Record Reviews

PHILIPP GROPPER / PHILM ~ SUN SHIP WHYPLAYJAZZ 038 (Barcode: 4250459991381) ~ GERMANY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the third album by German saxophonist / composer Philipp GropperFind albums by this artist and his quartet PhilmFind albums by this artist, which also includes Austrian keyboardists Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, Danish bassist Andreas LangFind albums by this artist and German drummer Oliver SteidleFind albums by this artist. The album presents three original compositions, the first comprising of two parts and the second and third comprising of three parts each. This time, in contrasts to the quartet´s previous album, the music, although obviously still very much Avant Garde and Free Jazz oriented, manages to present a coherent approach and less self-indulgence, which result in a more communicative whole. Of course this is still highly specialized music, which a priori is intended for a very narrow audience, but the correct balance of Freedom and Discipline makes it all happen this time. All four members of the quartet are obviously highly talented musicians, which is apparent outright. The individual statements as well as the collective interplays are all outstanding, with each musician being allowed enough space to show his chops. The synthesizer is a nice innovation to the quartet´s overall sound and expands the scope of possibilities and adds a fresh sound layer to the overall sound, all for the best. Personally I enjoy the ragged, odd and unexpected rhythmic aspect of the music on this album, which is truly fascinating and quite innovative. The ability of the musicians to keep the time together is obviously remarkable and the hats off goes to the superb rhythm section of Land and Steidle, which is simply brilliant. But of course Gropper and Stemeseder create many wonderful statements all along, which are true delight to an attentive listener. Overall this is a beautiful example of European Free Jazz at its best, with shows the renewed German Jazz scene, especially in Berlin but also in other parts of the country, revitalized by the tremendous young generation of players and open to international cooperation, like it once was in the golden 1960s and 1970s. What a joy!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 08/07/2017

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PHILIPP GROPPER / PHILM ~ THE MADMAN OF NARANAM WHYPLAYJAZZ 018 (Barcode: 4050486927960) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the second album by German saxophonist / composer Philipp GropperFind albums by this artist and his quartet called PhilmFind albums by this artist, which also includes Austrian pianist Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, Danish bassist Andreas LangFind albums by this artist and German drummer Oliver SteidleFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Gropper. The music on this album is much more Avant-Garde oriented than on its predecessor, and is much more intense, primarily due to the presence of Stemeseder, who is a completely different player from Havard WilkFind albums by this artist, who played on that album. The melodic element is almost completely gone and most of the album sounds somewhat like Musique Concrete mixed with Free Jazz. It takes a while to get used to the harsh tone and aggressiveness of this music, but eventually its intricate nature becomes more penetrable. Although all four members of this quartet are obviously highly skilled musicians, the overall effect of this music is probably way beyond the pain threshold of an average Jazz listener, even those open-minded enough to listen to Free Jazz. This music seems to mock everything there is in music as conceived by most listeners: melody, chord structure, rhythm, even the very sense of music. This is the risk Avant-Garde takes when it questions the very fabric of music, and sometimes such experiments simply take it outside the human perception. There is no doubt this album has its moments, especially when it becomes quieter and almost minimalistic. Lang´s bass lines are always a delight and they are the candle in the dark as far as this music is concerned. Steidle also does a great job keeping time when there is no time, like only the best drummers can. Gropper plays relatively sparingly, especially in view of the fact this is his music and his band, and his dark tone suits the overall scenario perfectly. Stemeseder is definitely too busy, and has a problem letting go, amassing unnecessary intensity in places where it is not appropriate, but he is a very interesting player, which I haven´t yet properly digested. Overall this is a challenging and difficult album, which requires a lot of patience to get into, but eventually can be a stimulating and interesting experience. It is definitely suitable for hard core Free Jazz / Avant-Garde connoisseurs only.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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SIMON KANZLER ~ DOUBLE IDENTITY WHYPLAYJAZZ 027 (Barcode: 4250459990377) ~ GERMANY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the second album by German vibraphonist / composer Simon KanzlerFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with pianist Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, bassists Italian Igor SpallatiFind albums by this artist and Polish Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and drummer Max AndrzejewskiFind albums by this artist. A chamber ensemble consisting of eight additional players also participates in the recording. The album presents six pieces and a three-part suite which gives the album its name, all composed by Kanzler. The music is a contemplative form of Improvised Avant-Garde, very introvert and minimalistic, which deals mostly with the relationships between sound and silence, and the exchanges between the participating musicians. There is no melodic stream in the conventional form, but there is continuance and development. The music happens on three juxtaposed planes, created by the vibes / drums conversation, the piano contributions, which are the only link this music has with the conventional Jazz idiom, and lastly the double bass conversations. By bringing these planes closer or further away from each other and by changing the focus on the specific plane is where the dynamics of this music fluctuates. Volume and emotional wise the music stays almost on the same level throughout the entire duration, which obviously makes this music quite challenging and difficult to follow. But regardless of the intellectual effort this music demands from the listener, it definitely has its merits, expanding the boundaries of contemporary music. There are many innovative and imaginative moments, which will surprised even the most experienced connoisseurs of contemporary music, and those should find this music as much entertaining and aesthetically pleasing, as educational. There is no doubt that this music derives a lot of its content and form from contemporary Classical music, especially the suite. In the expanded instrumental form the music keeps its basic characteristics, but becomes much more impressive and evocative, and as such sounding much more emotional than the quintet pieces, which tend to be a bit chilly. Overall this is another piece of music created by young European musicians, who keep searching for new forms of expression, boldly ignoring limitations and traditionalism, which keeps music stagnant. Kudos to the WhyPlayJazzFind albums on this label label for serving as a faithful home to these visionary souls, spreading their musical gospel to the world.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 10/06/2016

