MUNJU

Munju became fastly a group under the umbrella of the Schneeball label, a leader in the Kraut-Jazz field back in the 70's.For the second album of the group the original Munju quartet added some depth to its sound, recruiting Alex Gruenwald on keyboards along with Harry Buckl on congas.''Moon you'' was recorded at Sunrise Studios in Kirchberg, Switzerland and it was released in 1979.

Once more an album of Munju is characterized by its frenetic jazzy moments to go along with some funky lines and the pure power of Kraut Rock rhythmic tunes.The music is pretty solid with extended instrumental improvisations and furious solos on alto saxes by Benz and electric guitar by Kaudel, while the presence of Gruenwald makes the sound a bit richer with his tight and discreet organ plays.A few structured ideas are pretty great with impresive breaks and some decent melodies on sax, but the majority of this release is based on instrumental masturbations, which sound weirdly attractive.The EMBRYO influence is quite evident in the major part of the album, especially on the jazzy sax lines, however Munju's second offering sounds quite flexible at the very end, sliding from energetic Kraut Rock grooves to loose, jazzy soloing to powerful and solid Fusion.

File along the lines of EMBRYO, KRAAN, THIRSTY MOON and other Kraut/Jazz/Fusion acts of the 70's.Decent Kraut/Jazz Rock, that can be both pleasant and enigmatic.Recommended.