It's back! Scoop, one of the most successful albums by German pianist Cornelius Claudio Kreuch, which was first released in 1998, has been reissued as a digitally remastered version. Unfortunately, it is only available in 44.1 MHz resolution, but at least it is in 24-bit. With 13 songs – Salif is added as a radio edit – it aims to win over listeners of the current 2020s with a fresh new mix.
The charm of Scoop lay and lies in combining the crossover jazz of the late 1990s with African music. This makes the album as entertaining as it is timeless, and certainly a classic of the genre. Scoop also features numerous renowned musicians from the jazz and music scene, including bassists Anthony Cox and Richard Bona, who also sings, singer Salif Keïta, drummers Terry Lyne Carrington and William Calhoun (from Living Colour!), saxophonists Greg Osby and Ron Blake, Kreusch's brother Johannes Tonio Kreusch on guitar, and many more.
But remastered recordings of classics are a tricky business. On the one hand, it's reasonable to ask why an album that was listened to in the days of sophisticated hi-fi systems needs to be remixed, unless it's just to make it compatible with smartphones. And the second question is, what can you possibly improve on something that is already proven to be good?
In this respect, it's a shame that Scoop, unlike Deep Purple's Live in Japan, doesn't combine the original mix and the new version into a new album. This means that a comparison with Kreusch's bestseller is only possible to a limited extent. And it becomes even more difficult when the first Scoop is only available on vinyl. So let's limit ourselves to the impression made by the new release.
If compatibility with smartphone sound expectations is used as a benchmark, the result is: it sounds good on iPhones and the like. The good news, however, is that even a sophisticated hi-fi system does not disappoint.
The new mix has not touched the substance of the album, but has refined its nuances. To achieve this, the technical means that have expanded studio operations over the past almost 30 years have been used sensibly and musically to create listening pleasure 2.0.
The new Scoop is a spatially open album that sounds fresh and authentic throughout. The music has lost none of its musicality, dynamism, or joy. Everything sounds seamless, both the playing and the mix. The stage is wide and the space within it deep, so that even complex arrangements find their place. The highs are not exaggerated, the bass is not oversaturated, everything is tight and transparent. That's good news.
Scoop is still a formidable album – and, refreshed, a great listening experience.
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch, grand piano
Salif Keïta, vocals
Richard Bona, vocals
Greg Osby, alto saxophone
Bobby Watson, alto saxophone
Ron Blake, tenor saxophone
Zaf Zapha, electric bass
Cyril Atef, drums, percussion, vocals
Anthony Cox, acoustic bass
Terri Lyne Carrington, drums, vocals
James Genus, electric bass
Will Calhoun, jungle drums, udu drum
Elisabeth Kontomanou, vocals
Thomas Grimes, voice, rap’oetry
Johannes Tonio Kreusch, acoustic guitar
Camille Gainer, drums
Recorded with the Pulse of Time in New York (Systems Two) and Paris (Studio ADS; Studio le Garage), December 1996 - November 1997
Mixed at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY
Mastered at MWorks, Camebridge, MA