Festival Music Unlimited #39, Wels, Austria, Nov. 8-10

By Eyal Hareuveni

Every journey to the Festival Music Unlimited feels like a meeting with many known and unknown siblings from an ancestral mother, or taking part in what the editor of the Austrian FreiStil, Felix Fellinger, called “soziales Gesamtkunstwerk” (a term used by composer Richard Wagner and literally means total or ideal work of art, but adding to it the social aroma).

The sold-out 39th edition of the Unlimited Music Festival was the most international to date, featuring more than 60 musicians from 24 countries and all five continents, who performed 19 concerts. Many musicians and members of the audience were returning visitors, putting their trust in the festival's artistic choices and the new musicians who would play in the festival for the first time. And, as in every year, the festival offered many opportunities to meet and talk with the musicians during its three days, in the festival’s restaurant and the beautiful photo exhibition of Italian photographer Luciano Rossetti.

 First Day, Nov. 8 

The opening performance was by the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra (VIO), founded and led by saxophonist and artistic director Michael Fischer. The VIO, in its changing lineups, is dedicated to the art of conducted instant composition, a form of structured, real-time composition based on Fischer’s hand-signal system in which the distinction between the conducted cues and the improvised blurs. The 15-member VIO was divided into string, reed and brass, and vocal sections, and the most adventurous section, comprised of Bernhard Loibner on modular synths, Wolfgang Fuchs on turntables, and drummer Didi Kern. Fischer gave a lot a freedom to the musicians and maintained a fragile balance between the eccentric female vocalists - Nika Zach, Isabell Kargl, and Claudia Cervenca, the wild, driving force of Loibner, Fuchs, and Kern, and the more structured improvisations of the string, brass and reed sections, while injecting a sharp sense of irony.

American, Amsterdam-based drummer-percussionist Frank Rosaly followed with a solo set, Bimini, that traces his Puerto-Rican ancestral roots, with a unique drum-set of two bass drums, two gongs, two snare drums, two cowbells, and more percussive instruments. This powerful, spiritual set was informed by the traditions of the indigenous Caribbean Taíno and was performed in almost total darkness. This timeless trance-like ritual calibrated Rosaly and the audience into a collective, compassionate frequency, but also explored Rosaly’s own questions of identity and larger, more pressing issues of decolonization, in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

The pan-European, multi-generational quartet Turquoise Dream - Polish, Amsterdam-based pianist Marta Warelis, Swedish cellist Helena Espavall, Portuguese veteran violinist Carlos Zingaro, and guitarist Marcelo dos Reis - released only one album (JACC, 2021), and have not played together much since then. The performance provided a unique opportunity to experience the deep listening, spontaneous conversations of these distinct improvisers, sketching and deconstructing loose textures with an organic, poetic interplay, grace, and elegance, and, obviously, enjoy the wisdom and imagination in every touch of Zingaro.

Elisabeth Harnik & Camila Nebbia

 The night ended with New Quintet assembled in the last minute, after a cancellation - American trombonist Jeb Bishop, Argentinian tenor sax player Camila Nebbia, Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik, Brazilian double bass player Vinicius Cajado, and fellow Austrian drummer Didi Kern (who plays with Harnik in the DEK trio with Ken Vandermark). This first-ever, free improvised performance stressed a reserved, often too respectful interplay, and focused on patient, collective improvisations, with enough space for individual aolos, with Bishop steering the intense commotion with his quiet, commanding presence.

Second Day, Nov. 9

Akira Sakata

The afternoon performances at the local Landesmusikchule began with a solo set of Japanese legendary reed master-vocalist Akira Sakata, who performed his version of the Tale of Heike (originally released by doubtmusic, 2013). This epic story is about the fight between two samurai clans for the control of medieval Japan, and was performed in a dramatic, vivid way, with Sakata acting like a sage telling the story, playing the heroic characters, and reflecting on the story with his openly emotional playing, mourning the loss of so many lives due to arrogance, hate, and sheer evil. The duo of Czech trumpeter and electronics player Petr Vrba and Cypriot vibes player Andria Nicodemou was formed after a chance meeting at the Irtijal Festival in Beirut. They presented a yin-yang dynamics. Vrba thoughtfully structured dense textures with a pocket trumpet and live electronics, while Nicodemou instantly abstracted his ideas into sensual, surprising sounds, often using objects like a long coil or ping pong balls, totally possessed by the sounds of the augmented vibes, and both fed by the stimulating tension. The last set was by the trio Flowers We Are, featuring Serbian harmonium player Marina Džukljev, Austrian cellist Arnold (Noid) Haberl, and electronics player Matija Schellander, who released a self-titled album (Klanggalerie, 2024). The minimalist, austere dynamics of this trio correspond with the pioneering work of Morton Feldman and the British AMM. This trio sketched a mysterious drone where Džukljev’s hrominium soft hums resonated the overtones of Schellander’s electronics, while Haberl reconstructed this abstract syntax into his cello playing, but slowly the collective drone gravitated into an irreverent, powerful spiritual meditation.

