Scenes from Jazz in E

By Paul Acquaro 

Last weekend was a long one in Germany and on which every year the Jazz in E festival takes place in Eberswalde, a small city about an hour by car north from Berlin. This was the 31st edition of the festival and over four nights, acts drawn from Berlin and beyond, played to an appreciative audience, each evening offering a balance of accessibility and adventure.

The event opened with guitarist Uwe Kropinski playing his unique and amply fretted instrument with a mix of flamenco flair and percussive panache. He was followed by a upbeat folk-inflected compositions of Vienna based Richard Koch's "Ray of Light" ensemble.

 

The second night was opened by "rant," the drum and guitar duo of Merle Bennett und Torsten Papenheim respectively. Followed by the highly syncopated Kind, a fantastic new quartet let by Essen based saxophonist and composer Jan Klare.

 

Friday offered a highlight of the festival in the form of the Berlin-based duo of Achim Kaufmann and guitarist Kalle Kalima. Not enough of the delicate intertwining of the two acoustic instruments is presented here in the video, but one can also check out their recording Ilmonique. They were followed by the kinetic and driving sounds of saxophonist Phillip Gropper's TAU, with Philip Zoubek on keys, Ludwig Wandinger on electronics and Felix Henkelhausen on bass.

On the last night of the festival, the relaxed guitar styling of Tobias Hoffmann and keyboardist Benjamin Schaefer opened the evening, followed by the frenetic rock of Els and the Bliss. Featuring the animated Els Vanderweyer on vibraphone and the bifurcated beats of the Bliss: Dirk Berger on guitar, Based Krajewski on drums and Beat Halberschmidt on the bass, the quartet closed the festival on a high note. 

Here is a final snippet, showing first the Koeln based guitarist painting a sonic canvass with some of Bill Frisell's brushes mixed-in with his own, followed by the Berliner's agitated art-rock.