Christmas is just behind the corner so let’s try to catch up some mood without getting back to Bing Crosby or old good Satchmo all over again. Going modern Nils will fit the bill. He is well recognised musician, friend of many and down to the earth personality.

No surprise then here that the Man behind the Funk Unit comes back with his 4^th edition of music for Christmas mix, not particularly Carrols, recorded as always with bunch of friends. As he also sings that makes sense even more, with his warm tenor. The way he sings is tonally is very close to his articulation when he plays his Red horn 😉

Opening song makes you feel immediately like you just got back home for the dinner. Following traditional The First Noel nicely sung by three female voices with a gentle guitar accompaniment keeps a listener in the same blissful mood.

Ellington’s Come Sunday is sung in lovely emotional way reminds me phrasing of Maria Muldar or Madeleine Peyroux. Nice to see like the mood is changing there. Most of the Carrols or “Christmas like” songs are played there in the very straight forward way, but unusual arrangement between Nils’ horn and Eva Kruse’s bass gives a nice touch (great to hear Eva again, first time since her maternity leave) .

So, all mix as always comes as an easy listening package, but certainly due to imagination of musicians involved it gains a personal touch, among which the flawless understanding of each other comes to the first plan.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a commercial recording on the one hand with an easy material to play, so no maestri is needed to get it right.  On the other it proofs nicely that even most basic feelings, daily balancing on the border of kitsch, might come around as most welcome and demanded if they fit the right moment.

So here we are, again it’s just before Xmas. Media already started to attack us with hard core advertisement. It is hard to hide and avoid  this sort of brutality. Also, watching like fooled people are constantly missing the plot, involved in silly shopping races, not being longer even aware what it is all about adds to the sod feeling. In one word – no shelter.

And now – watch out! In such a moment recording like this nicely calms you down and gives some break. It also moves the focus from meaningless behaviour to things which are really important in life. Just like friendship. Carrying for the others and common experience what the Love really means. At that time which is bless for ones and the hell for the others, if you watch the news here we got a rescue hand from Nils again. Just in time to judge how lucky we are.

TANN ,the young German trio are guitarist Dirk Haefner, bass man Rene Bornstein and drummer Demian Kappenstein. The know last one very well and some of the projects he had been a part of I already reviewed here. It is clearly showing his versatility. Remaining two gentlemen I am listening to for the very first time and I am glad I do.

The way rhythm section works builds up the solid foundation for the music of the trio. It is not by accident that that music sounds very familiar to my ears. In blind test I would vote for Bill Frissell trio without smallest hesitation. It’s clearly audible that Dirk knows Bill’s works very well, adores it and refers to that constantly. Not coping it, but by developing style which contains massive chunk of Frissell’s phrasing.

On pieces like opening Nanus Garten or Kapaun he is mirroring Bill’s articulation from his music for Buster Keaton’s recordings. Damien doesn’t play however like Joey Baron does and entire section works in a different way, with more melodic, less burlesque approach. The way he merges blues and folk harmonies had clearly been learned from Frissell. But Bill is not Derk’s only inspiration.

When you listen carefully to the chorals and chords structures you will find out there elements of style of great Joe Pass. Listen to Okapi. It’s so present there. In the way the chords fade and the pause is considered between the notes I can hear the spirit of Jim Hall. Von Mir zu Dir is like a tribute written for him. Mind then that he is learning from the best.

This is very eclectic style, but also very intelligent. He takes a lot from great guitarists who contributed to Jazz over decades, but he also includes something personal to this blend. Purely due to his inspirations are not coming from the Jazz only. There is a lot of Blues harmonies and Rock riffs, too. All together makes it very modern guitar vocabulary supported by an excellent technique and vivid imagination.

Listening to this set is very engaging and keeps you following musician’s intentions through the entire recording. Dra Di Ne Tum for instance is a perfect example here. It is a psychedelic like guitar driven piece with purely rock influence bringing to memory early John McLaughlin , but also Jimmy Page.