 

JeJaWeDa 

The evening performance began with the JeJaWeDa - the initials of American trombonist Jeb Bishop, Dutch vocal artist Jaap Blonk, and fellow Americans drummer Weasel Walter, and double bass player Damon Smith - a kind of super-group that collides eruptive free jazz explosions and dadaist, absurdist sonic experiments, and already released two albums (Pioneer Works Vol. 1 & 2, on Smith’s Balance Point Acoustics, 2019), and stopped at the festival during its European tour. It was a wild, intense set where Blonk provided theatrical, eccentric texts in expressive gibberish and toy electronics, Smith was all over the double bass with multiple bows and assorted objects, and Walter banged his head with the cymbals, drummed while lying on the ground, stood on the drum stool and shouted on all, and often ran across the stage. Throughout this manic mayhem, Bishop kept his commanding calm and charged it with some reason and direction. In one instance, he stood closely to Blonk, listened carefully to another absurdist complaint of Blonk, and instantly transformed it into an inspired theme.

The quartet Plüsch - Argentinian tenor sax players Ada Rave and Camila Nebbia, Polish pianist Marta Warelis, and German drummer Christian Lillinger - has not released an album yet, but it already sounds like a working band. This quartet’s dynamics contrasted Lillinger’s hyperactive drumming on an extended drumset with Rave, Nebbia, and Warelis’ more patient, multifaceted play of structuring and deconstructing of form, melody, and pulse, and adventurous timbral explorations, but suggested a challenging kind of complementary interplay.

 

Gabby Fluke-Mogul & Mariá Portugal

The new trio Endless Breakfast - American violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Brazilian, Berlin-based drummer Mariá Portugal (who will curate the next edition of the Unlimited festival), and Argentinian-Swiss cellist Paula Sanchez - was formed backstage at the Unlimited festival, and its performance there was part of a European tour. This trio has not released an album yet, but already shaped its idiosyncratic, imaginative form of collective and vibrant free improvisation, comprised of vulnerable, poetic soundscapes, often furious ones (and fluke-mogul reminded the audience of the importance of resistance), but most of the time, introspective, fragile ones, fully possessed at the art of the moment, and offering a highly immersive, illuminating listening experience.

Akira Sakata returned to the stage with his working trio Chikamorachi - double bass player Darin Gray and drummer Chris Corsano - that has been working since 2005, as the core trio or as an extended ensemble with such improvisers as Jim O’Rourke, Masami Akita (aka Merzbow), Keiji Haino, Michiyo Yagi, and Yōsuke Yamashita. Gray and Corsano offered a propulsive, attentive support to the mostly lyrical, commanding performance of Sakata, which was highlighted with a highly emotional delivery of an anti-war song mourning the ones who are lost.

The evening ended with Chicagoan sax hero Dave Rempis’ new quartet  Archer - Rempis on alto sax, Dutch guitarist Terrie Hessels (of The Ex), and the rhythm section of Norwegian double bass player Jon Rune Strøm  and drummer Tollef Østvang (who are also the rhythm section of the Friend and Neighbors quintet and the Universal Indians trio). The quartet released its debut album Sudden Dusk (on Rempis’ Aerophonic label), and was in the middle of a European tour. Its set was intense and powerful, with Rempis and Strøm kept pushing forward, most of the time in muscular free jazz power, speed, and intensity, while Østvang intervened with sharp, explosive but concise contributions, and Hessels challenged any attempt to form a linear narrative with imaginative, disruptive rhythmic guitar augmented with assorted abjects (including the box of famous Austrian chocolate-coated marshmallow treat called Schwedenbomben).

