brochu (drums, percussion), Alain Caron (basses) and Michel Cusson (guitars), there was no reduction of chops but considerably more control. While UZEB focused primarily on original compositions, its take on Charles Mingus' standard "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat," from Noisy Nights, remains a classic in minimalist interpretation.

The nearly two-hour set list of The Last Concert draws heavily from the repertoire of the group's last two studio efforts, though there's a smattering of earlier material, including a lengthy take on "60, Rue des Lombardes," the closest thing to a "hit" that UZEB ever had.

One reason UZEB was able to downsize to a trio and without losing texture was the significant advance in technology. In fact, while most people look to guitarist Pat Metheny for his innovative use of technology to expand the sonics of his group, UZEB were no less cutting-edge. Sequencers were not only continuously triggered by each member of the group, but everyone was midi'd up to insure the group sounded much larger than it was.

Видео Uzeb - The Last Concert 1991 (full show) канала Flip Fluitkeutel