Record Reviews

FUSK ~ FUSK WHYPLAYJAZZ 005 (Barcode: 4050486034583) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the debut album by the Danish / German quartet FUSKFind albums by this artist led by Danish drummer / composer Kasper Tom ChristiansenFind albums by this artist, which also features the Danish bassist Andreas LangFind albums by this artist and the German saxophonist Philipp GropperFind albums by this artist and bass clarinetist Rudi MahallFind albums by this artist, who is also a member of the Kasper Tom 5Find albums by this artist ensemble. The album presents nine original compositions, seven of which are by Christiansen and the remaining two are group compositions. This album is a superb example of contemporary modern European Jazz developed and created by a young generation of greatly talented individuals who are lucky to grow up in the affluent borderless Europe, which enables a much wider access to musical education and international cooperation than just a few decades earlier. These young musicians are able to size the moment and exploit this new reality, which results in an explosion of young international groups playing Jazz and Improvised Music all over the continent. Christiansen, who has been recoding music both as a leader and a sideman for several years before forming FUSK, established his position as one of the leaders of this new European scene, playing extensively with Scandinavian, German, Polish and other young musicians and additionally developing his skills as a composer, which came to full fruition with FUSK. Here he presents his most adventurous works and the quartet turned out to be an ideal vehicle for exploring his music. He is one of the relatively few drummers, who are bandleaders and principal composers in their ensembles. As a team Christiansen and Lang are one of the strongest and most imaginative rhythm sections on the European scene and this album is full of wonderful examples of their telepathic interplay. Supported by such an excellent rhythm section the two soloists are able to spread their wings and explore the freedom of improvisation in full. Both Gropper and Mahall gently weave their lush structures, both individually and collectively, creating a highly aesthetic whole. Overall this is an exciting and wonderful album from start to finish, full of surprises and one that keeps the listener on his toes from start to finish. Considering the fact that it is a debut recording, the result is even more commendable. Well done indeed!

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FUSK ~ SUPER KASPER WHYPLAYJAZZ 009 (Barcode: 4050486086735) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the second album by the Danish / German quartet FUSKFind albums by this artist led by Danish drummer / composer Kasper Tom ChristiansenFind albums by this artist, which also features the Danish bassist Andreas LangFind albums by this artist and the German saxophonist Philipp GropperFind albums by this artist and bass clarinetist Rudi MahallFind albums by this artist, who is also a member of the Kasper Tom 5Find albums by this artist ensemble. The album presents eleven original compositions, eight of which are by Christiansen and the remaining three are group improvisations. Christiansen is one of the most prolific young European Jazz personalities in the last decade and participates in several diverse ensembles in parallel, both led by him and by others, which involve musicians from different European countries. This kind of international collaboration is one of the most creative ingredients of the new European Jazz scene, where the artists can enjoy the freedom of movement without any restrictions and some take advantage of it quite broadly. As a result of his recordings Christiansen has established quite a reputation not only as a player and bandleader, but particularly as a superb composer of diverse stylistic approaches. His work is worth following across the broad spectrum of his creative output, of which FUSK is just a singularity. The music presented here emphasizes the freedom and openness in his compositions, which are based on short melodic themes which are then explored by the quartet quite liberally and without limitations. Of course even if the music is mostly improvised, both harmonically and rhythmically, it is neither chaotic nor disorganized, keeping well within the boundaries of group improvisation. The quartet members obviously listen to each other attentively and support each other constantly. There is an overall feeling of tenderness and respect and none of the aggression often associated with group improvisation is present here. The individual performances are all first class, with the two soloists obviously standing up front most of the time, but with the rhythm section firmly involved as well. Lang´s bass and Christiansen´s drumming are an excellent example of superb contemporary rhythm section work, which is nonabrasive and nonaggressive and yet keeps the music moving forward on a solid track. The music recorded on this album was also recorded live at the legendary Warsaw Pardon, To Tu club shortly before being recorded in the studio, and it´s highly recommended to listen to both versions, in order to appreciate the dramatic influence of a live audience on a Jazz performance. The live album is scheduled to be released on the Polish For TuneFind albums on this label label. Kasper Tom Christiansen and his cohorts are the new generation of European Jazz and judging by their accomplishments we have little to worry about the quality of the music they will create. What kind of impact this kind of music will have on the general Culture of the continent is another question…

