With Mountain Call, legendary Czech bassist and composer Miroslav Vitous delivers one of the most compelling projects of his career. Marking his first album as a leader for ECM Records in a decade, the release stands as both a creative summit and an artistic self-portrait. Drawing together multiple threads from Vitous’s long and influential musical journey, Mountain Call showcases his wide-ranging talents as an improviser, composer, arranger, and pioneer of creative sampling technology.
Across the album, Vitous performs in a variety of ensemble settings, prominently featuring two extraordinary collaborators: the late French clarinetist Michel Portal and the late American drummer Jack DeJohnette. Their presence adds historical depth and emotional resonance to the recording, resulting in music that feels both deeply personal and widely expansive.
At its core, Mountain Call balances spontaneous improvisation with carefully crafted sonic environments shaped through studio technology. Vitous blends live performance with orchestral samples and layered textures, creating evolving soundscapes that extend the expressive potential of the ensemble. The result is a dynamic listening experience where acoustic interplay meets contemporary production techniques without sacrificing the immediacy of improvisation.
Vitous first became widely known as a founding member of the influential jazz fusion group Weather Report, whose groundbreaking approach helped redefine the possibilities of jazz in the 1970s. His relationship with ECM began later in that decade when he joined guitarist Terje Rypdal and drummer Jack DeJohnette in a powerful collaborative trio recording. Even then, the chemistry between Vitous and DeJohnette was unmistakable, forming an explosive rhythm section defined by energy, imagination, and fearless interplay.
That musical partnership resurfaces prominently on Mountain Call. The bassist and drummer reconnect with remarkable vitality on tracks such as “Tribal Dance” and “Epilog,” where their rhythmic dialogue becomes a central pillar of the album’s sound. On “Epilog,” their interaction is framed by Vitous’s dramatic orchestral sample chords, creating a cinematic backdrop that highlights the expressive intensity of their playing.
DeJohnette’s artistry also shines within Vitous’s tripartite composition “Evolution.” Here, the drummer contributes a richly detailed solo performance, revealing his painterly approach to rhythm and texture. The piece also features saxophonist and bass clarinetist Bob Mintzer, whose expressive bass clarinet lines add further depth to the composition. Mintzer previously collaborated with Vitous on the acclaimed album Universal Syncopations II, making his appearance here part of a continuing musical dialogue.
Another major highlight of Mountain Call is the five-part suite “Rhapsody,” which introduces bassist, vocalist, and composer Esperanza Spalding in her first appearance on ECM. Spalding performs Vitous’s lyrics while also using her voice as a purely musical element, blending melodic expression with atmospheric texture.
Within the suite’s section “Fun and Games,” Spalding engages in lively call-and-response exchanges with Vitous and saxophonist Gary Campbell, all unfolding against a layered soundscape of orchestral samples created by Vitous. The suite also features drummer Gerald Cleaver, whose sensitive and nuanced playing adds color and subtle shading to the evolving musical landscape.
Despite the album’s many ensemble moments, Mountain Call begins and ends with something more intimate: a series of dazzling improvised duets between Vitous and Michel Portal. These performances capture two master improvisers in pure creative conversation, free of structural constraints yet guided by deep musical intuition.
The closing title track stands out as one of the album’s most powerful moments. Vitous performs with dramatic arco bass while Portal responds with evocative bass clarinet lines, producing a dialogue rich with tension, lyricism, and emotional depth. The duo interactions recall some of Vitous’s most celebrated improvised work, including his collaboration with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek on the ECM recording Atmos.
Portal’s presence on the album carries particular significance. A musician equally respected in both classical and jazz traditions, he collaborated throughout his career with major composers including Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. His improvisational wit and stylistic versatility make him an ideal partner for Vitous’s adventurous musical thinking.
The duets between Vitous and Portal highlight the essence of improvisation: attentive listening, quick response, and the courage to explore unknown territory together. Their exchanges are spontaneous yet purposeful, demonstrating the profound communication that emerges when two seasoned improvisers meet in open musical dialogue.
Mountain Call also reflects the remarkable breadth of Vitous’s work with ECM over the decades. Following his early trio recordings with Rypdal and DeJohnette, he formed his own group with saxophonist John Surman, drummer Jon Christensen, and pianist Kenny Kirkland for the album First Meeting. Later projects including Miroslav Vitous Group and Journey’s End featured pianist John Taylor.
During the 1980s, Vitous reunited with pianist Chick Corea and drummer Roy Haynes to revive the trio that recorded the modern jazz classic Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. The reunion produced the ECM album Trio Music, which combined free improvisations with compositions by Thelonious Monk, followed by the live recording Trio Music Live in Europe.
Vitous also made a landmark contribution to ECM’s catalog of solo recordings with his 1985 album Emergence, a bold exploration of the sonic possibilities of the double bass. In the 1990s he continued exploring collaborative improvisation with Jan Garbarek on the recordings Atmos and Star.
After a period away from recording—during which Vitous developed highly successful orchestral sampling software—he returned to the studio with the ambitious Universal Syncopations series. Featuring collaborators such as Garbarek, Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin, and Jack DeJohnette, the recordings were both critical and popular successes. The second volume, Universal Syncopations II, received the prestigious German Record Critics’ Award for Album of the Year.
Vitous later revisited the legacy of Weather Report through albums such as Remembering Weather Report and Music of Weather Report, offering fresh interpretations of the band’s groundbreaking repertoire.
Recorded over a seven-year period at Vitous’s Universal Syncopations Studio in Prague, Mountain Call reflects a long and thoughtful creative process. The album was produced by Miroslav Vitous together with legendary ECM founder and producer Manfred Eicher.
The result is an album that feels both reflective and forward-looking. It draws on decades of musical experience while continuing to explore new sonic territory, demonstrating that Vitous’s curiosity and creativity remain as vibrant as ever.
With Mountain Call, Miroslav Vitous once again affirms his place among the most imaginative and influential bassists in modern jazz—an artist whose music continues to evolve while remaining deeply connected to the spirit of improvisation.
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