Mr. Circle // Thi Nam LP

ドイツのフュージョンバンドMr. Circleが、2025年8月にイギリスのOuternational Soundsからリリースした再発レコードです。（オリジナルは1981年リリース）

フュージョン6曲を収録。

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12" black vinyl.
2025 reissue by Outernational Sounds - originally released in 1981 by Stockfisch Records.

Tracklist:

Side A:
1. Thi Nam
2. Tides’
3. Juntos
4. Gotta Go Home

Side B:
5. Suka
6. Schoch-Schach

Outernational Sounds:

"Originally released in 1981, Mr. Circle’s Thi Nam should really have been recognised decades ago as a jazz dance classic. A beautiful example of European jazz fusion at its most sophisticated and optimistic, the album is immersed in the sonics and rhythms of pan-Latin fusion and Brazilian samba, but with one foot in the upful jazz fusion exemplified by Roy Ayers or the Mighty Ryeders. Remastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road, Outernational Sounds is proud to present a true lost gem of European dancefloor jazz.

With cuts like the percussion rich ‘Juntos’ or the funky title track ‘Thi Nam’, Mr. Circle’s sparkling Thi Nam ought to be an established dancefloor jazz classic, and yet it has remained obstinately under the radar. Perhaps it fell between the cracks – released on the audiophile Stockfisch label in 1981, the album was an outlier in the label’s catalogue, which was otherwise dedicated to solo guitar music and singer-songwriters. A Latin-Brazilian jazz fusion unit did not fit the profile: in some ways it is no wonder that Thi Nam has been overlooked by all but the most diligent diggers and Latin jazz afficionados.

Led by keyboardist van Grümmer, Mr. Circle featured a group of talented German jazz players, alongside the brilliant jazz singer Monica Linges. Grümmer, who passed in 2006, was an experienced jazz musician who had worked with Lee Konitz and played at the Montreux festival. As the main composer and organiser of the group, he was mentor to the younger players, and the unit was the main outlet for his work. During 1980 they had toured widely in Germany, and had also made recordings for the state-backed radio WDR in Cologne. ‘He decided to document his compositional and performing efforts in a studio session…It was to be a labour of love,’ remembers Monica Linges today. The recordings took place in Hamburg at the Hafenklang studio, and several guests also appeared on the session, including the German-American jazz and blues singer Bill Ramsay, and the American jazz guitarist John Thomas, who had played with luminaries including Jimmy McGriff and Joe Henderson (he appears on Henderson’s Milestones). Linges herself was on the cusp of a highly regarded recording career at Nabel Records, where Thomas would also record as leader. A vocalist in the style of Ursula Dudziak or Norma Winstone, Thi Nam finds her taking their example to use the crystalline tone of her voice as instrument within the ensemble. Thi Nam is built chiefly around the interaction of Linges’ vocalising with bandleader Mikesch van Grümmer’s keyboard versatility, all underpinned by the surging Brazilian rhythms laid down by drummer Gerd Breuer and percussionist Ponda O’Bryan.

The result is a unique set of sunlit, Brazilian-inspired jazz fusion. Aimed squarely at the feet throughout, the album enjoys a surfeit of riches. Alongside ‘Juntos’ and ‘Thi Nam’, the long form ‘Suka’ begins with a shimmering intro before taking flight halfway through into an urgent jazz samba with Linges vocals to the fore. ‘Tides’, featuring the vocals of Bill Ramsay, is another driving jazz-dancer with a Brazilian twist, while the summery, propulsive ‘Schoch-Schach’ features virtuoso interplay between Linges voice and saxophonist Semmel van Peppel’s Jnr’s alto. Available again after four decades of undeserved obscurity, Outernational Sounds finally closes the circle to bring you Thi Nam! "

Artist : MR. CIRCLE

Label : Outernational Sounds

cat no : OTR-022