 Third (and last) Day, Nov. 10

Sakina Abdou

The afternoon performances at the distant Schloss Puchberg began with a solo set of French tenor sax player Sakina Abdou, who played a series of call-and-response chants with a raw, and powerful sound, first on stage and then through the audience, stressing the communal, spiritual essence of her playing and herself as a sort of a high priest who channels the audience's energy into a prayer for a better, compassionate and peaceful future. Then the 150-year-old duo of Dutch violist Ig Henneman (80) and tenor sax player, clarinetist, and shakuhachi player Ab Baars (70) decided at the last minute to play a free improvised set (and not the program Autumn Songs, Wig, 2013). It was an inspired, deeply emotional conversation between soul mates who know and love each other and always find the innocent joy and inspiration in playing together. It sounded as if all notes landed in their perfect place and none were redundant, and articulated with captivating elegance, sheer beauty, and inspired grace. The last set featured a trio of Taiwanese, Vienna-based guzheng player Ming Wang, Italian, Vienna-based sound artist Isabella Forciniti, and Austrian trumpeter Thomas K. Berghammer, who weaved mysterious, layered textures made of the unconventional playing of Ming Wang, using objects and bow, the extended breathing techniques of Berghammer, and Forciniti’s otherworldly electronics.

The evening performances began with the quartet Trapeze - tenor sax player Sakina Abdou, German trombonist Matthias Müller, drummer Peter Orins, and Swiss turntables wizard Joke Lanz. The quartet has released only one album (Level Crossing, Circum Disc, 2023), but already refined its chaotic, dadaistic dynamics, propelled by the hyperactive, inventive drumming and the constant supply of inventive cinematic, cartoonist quotes by Joke Lanz, both charging the music with a stimulating, subversive aroma, while Abdou and Müller keep this volatile commotion on solid but intense ground. At one point, when Joke Lanz sensed that Abdou and Müller refer to a jazz phrase, he immediately played and muataed a spoken-word quote from an album on the masters of jazz, mocking such reverent, respectful homages, and making his point by tossing this vinyl in the air.

 

Oren Ambarchi

The following performance was by the Swedish power trio Fire! - Mats Gustafsson on baritone and tenor saxes, flute and harmonica (!), bassist Johan Berthling, and drummer Andreas Werliin, with Australian, Berlin-based Oren Ambarchi on guitar and electronics. Fire! collaborated before with Ambrachi (In The Mouth - A Hand and She Sleeps, She Sleeps, Rune Gramofon, 2012 and 2016), and Ambrachi plays with Berthling and Werliin in the trio Ghosted. The first extended piece sounded as if continuing the hypnotic vibe of Ghosted, with Berthling and Werliin dictating a stubborn, massive pulse, Ambrachi colors it with a psychedelic sounds, and Gustafsson adds reserved blows, but as this set progressed, it settled on the familiar, heavy, uplifting, and irresistible grind of Fire! with a few surprising moments when Gustafsson incorporates his small harmonica sound into Fire!’s syntax.

Next, Austrian pianist Ingrid Schmoliner (on prepared piano) and trumpeter and electronics player Alex Kranabetter presented their Drank project, which released its debut album earlier this year(Breath in Definition, Trost, 2025), with guests - drummer Lukas König and vocalist and electronics player Anja Plaschg (aka Soap&Skin). The stage was dark, and the music was based on repetitive, short motifs, woven into a layered, rich drone, enriched by hazy electronics, the processed sound of Kranabetter’s trumpeter, Plaschg’s suggestive voice, and König’s drums, and hypnotic grooves. It suggested an endless, Steve Reich-like swirling effect, but with a strong psychedelic effect.

The festival ended with a wild performance of the French trio Nout - Delphine Joussein on amplified flute, electric harp player Rafaëlle Rinaudo, and drummer Blanche Lafuente, who describe themselves as “the missing link between Nirvana and Sun Ra”, augmented by Gustafsson. The trio released its debut album last year (Live Album, Trost/Gigantonium, 2024), but until experiencing this trio live, it is hard to believe how much infectious, primal, and raw power this trio can produce, with Lafuente drumming as if she plays in a thrash metal band, Rinaudo uses her electric harp as an electric guitar and bass, and Joussein mutates her amplified flute sound with countless effects. Gustafsson integrated immediately and organically into these punkish tsunamis, and it sounded even better and happier when Akira Sakata and Johan Berthling joined for the encore.

The next, the 40th edition of the Unlimited festival, with Mariá Portugal as the curator, will be in Nov. 6-8, 2026. Keep it in your diaries.