The band definitely developed his own language here, which is a kind of collage –job. It contains quotes from different directions, strong inspirations, and loose improvisations leading to new findings. All musicians are mature enough to play the game like that with a full responsibility for the final result. To my ears they developed both a challenge and a listening pleasure. Maybe not such freshness, but it doesn’t really matter as far as it tastes so good. And it does.

Recording quality, as always from Traumton is breath taking and the feeling of being there probably contributes significantly to the complete picture.

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This duo of pianist Vadim Neselovskyi and French Alp-horn player Arkadyi Shilkloper is my latest discovery. Straight from the beginning without going deeper it has my deepest and honest recommendation.

It is congenial connection of two music personalities who are both adventurous and fearless. The way Shilkloper plays his horns is simply breath taking. It not easy to stay in melody as he does playing brass instrument, but the way he is holding that makes it sounding like he is playing piano himself.

That’s how it appears in an opening Spring Song. Both voices are distinctive and have their own signature. Neselovskyi’s piano represents entire spectrum of pianism history. Both the Classical and Jazz traditions merges there into the one common denominator. No edges, no conflicts – just smoothness and neutrality. Program varies from tunes clearly taking from Eastern folk tradition with its deep nostalgia and Classical heritage to typical jazzy syncope. All elegant and played in the way you have never heard before.

But this kind of dialogue is deeply intimate. It takes you into the very private land and makes you feeling like you are sharing with both artists their deepest emotions and secrets. The moods vary from sublime, hymn like title song Krai to completely crazy approach like AlperiDou 2, which spans between almost the music mechanic like sounding piano and an Aborigine Didgeridoo like Arkadyi’s horn. Absolutely stunning example of an unusual sensitivity and creativity both artists posses.

Mutual understanding and the connection, constantly present in this recording, come from similar cultural background but not only that. There is sense of humour as well, smart quotes from the music you heard before put into this tissue in the way it never stops to amaze me. There is something organic there as well what connects straight to your heart beat,. It takes control and makes you breathing with this music like with the fresh air. And it tastes like it never did before.

Refreshing like a frosty morning draft, or deep breathe after mint. In the same time it keeps your blood cells tapping their legs happily, well warmed up and stepping in the pulse of the music like in the ritual pageant. The same organic feeling brings to imagination constantly different landscapes, shapes and colours. Keeps you incessantly emotionally engaged and intellectually involved. Never stops entertaining.

Whatever one would like to say more about it that will not explain the beauty of this meeting fully. This is really the giant step walking on the golden path coated with a fairy dust and surrounded with the rich blend of aroma that smells like a paradise. No more no less. I swear.

Die Klesse Act

Xenon is EKQ’s début recording. All the band are very young and well educated individuals: Eva Klesse / drums, Evgeny Ring / alto saxophone, Philip Frischkorn / piano and Robert Lucaciu / bass.

It is very interesting experience to review the record which I just had a pleasure to hear on the stage first. The same material, but presented in a different order than on the disk to serve the gig better. Plus the theatre acoustics made it different than studio. Majority of material came from Eva, 5 out of 8.Two from pianist and one from the bassist.

As a leader Eva is not a dominant figure, one which is trying to grab the space for herself or make her drum set the centre of the 4-tet. Pretty much opposite, her personality seems to be as gentle as her drumming. She is using often brushes, even mallets. But her brush playing is not typical brush like.She is using them as a sticks actually what brings nice gently spread sound without edgy contour. She can hit hard when the need calls, but it is not the point. She nicely mixes both. Funny enough she is such a gentle touch that I would say she plays carbon ones if I haven’t seen that in fact they are metal.

It‘s all about communication between the members inside the band. Listening to each other, responding to live tissue of music which is happening just as it goes. It applies to all the members, who rather tend to give the space to the band mates that take it off.

Let’s start from bassist Warme Fussion. He seems to be most cheeky personality in the entire band. His bass had nice wooden tone and his walking in the middle section of his own composition reminded me somehow Charlie Haden’s way of approaching melody and staying in there. He doesn’t have Charlie’s articulation, yet. But no one does, and he is just at the beginning. But this is this school.

