Universal Syncopations II is an album by Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous

Miroslav Vitouš

Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography:Born in Prague, he began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his...

 recorded in 2004-05 and released on the ECM label.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album 3½ stars stating "The interesting thing is that while Universal Syncopations 2 stresses ensemble playing and team work, parts of the album are quite free; this disc offers an inside/outside perspective, sometimes moving into mildly avant-garde territory but never favoring outright chaos. A quintessentially ECM aesthetic is very much at work on this solid effort, which will be enthusiastically welcomed by those who complain that Vitous hasn't recorded often enough as a leader".

Track listing

All compositions by Miroslav Vitous

1. "Opera" - 11:16
2. "Breakthrough" - 5:32
3. "The Prayer" - 7:06
4. "Solar Giant" - 4:42
5. "Mediterranean Love" - 5:09
6. "Gmoong" - 6:13
7. "Universal Evolution" - 9:04
8. "Moment" - 2:58
   • Recorded at at Universal Syncopations Studios in Italy between November 2004 and April 2005

Personnel

• Miroslav Vitous
  Miroslav Vitouš
  Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography:Born in Prague, he began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his...
  
   — double bass
  Double bass
  The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
  
  , meditation bowl
  Singing bowl
  Singing bowls are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, singing bowls sit with the bottom surface resting...
  
  
• Randy Brecker
  Randy Brecker
  Randal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
  
   — trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
   (tracks 1 & 6)
• Gary Campbell — soprano saxophone
  Soprano saxophone
  The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
  
  , tenor saxophone (tracks 1-5 & 7)
• Bob Mintzer
  Bob Mintzer
  Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
  
   — tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  , bass clarinet
  Bass clarinet
  The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
  
   (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
• Bob Malach — tenor saxophone (track 8)
• Daniele di Bonaventura — bandoneon
  Bandoneón
  The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...
  
   (track 5)
• Gerald Cleaver
  Gerald Cleaver (musician)
  Gerald Cleaver is an African-American jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan. He joined the jazz faculty at the University of Michigan in 1995...
  
   (tracks 2-5 & 7), Adam Nussbaum
  Adam Nussbaum
  -Biography:Nussbaum grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut and started to play drums at age 12 after studying piano for five years. He also played bass and saxophone as a teenager. He moved to New York City in 1975 to attend The Davis Center for Performing Arts at City College...
  
   (track 1) — drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Vesna Vasko-Caceres — voice
  Voice
  Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
  
  (track 8)
• Unnamed choir and orchestra