Read More

Ebaugh Crane Presley - Detergent (scatterArchive, 2025)

By Martin Schray

The release of Detergent, the debut album from Ryan Ebaugh (tenor saxophone, detached mouthpiece), Matt Crane (borrowed drum kit, brought cymbals), and Cameron Presley (guitar, amps with stuff on the speakers, volume pedals), is a welcome opportunity to praise Liam Stefani’s scatterArchive label. Stefani launched it as Scatter in 1994, as a physical label, dedicated to musical improvisation in its many forms, with a particular focus on non-idiomatic free improv. Over the 30+ intervening years, this has remained the primary focus. Then there was a curated series of live “scatter“ events (late 1990s to mid 2000s). The majority of these live events were recorded (onto DAT and ADAT) and these became the source of several digital releases, and “scatter“ became “scatterArchive“, with an active bandcamp page for archival recordings and digital versions of the out-of-print “scatter“ physical releases. “As the name changed, so did the business model. It was no longer reliant on each physical release selling enough copies to finance the next physical release, no longer having to wait for payments for orders to come through from distributors and shop/mail order outlets. It was now possible to remove the commercial aspect from the label, becoming a non-profit organization“, says Stefani. Without the physical object, it also became possible to release high quality digital work quickly, more like an online periodical publishing a new weekly issue. The direction of the label has shifted subtly over recent years to include more archival releases. However, the intention of the label is to feature less-known musicians as well.

Cameron Presley - although he has been on the scene for quite some time - and Ryan Ebaugh belong to these lesser known artists. Matt Crane is possibly the best-known name in this trio. From his punk rock days in the early 1980s to his discovery of jazz and his collaboration with Ornette Coleman to freely improvised noise music with his duo Carpet Floor he has been involved in all kinds of avant-garde music. Nevertheless, it took a long time for this trio to come together. “Sometime in the late 1990s, my old band Upsilon Acrux played a show with Carpet Floor“, says Presley. “That show stuck with me.“ About 25 years later he started playing music again after a longer pause and met Ryan Ebaugh. In a way, Ebaugh’s sax reminded him of the Carpet Floor show and this is how Matt Crane came into play.

And let’s be frank: The result of their collaboration is nothing short of sensational, because musical worlds collide here. In the opener “Tongue” sounds swirl around in confusion, while a saxophone gone wild rages against this cacophony in the style of Mats Gustafsson. The guitar roars or lets fragmented tones hiss into nowhere, reminiscent of Masayuki Takayanagi’s noise attacks. For three quarters of an hour, the music roars, booms, howls, moans and groans at every turn. Every now and then, for a few seconds, it seems as if the three want to redeem us when you think you can hear a little melody. But no! Detergent is a monster. No, not figuratively speaking, I mean it literally. It grabs you by the throat with the first note, chokes you, and then whirls you around. It’s like sitting in the engine room of an ocean liner in heavy seas while hearing the death cries of someone being keelhauled by the captain. You don’t believe me? Then just listen to “Shell,” the second track. After four and a half minutes, the guitar and drums mercilessly beat everything into the ground. It’s speed metal, industrial, death disco, free jazz - all in one. It’s music that’s always at the maximum level of intensity. Not for wimps, but for fans of Painkiller, Throbbing Gristle, Napalm Death, and Test Dept. I’m sure John Zorn loves it. What a motherfucker of an album!

Detergent will be released in November, 24th. It’s available as a download and on cassette. You can buy it and listen to it on the scatterArchive bandcamp site:

https://scatterarchive.bandcamp.com/

The cassette is available here: https://sndhls.bigcartel.com/

Read More

C6Fe2RN6 - C6Fe2RN6 (Astral Spirits, 2024)

By Stef Gijssels

If you do not want to sell any music, the easiest way is to produce an album cover without text, and to invent a name that is "C6Fe2RN6". I am not sure where this name comes from, but it's sufficiently unpronounceable not to be shouted at the beginning of a concert. (AI tells me that "The elements C (carbon), Fe (iron), and N (nitrogen) would not typically bond with Rn (radon - a noble gas) to form a stable molecule in this configuration" - but since Mazurek has already released "The Unstable Molecule" in 1997 with Isotope 217, you never know ... )

The artists behind this name are Rob Mazurek on trumpet, piano, mbira, flutes, bells, synth and electronics, and Nick Terry on electric guitar, kalimba and music box. Terry is a visual artist, and the cover art is from his hand. Mazurek is also a visual artist and Terry also happens to play the guitar and a few other instruments. Both friends met at Mazurek's recording studio in Texas and recorded material that they afterwards refined and produced. The music is layered like Terry's art, with multiple techniques and materials used to produce unexpected and mysterious sceneries, that are at the same time mystifying and inviting for reflection. 