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KASPER TOM 5 ~ I DO ADMIRE THINGS THAT ARE ONLY WHAT THEY ARE BAREFOOT 046 (Barcode: 5707471042632) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the second album by the exceptional European Jazz quintet Kasper Tom 5Find albums by this artist led by Danish drummer / composer Kasper Tom ChristiansenFind albums by this artist, which also includes German clarinetist Rudi MahallFind albums by this artist, Polish trumpeter Tomasz DabrowskiFind albums by this artist, Swedish trombonist Petter HangselFind albums by this artist and Danish bassist Jens Mikkel MadsenFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded live and presents seven original compositions, all by Christiansen. In the last decade or so Kasper Tom Christiansen emerges as one of the most talented and thankfully prolific modern European Jazz musicians and his many projects and recordings amount to a most impressive legacy already at this early stage of his career. The ensembles in which he takes part are all wonderful examples of the borderless artistic Europe, which seems to flourish infinitely better that the politically torn apart Europe. This quintet presents the perfect balance between composed and improvised music, keeping the form and structure of "conventional" composed music, but stretching way beyond the basic layout and explodes with imagination and musical freedom. Christiansen collected in this quintet an exceptional group of highly talented musicians, and their collective abilities, emotions and of course technical skills as players and improvises add up to a total that is much bigger than just the sum of the components. The mutual respect and the level of communication, which is especially apparent on this live recording, are simply phenomenal. It is also important to note Christiansen the composer, in addition to his tasks as bandleader and drummer. His compositions are the solid basis upon all the improvised music is firmly based. His quirky, beautiful and fascinating little melodies are always superbly crafted, both melodically and harmonically. In fact they are perhaps in some respect the most important facet of Christiansen´s multitalented persona. For fans of well organized Free Jazz (no, this is not an oxymoron) and improvised music this album is simply a fulfillment of a perfect dream. Not a dull moment, from start to finish, countless examples of superb individual and collective skills and above all an atmosphere of joy as a result of playing together. As usual in his case, this is one more triumphant achievement for Christiansen and the Kasper Tom 5, which should not be missed!

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KASPER TOM 5 ~ OST BINGO SKRUER BAREFOOT 031 (Barcode: 5707471031551) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 This is the debut album by the European Jazz quintet Kasper Tom 5Find albums by this artist, led by Danish drummer / composer Kasper Tom ChristiansenFind albums by this artist, with German clarinetist Rudi MahallFind albums by this artist, Polish trumpeter Tomasz DabrowskiFind albums by this artist, Swedish trombonist Petter HangselFind albums by this artist and Danish bassist Jens Mikkel MadsenFind albums by this artist. Christiansen and Dabrowski are also members of the excellent Hunger PangsFind albums by this artist trio. The album presents ten original compositions, six of which were composed by the leader and the remaining four are credited to the entire quintet. The quintet is constantly walking on a tight rope between "usual" and "unusual", which is of course great fun. Seemingly a standard quintet and yet the brass section features a completely nonstandard bass clarinet / trumpet / trombone front line, which has a completely different sonority from a regular saxophone dominated ensemble. Seemingly playing melodies, yet there is actually more freedom and free improvisation than one might expect or even be able to hear upon the initial encounter. This stuff requires some serious listening in order to be properly digested, which is usually the case with unusual music. With all the freedom and group improvisation involved, this music is surprisingly "easy" on the ear, mainly because it is completely non aggressive, even in the most passionate moments. The flow of the music is all natural, following a melodic theme or a harmonic sequence, often even introducing several complex intertwined leads, but always executed with grace and obvious mutual respect and understanding between the quintet members. The whole proceedings are a rare example of group members that actually complete each other rather than compete between each other. There is no obvious leader; nobody gets more solo space than anybody else, in short a wonderful unity is achieved herein. Of course the album is also a superb display of individual skills and talents, but those can be truly appreciated only with repeated listening sessions, allowing the listener to concentrate on a specific instrumentalist rather than listen to the entire ensemble. One way or another, this album is full of wonderful moments, which are simply waiting there to be discovered. With young European Jazz musicians like these one can look forward to the future with at least some optimism. The renaissance of ambitious music in Europe is truly heartwarming, against all odds and like an oasis in the desert of mediocrity that modern life pushes down our throats. Well done indeed!

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KASPER TOM / RUDI MAHALL ~ ONE MAN`S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN`S TREASURE BAREFOOT 050 (Barcode: 5707471045640) ~ DENMARK ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is an album by the duo comprising of Danish drummer / composer Kasper Tom ChristiansenFind albums by this artist and German clarinetist / composer Rudi MahallFind albums by this artist, who are both members of the Kasper Tom 5Find albums by this artist quintet. Together they perform nine original pieces, all co-composed by Christiansen and Mahall. The music is by far the most Avant-Garde excursion by Christiansen, who recorded prolifically in the last few years. Most of his albums as leader or sideman have been quite Free oriented, but this one seems to be completely instantaneously created Improvised Music, which abandons all forms of conventional Jazz completely. The great charm of Christiansen´s music was always the ability to play ambitious and innovative music and at the same time to maintain accessibility to his music, which is not present, for the first time, on this album. Improvised music for the sake of being improvised is almost never able to reach many listeners beyond the actual performers, and this album proves it. Although both Christiansen and Mahall are very gifted and promising young musicians, this album is simply "a bridge too far", crossing into the metaphysical sphere of concentration upon oneself and leaving the rest of the world behind. After following Christiansen for a few years and enjoying his development, I am not discouraged at all by this album. It simply is another experiment on his path towards discovering his musical personality. Perhaps a bit self indulging and detached, but this album still shows great musicality and ability to communicate with his partner. In short this is extreme Avant-Garde Improvised Music, for the hardcore fans of the genre only, and little appeal to more or less conventional listeners.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 29/05/2016

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