I like the way they invite each other with Eva to conversation. Sometimes, like in Eva’s Same Old Story it’s a riff which asks her to join and make the foundation for piano to follow and interludes for the sax. Other time she calls him, with furious rhythmic demand, as like on her another piece Nie Wieder. One of the most beautiful on this recording with wonderful Climax of Alt, wild and very expressive piano accompaniment and always present bass counting all happening with a precision of surgeon’s scalpel.

In fact the strongest part of quartet is pianist Philip Frischkorn. The way he plays evolved from Classical Romantic piano tradition and makes a strong statement on the group’s voice. He is not dominating anything either, but it just comes this way. On the other hand Evgeny’s sax playing is deeply underlined with folk influence. And it is not particularly coming from Russian tradition either. I am finding in his play a lot of inspiration in Charles Lloyd’s music. The way he is phrasing and providing melody reminds me a lot of his style.

Brilliant début recording, which deserves better recognition. Die Klesse Act.

Gustafsson is a very special vocalist to me, so I am always looking forward to her new albums with impatience. It took a whole four years now since latest „Calling You” to which I am still listening to a lot. That one, like the previous is also recorded with strings and seems to be the further step of that concept she started there.

Previous four, funny enough, were recorded always in more jazz idiom with an assist of the trio, in case of Rigmor always top class jazz musicians. Early once dedicated to great mentors, like Dianne Warwick or Michel Legrand. Later based on vocalist own authority and containing material which is her very own.

What makes her unique is her very personal style. She is in jazz and blues orbits of course but on the same time she is perfectly on her own planet. She is crossing over all the styles successfully moving from Blues to Folk ,flirting with jazz and blending all with a pop idiom which makes pop music one would enjoy to listen to.

Jump with your imagination back to ladies like Blossom Dearie, Lena Horne, Dianne Warwick . Think about current divas like Helen Merrill, Rickie Lee Jones or Joni Mitchell. They are all living there. You can trace their personalities easily. Clearly one can see that she is the singer who didn’t really come from the deep Black roots of Blues, Jazz or Gospel tradition. Instead she found the challenging way to discover their structures in the music environment she grown in and learn how to expose it.

It really makes her a unique voice on the European jazz scene. Settling up with European trio, again made this set even more pure in its approach. The level of the control over material is top here given the fact she even produced this album herself. It gives special, deeper view into Rigmor’s personality.

Lyrics are simple and touching. Ballads like Call me Lonely, If Dreams Are Made of Sand or Forget About the Moonlight are showing the pure joy of the emotions they describe in the honest way they are sung.

A Different Kind with its fantastic arrangement spins between organ’s chords and brass responses is exactly the song which made me thinking about Blossom with its elegant, Blues like, emotional message which comes so smooth here that it makes the title looks like the best description. It is simply stunning arrangement. It is hard to make it any better. One of my favourite here.

The second is Let it Go. The Hymn like duo sung together with … that was a great surprise to me: Eagle-Eye Cherry, the son of legendary trumpeter Don Cherry. The strings accompaniment is so brilliant here that it doesn’t leave single doubt about Rigmor’s composing skills maturity.

I love that record and I am sure to say that the audience will do so as well. It shows the gentle side of the singer in an honest and straight way. However to me “Calling You” with its claw and adventurous arrangements remains still the top of the Rigmor’s game.

Belle Epoque, project involving two of the most promising young French musicians is a part of the Duo Art series which Act Music started to launch just this year. It is a 7th volume already if I got it right, which shows a great effort and adorable consequence, especially worth raving as the music published under this brand is really outstanding.

Emile Parisien represents an exclusive club of soprano soloist which just a few joined in. From Bechet ,through Garbarek to Steve Lacy and Dave Liebman. One cannot forget the Trane who bought it back to life.

