[Pre Order] Miroslav Vitous - Mountain Call - LP *

Mountain Call, his first ECM leader date in ten years, is a peak achievement in Miroslav Vitous's music, presenting the bassist in varying ensemble configurations that prominently include the late French clarinetist Michel Portal and American drummer Jack DeJohnette, among others. Effectively an artist self-portrait, it persuasively brings together several tendencies and streams in his work, and bears testimony to his multiple skills as dynamic improviser, jazz composer, arranger and creative sampling pioneer. The flow of the album balances in-the-moment improvisation with sequences in which studio technology is harnessed to shape new settings for the players.

The prodigiously gifted Czech bassist and founding member of Weather Report first came to ECM in the late 1970s, in a collaborative trio with Terje Rypdal and Jack DeJohnette. Back then, Miroslav and Jack made for an eruptive, powerful rhythm section, successfully revisited on Vitous's Universal Syncopations album of 2003, and on Mountain Call the combination also has a centering role to play. Bassist and drummer interact dynamically on "Tribal Dance" and "Epilog," their playing framed on the latter by Miroslav's big chords for orchestra, and Jack also solos inside Vitous's tripartite "Evolution," with a painterly attention to detail. On "Evolution," Miroslav and Jack are joined, on bass clarinet, by Bob Mintzer, the prolific reedman who had been an important contributor to the prize-winning Universal Syncopations II album,

On the five-part suite "Rhapsody," Esperanza Spalding, in her first ECM appearance, comes to the fore, singing Vitous's lyrics and using her voice also as a textural element. The section headed "Fun and Games" has Spalding, Vitous and saxophonist Gary Campbell in call-and-response exchanges amid Miroslav's soundscape of orchestral samples. Gerald Cleaver has a significant role to play inside the suite, too, sensitively coloring and shading from the drum kit.

Mountain Call begins and ends, however, with a sequence of superb, dazzlingly inventive duets with French clarinetist Michel Portal that may comprise Miroslav's strongest improvised moments since his celebrated collaboration with Jan Garbarek on Atmos. The concluding title track, with Miroslav's dramatic arco playing and Portal's evocative bass clarinet, is a major highlight. Portal, who died in February 2026 at the age of 90, was an important figure in contemporary music, bringing a wealth of musical experience to his performances. His résumé as a player included legendary collaborations with Boulez, Berio and Stockhausen, and he was as well versed in the classical tradition as in jazz history. As an improviser, he was famously quick-witted, and the interactions with Vitous on Mountain Call are consistently dazzling, bright instances of the art of the duo.

Vitous's work on ECM covers a wide stylistic range. After the collaborative trio encounters with Terje Rypdal and Jack DeJohnette, he launched his own group with John Surman, Jon Christensen and Kenny Kirkland with the album First Meeting. On subsequent recordings Miroslav Vitous Group and Journey's End, John Taylor was the featured pianist.

The 1980s saw the revival of the trio of Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes. This was the lineup that had recorded the modern jazz classic Now He Sings, Now He Sobs in 1968, a reference work for a generation of players. Reunited in 1981, Corea, Vitous and Haynes recorded the album Trio Music, with free improvisations plus tunes by Thelonious Monk. A concert recording, Trio Music Live in Europe, widened the scope to include compositions by each of the trio.

Miroslav's 1985 album Emergence was an important addition to ECM's select series of solo bass recordings. In the 1990s he was heard with Jan Garbarek in duo and trio contexts ("Atmos," "Star"). After a hiatus during which the bassist was developing his highly successful symphonic orchestra samples software, he returned to the studio for two volumes of Universal Syncopations (2003 and 2007) – both of which were critical and popular successes. The first volume featured what was perceived as an "all-star" lineup, with Jan Garbarek, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette. Universal Syncopations II won the Großer Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, the Album of the Year Award of the German Record Critics. Two further albums reflected upon the creative legacy of the innovative ensemble of which Vitous had been a founder member: Remembering Weather Report and Music of Weather Report (2009 and 2016). Of the latter, The Guardian wrote that "the set simmers with sharp responses to unforgettable material."

Mountain Call was recorded at multiple sessions over a period of seven years at Vitous's Universal Syncopations Studio in Prague. The album was produced by Miroslav Vitous and Manfred Eicher.