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IGOR OSYPOV ~ I UNIT 4582 (Barcode: 7640114795824) ~ UKRAINE ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Ukrainian (resident in Berlin) guitarist / composer Igor OsypovFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with American saxophonist Logan RichardsonFind albums by this artist, Austrian pianist Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, Danish bassist Martin BuhlFind albums by this artist and alternating drummers: American Jesus VegaFind albums by this artist and Polish Kuba GudzFind albums by this artist. All these musicians, except for Richardson, are students at the Jazz Institute Berlin. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Osypov. The music is typical modern Jazz, basically pretty mainstream, with some unusual rhythmic patterns, but other than that quite straightforward. The melodies are a bit thin and forgettable, but the idea here is to play as many notes as possible by everybody on board, so the improvisation and soloing are at the centre. These are very talented, but also very young players, which becomes immediately apparent. The quintet has some sync / timing problems and everything starts to sound a bit alike after the third tune or so. The guitar sound is a bit to sharp and Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist like, the pianist seems to live in a separate universe and the only thing that sounds truly coherent is the bass. In short parts of this album are really difficult to listen to. Overall this album was perhaps recorded a bit too early, before the music and the quintet matured enough, to be able to achieve the effect they deserve. Better luck next time!

Updated: 27/04/2018Posted:

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PAST PRESENT & ANDREW D`ANGELO ~ SHORT PIECES HEVHETIA 0148 (Barcode: 8588005258098) ~ NORWAY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by a collaboration between the Norwegian duo Past PresentFind albums by this artist, comprising of trumpeter Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist and bassist Alexander HoholmFind albums by this artist, and American saxophonist Andrew D`AngeloFind albums by this artist. Three guest musicians: pianists Pete RendeFind albums by this artist and Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist appear on selected tracks. The album presents ten original improvised pieces, all unusually short (under four minutes in duration) credited to the participating musicians. The music is surprisingly very melodic, especially in view of its improvisational nature, with the Nordic melancholy omnipresent. The melody lines are often stated and soon after left to reverberate before the improvisation takes over. The concept of creating only short pieces of music proves to be successful in this case, as Improvised Music more than often suffers from overstated and in the long run repetitive exploration leading nowhere, which is completely avoided in this case. Perhaps the idea is based in the minimalist approach, which simply puts forward a musical idea and than lets the listener to fill the blanks. One way or another these short pieces stimulate curiosity and interest, but often leave the listener surprised, when the music is unexpectedly over. Overall this is a very interesting Improvised Music / Free Jazz statement, which manages to stick to the European aesthetics of non aggressive coexistence, which helps the music to be acceptable to listeners from outside of the relatively closed sphere of Avant Garde aficionados. Definitely worth exploring!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 17/08/2018

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MAREK POSPIESZALSKI ~ GRA PIOSENKI, KTORE SPIEWAL FRANK SINATRA NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz saxophonist Marek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic quartet format with Austrian pianist Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and German drummer Max AndrzejewskiFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album presents eight songs, which are associated with Frank SinatraFind albums by this artist´s repertoire, all of them classic standards, which get a new interpretation herein. Pospieszalski, as followers of the Polish Jazz scene know, is associated with the Free Jazz / Improvised Music genre and this album follows these basic boundaries, as expected. Therefore the choice of the material is rather bizarre, to say the least. Having infinite possibilities including self composed or freely improvised music, re-inventing these almost "sacred" songs seems truly outlandish and misguided. Being intimately familiar with these songs and their wonderful interpretations by Sinatra, as much as appreciate freedom and exploration, this treatment seems to me as being disrespectful and unnecessary. A recent trend of re-composing, re-inventing, de-composing and otherwise transforming classic material is very interesting, but should have at least some self-constraint. The music itself is very interesting and well executed, with all participants being excellent musicians with an impressive record behind them. The music is full of wonderful freedom, which does not hinder the cooperation between the quartet members. It was wonderfully recorded at the RecPublica Studios by Lukasz OlejarczykFind albums by this artist and is an excellent example of contemporary European Free Jazz scene, which is flourishing and vital in every respect. Overall what might have been a great album with a different concept behind it turns out to be a wonderful chocolate cake with a mustard filling. Some things should stay untouchable…

Updated: 16/04/2017Posted: 16/04/2017

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