Vincent Peirani is equally congenial counterpart as it comes to accordion. He is considered to be the one who completely revolutionised the way of playing it and expanded the borders for expression possibilities available. Something like that, in France when accordion remains one of the few national instruments, being always present in nation’s culture is an exquisite achievement alone. Think Edith Piaf, Parisian Caffe like music always present on the streets, then Galliano , Matinier, Berthoumieux and finally Peirani. That is a big rat run, just be aware of that. I am listening to a lot of accordion /bandoneon recordings from all over the world and I can tell you that straight on: He is the One off.

Recording contains 5 jazz standards and 4 originals, two from each. Starting from Bechet’s Egyptian Fantasy shows already that those two can see the world in their own way. With full respect for the classic, they managed to prevent the beauty of the tune and develop completely new aesthetic to this. Amount of nostalgia together with subversive sense of humour this dialogue is handled appears like a brand new piece with just a trace of reminiscences that few elders might still remember. The beauty of the tone is just overwhelming and makes you want to dance.

Lodge’s Temptation Rag can be actually called forgotten given the fact how popular it used to be in its best days. From vaudeville, old fashioned piece they turned it into a beauty and vivid melody that one can swear heard it before around many times. But it is just an illusion coming from this amazing ability to drag out the core of the song and give it a new spin.

Same can be said about another Bechet’s classic Song of Medina. Again they prevented beauty tissue of Arabian scales which makes this piece so floating and gave it make over which matches dynamic of today’s modern life on French streets. Made right now by completely different society cross section. It again proofs an amazing talent for observing a life as it goes and adopting new movements into existing structures and enrich an existing language, which both of them shares.

Same can be said about Duke’s Dancer’s in Love which kept its natural charm and listening to it one can easily remind himself the original tune. But the best to me is when it comes to originals.

Speaking his own voice shows really what your spirit is like. Parisiens’ Hysm with a gentle opening makes you think if that is still accordion or some magic music box played by your own guide angel somewhere in the shadow of the foggy morning. With an angelic sound of his soprano this piece sounds almost like a liturgy in a church, with accordion fingering sounding like a baroque fugue.

Periani’s Schubertauster on contrary is the music with complete different sense of space and the sonic structures building up high by his partners voice on the solid foundation he delivered.

This recording is nothing less than the box of chocolates with an exquisite taste.

When I first heard Lisbeth Quartet I was both surprised and enchanted. The face of the band turned to be a young lady, Charlotte Greve. It was a year after this material had been recorded; live on the stage of Berlin’s A Trane club.

She is a proper heroine. She has the power, the talent and passion to spell the inner sense into her compositions. Those are by the way skills well matured; something one wouldn’t expect from someone so young as she is (just turned 26 now).

What touches you immediately is her incredible way of feeling melody. You listening to the tunes which sound to your ears so much like a human voice, more like songs which posses’ emotions stored in lyrics, not just in an articulation or timbre. Very few reed players have such a gift. Think about Charles Lloyd for example, that would be the right description. Or Heinz Sauer, if you would like to pick some from the same sonic Universe as she grown in.This recording is four years old, so think where she will be now expanding her own horizons so quick.

From the first phrase of the opening The Tree composition listener is getting that clearly. She starts with a lament which is perfectly balanced and dynamically controlled. Voice is clear and holds emotions firmly. Phrase grown and gets low, but never comes overdone. Is perfectly focused all the time. This is wonderfully written composition with enough space given for leaders’ sax to keep telling the story and room left for the band mates to support this narration. Particularly interactions between voice and percussion build narration of the piece here. The discrete and propulsive in the same time presence of the piano fills the harmonic tissue in the way that one would expect the drums rhythmic accents would make. That is truly developed at the master class level and is in fact more clever and mature than it first sounds.

In the following Red things are more equally shared in the combo. Piano gets more solo space and section operates in more traditional manner. Leader’s sax plays melody which seems to have more in common with traditional folk tunes than a escalation of rhythmic figures, but boy – these chaps can play. Keeps are floating here and keep changing on the go. Functions move. And melody which was already simple had been completely de-fragmented, used to deliver completely new steps to the old well known dance. With interludes which made a complete makeover to it. I love transition of this piece a lot and can really enjoy listening to it all day long.

