When Sun Lights Up The Future is an amazing reissue of a little-known live recording by the Johannes Faber Quintet from the Frankfurt Jazz Festival in 1984 that you simply have to listen to. It’s one of the best live albums I’ve heard in a while.

Johannes Faber is a new name to me, and may well be new to you, too. He studied trumpet in Munich, Graz and at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, before playing with a number of well-known jazz musicians in Europe, including the likes of Dusko Goykovich. He also played in a couple of fusion-oriented bands in the mid-1980s, where he met the legendary drummer, Billy Cobham.

And so it was that he played at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival with a quite remarkable band, which featured two great American musicians, George Adams on saxophone and Billy Cobham on drums. Adams had played with Charles Mingus and McCoy Tyner in the late 1970s, in addition to recording several albums under his own name.

The Quintet was rounded out by Thomas Stabenow on bass and Jörg Reiter on piano.

The concert was released on vinyl only by Circle Records in 1984. Only a limited number of copies were pressed and the original remains had to come by.

I first came across Germany’s Circle Records several years ago when researching my biography of Chet Baker. He released several live recordings on the label in the early 1980s, recorded at small clubs in Cologne and Paris. My initial impression was not particularly favourable. The albums were not particularly well recorded in comparison to Chet’s other live recordings around that time, such as those on Denmark’s Steeplechase Records. They often had cheap, tacky covers too, which helped to perpetuate the myth that Chet was on the decline in the 1980s, a view that I take issue with.

Fast forward forty years, the label is undergoing a quite remarkable revival. Listening to some of the old tapes again, the owners realised that they had captured some quite amazing material, and with the technology now available to clean up the sound it was possible to remaster the old recordings and hear them in a fresh light.

The original Chet Baker albums were reissued digitally with new titles and new album artwork, and listening to them again I was forced to reassess my original opinion of them. The remastering was quite incredible and Chet’s playing was strong than I had remembered.

The next batch of remasters include When Sun Lights Up The Future, which – as with the Chet Baker albums – has been reissued digitally and given a new cover. Much of the credit must go to Mark Wingfield, who remastered the original tapes at his London-based studio and really brought the recording back to life.

There are only four tracks. The first track, Come Up With It Or Else, is an absolute stunner. It has the feel of a post-bop Blue Note recording from the 1960s, with the dual lead of Johannes Faber and George Adams stating the theme, Jörg Reiter impressing on piano, and Billy Cobham laying down the funkiest of grooves. And when Faber lets loose with his solo, you’ll be left wondering why he isn’t better known. Glorious stuff!

Listen to Come Up With It Or Else here:

Rhythm Rag sounds like it was based on an old rag tune but is taken at a furious pace by the band, with George Adams launching into a quite spectacular solo that has to be heard to be believed. The crowd love it and respond accordingly with wild applause. Faber takes things down a notch to begin with, and the band respond accordingly, before he gradually builds back up. Not to be outdone, Reiter also deliver a solo of his own.

The title track is a ballad, which allows the bad to take a well-earned breather, before closing with the excellent White Line On A Black Grand, which sees Cobham and Stabenow lay down the funkiest of grooves. The band’s leader delivers a Hubbard-like solo, while Reiter provides strong support, before Adams takes over with another impressive solo of his own, showing his considerable pedigree. There’s also a chance to hear Cobham unleash, which brings the tune and the set to a close.

When Sun Lights Up The Future is an album that will surprise and delight. You’ll find yourself wondering why the album didn’t get more attention, why you don’t know Johannes Faber, and wanting to listen to more George Adams. But it’s an album you’ll love and want to come back to, again and again. Highly recommended.