Next the title suite comes in two pieces. Contemporary character of this set up mood differently again. We are taken back into the land of reflection first experienced with the first blow on the record. Listening to Charlotte’s gentle, smoothly told story with her breath and fingering work constantly present in the phrase is nothing but the honey for the ears. It is hard to believe how someone so young can posses enough wisdom to tell stories like that. I could keep go on and on like that for long. At least another four composition, but it is pointless. What one need to do is to buy this record and fall in love.

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BUY IT here!

When I saw this album the 1st thing I thought was: Gosh – long time since I seen a solo recording from Dave, and I went to the shelf to check it. It turned into 20 years exactly as I found! Lots of Memories to celebrate as it was my Dave’s 1st recording I bought (Air Sculpture). My first ever Traumton CD , yes guys 😉 and also the title which took me straight on shortly after into the wonder world of Keiko Abe.  The Temple of endless imagination in which I steel keep praying today.

Like the first one, same this latest immediately found its place in my heart forever. Musicians like Dave who live busy lives contributing on hundreds of the Greatest musician names’ around recordings (Ch.Baker ,W.Shorter, J.Scofield to just name the few) hardly have time to slow down ,relax and listen to the sounds inside themselves. And this 20 year gap is the best proof of that.

Listening to only those two albums makes one aware immediately how great contribution it is.

Possibly the closest to that are Dave’s trio projects with French Accordionist Jean Louis Matinier and Argentine bandoneon Master Dino Saluzzi recorded for an Intuition label. Those, together with both solo Traumton recordings are absolutely a Holy Bible for those who follow The Open Space Sound Sanctuary.

Intimacy of this recording sets the listener back immediately. It is a message that is not possible to ignore. You can’t just leave it playing back in the background. You have to listen to it, you have to let it explore your mind. All you have there to react every time Dave’s mallets hit his instruments is straight on alerted. Doesn’t matter if that is a tune you know, or you do not.

Any way it doesn’t sound like you ever remembered it, even with such well recognisable titles like Monk’s Round Midnight or Legrand’s The Windmills of Your Mind.

An improvisation is an open process, vibrant and immediate. It affects you with an instant effect. There is no limitation involved in it. It all spans between the musician’s imagination and technical capabilities. Listeners sensitivity and ability to catch the wave. Dave is the Jack of All. He builds mysterious temples of sound with an individual approach for every single piece of music here. Balance between the structures of the sounds is made on aware choices which one to hit to get just that exact note with its texture, shape and re-verb which makes her so unique.

Those with an open mind will find there something else every time they get back to this music. I am lucky to have it since 2 months now and I am listening to it daily still being delighted as like I just heard it for the first time.Listen to this when it rains and when the Sun is on. Listen after sex and even during, too;) You will see what I mean.

On the top of this recording two things as well are worth special attention.

First is the person who recorded it: Wolfgang Loos, the same sound engineer who created an outstanding Air Sculpture sound. Second is the fact that he used for this recording his Telefunken vacuum tube based microphones. Those who know the sound of EF 86 pentode do not need to be told twice. Those who do not, let me tell you: It is only live music experience that can be better than the image of these mikes.

Listen to it and you will hear the quality you never experienced before. Both artistic and technical. I do not believe that it can be any better.

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I decided to put these two albums together as they are sharing a lot and it does make sense to me to write about together. I know Magdalena and all the recordings with her regular trio, but those two duo recordings, with an occasional help of the few quest musicians friends. I never heard Shane’s before but it only makes things more interesting.

Here we got two CDs containing seventy percent of the same material on both, however 1st is purely instrumental approach, on second Magdalena is also singing . Material sports some originals from both artists as well as some traditional tunes ,which had been re-worked and re- arranged, like Bossa Romanza or Scarborough Fair.

Duet of the guitarist and harpist /vocalist seems to be a good place to start. Formula of using two string instruments in dialogue determines arrangements as well as forces both musicians to keeping specific discipline. Duo recordings always had been most demanding. There is no place to hide – once you are there- you are there. Hence I found artist choices to be very interesting.

Both instruments are harmonically very close that it could turn duet into monologue if special attention wouldn’t be cared. And that’s probably why they decided to rely rather on instrument’s specific articulation than arrangements focused on melodic choruses.

This is a land of gentleness and as a harp naturally belongs there it had been given leading voice on most of the tracks, with respectful and sensitive guitar accompaniment. That keeps the counterpointing harp’s voice in order and never goes louder that is needed to underline the phrase.

That’s perfect choice of music if you like to calm down, relax and listen to your own thoughts.

Turning into vocal disc changes all the things. Ballads like Calling Out or Won’t You Stay still remains charming and cuddling you gently but Magdalena’s narrative vocalise, half sung half whispered puts completely different spell over the listener. Charm remains, but accents had changed. Focus of the tune is on lyrics now. Guitar takes over delivering decent accompaniment. Harp is used now more for adding some fragile passages to decorate the phrase. Where it was leading before, now the voice took over.

Following Beauty also present on the duo disc got an interesting make over with vocalist’s voice dubbed into the choir with herself. Just for this Moment, the moody blues with a quest sax and violin appearance is more like vocalist I know, telling story like someone who knows already few things about love.

But still lack of regular piano trio I am usually listening to her with changes to the headline. Shane’s approach makes it more Latin and Bossa , less Cabaret like. Also Magda’s Harp loses here its folk-ish spirit that is usually present when she is playing her alone. That makes an interesting comparison with the music of the artist I know well and showing versatility and new face but thanks to the muses all the good things are not being lost or forgotten.

That makes both CDs a good introductory into the artist’s universe and I am pretty convinced that those who will taste it will be looking for more.

Max’s project is something really striking and cross boarding. Young drummer’s and composer sonic personality goes far beyond definition of jazz. More that it is super intelligent. It is flirting with conventions, makes you laugh, happy and not feeling even trace of guilty due to your lack of respect.

There are some paths left for the listener who is careful enough to follow and not get lost. You can sense inspirations coming from so many directions that pointing them all would just consume pages. On the other hand it is pointless itself as the greatest joy of this music lays exactly in the pleasure of peeling layer after layer. Here the whole world is upside down. Slapstick and vaudeville performance paths can only take you off the road. You need to trust your common sense to survive.

Given the titles and building description would mislead even more – those are false clues. Nothing is exactly here as it looks to be.

The Choir is not what you would imagine it like. These are voices which are completely de – humanised and actually reduced to the purely instrumental function. As such they contribute as instruments would do – making sounds, but not sense. This is hidden in a devilish composer intention.

How smart it is that only true improvisers would understand. Music is very micro tonal in fact. It is fast as well and the rhythm builds the phrase in very unusual way. Additionally drummer’s efforts are mirrored by similar guitarist’s approach (Tobias Hofmann). Those two are most responsible for fooling you, especially guitarist’s Hawaiian tone making you thinking that things are just about changing direction into more recognisable territories , but they are not.

Rhythm section’s cooperation here is a pure tour de force as one can already imagine himself at that point of the story. It spans between film noir tune like and grotesque cannonades breaking all your expectations. Voices drive you into little paranoid rhythmic figures in one moment, to brake again and sing you a capella lullaby for the piece of your mind. Simply brilliant. The way it keeps you hungry and looking for more is nothing but ingenious.

Paradoxically, or maybe not Johanes Schleiermacher’s sax appears to sound more human than all the real voices tend to. His sense of humour keeps balance on the edge in similar way as Daniel Erdmann’s of Das Kapital does. I am finding some similarities between those two bands simply due to ways like guitar and drums interact, but they both speaking their own voice. And definitely representing completely various approach.

Honestly I do not know anyone else I could compare Andrzejewski with. He is aware of Marylin Mazur in the same way as is Meredith Monk. He knows Schonberg, Berg and Webern in almost the same intuitive way and using them all as the trampoline for his very own ideas. But most of all he is an sensitive observer who comments on an absurd surrounding us daily with illusory sublime that disarms your own gravity and makes you levitate. That is more than just a project – it is a new language.

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