Mazurek writes in the liner notes: "I make music with the intention of placing sound in a certain way that can be exciting, invigorating, calming, destructive, cathartic, surprising, contemplative and many things in between." Or in other words: "What you hear is What you hear. Enter the room and enjoy."

I would echo that recommendation. The music is surprisingly approachable — a big change from some of Mazurek’s recent material — and has an inviting, almost “new-age” feel, with long, tranquil sounds and a reverb so deep it feels like you’re hearing it from far away, and a crystal-clear trumpet to sing and rejoice.

The album also comes in an LP version of 300 copies, and I apologise for reviewing it so late. It may be that the stock is gone. At least I hope so for the musicians. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp.

Read More

Jazzfest Berlin 2025 - Part 2

 

By Sarah "Flake" Grosser and Paul Acquaro

 

Part 2 of our coverage of the Jazzfest Berlin. See part 1 here.

Saturday @ Berliner Festspiele (Sarah)

Amaryllis Sextet © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

Mary Halvorson – guitar
Adam O’Farrill – trumpet
Jacob Garchik – trombone
Patricia Brennan – vibraphone
Nick Dunston – double bass, electric bass
Tomas Fujiwara – drums  

Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis Sextet continue to deliver. This latest repertoire on tour is some of Mary’s freshest work to date, and presented in the acoustic wunderland of the Berliner Festspiele, the sextet has never sounded so good. Mary’s virtuosic finger-work and precision effects, while at the forefront of the music, never come across as overly dominant. She effortlessly juggles the balance between subtle digital pitch bends and more traditional licks. This bendy approach is subtly mirrored with the virtuosoty of Patricia Brennan, who also employs her signature manual pitch-bending to the vibraphone. She does this along with a host of other bizarre tone manipulation methods including using her mouth on the bars - it’s hard to tell from a distance what she’s doing exactly, but it sounds great. A hypnotic, aggressive bass solo from Nick Dunston elicits whoops and cheers from a captivated crowd. The duo of Adam and Jacob bring just the right amount of spice over in the brass section and Tomas’s attentive drumming seals the deal. The synergy and friendship between bandmates is apparent and there’s no weak links. Yet another A+ performance from this immensely talented, always enjoyable bunch.

 

London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Marilyn Crispell & Angelica Sanchez: “Double Trouble III” by Barry Guy

Barry Guy © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

Barry Guy – double bass, direction
Marilyn Crispell – piano
Angelica Sanchez – piano
Torben Snekkestad – tenor and soprano saxophone
Michael Niesemann – alto saxophone
Julius Gabriel – baritone saxophone
Simon Picard – tenor saxophone
Mette Rasmussen – alto saxophone
Henry Lowther – trumpet
Percy Pursglove – trumpet
Charlotte Keeffe – trumpet
Andreas Tschopp – trombone
Shannon Barnett – trombone
Marleen Dahms – trombone
Marc Unternährer – tuba
Philipp Wachsmann – violin
Christian Weber – double bass
Lucas Niggli – percussion

Out in the lobby after the performance, I spoke with Australian Trombone player Shannon Barnett, who remarked that she had never seen a score that was so clear and easy to read. “I knew where all the cues were immediately. It was such a joy to play.” She added that despite this, for two days straight the ensemble had "rehearsed the shit out of that piece.” Fellow trombonist Marleen Dahms felt that due to the rehearsal space being smaller, the improvisers could read each other’s cues better, and claimed that the rehearsal was actually better than the performance. From where I was sitting, there was no indication that any performer was having difficulty during the show, and I cannot fathom a world in which there could've been a better performance than what I had just witnessed. 

Two enormous grand pianos were positioned at the front of the stage, i.e. "Double Trouble." These are for Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell, who had just been presented with the coveted 2025 Instant Award for Improvisational Music. Conductor Barry Guy was also out in front with his back to the audience, along with his double bass. It was thrilling to watch him gesturing and conducting with his full body, while also playing the giant instrument - something so rare, I wonder if I will ever see that again in my lifetime.

This was the third public performance of "Double Trouble." A long piece with many parts. Barry commanded the seventeen players who were so syncronised, it really felt like he controlled them with his hands. Everyone seemed to be perfectly tuned in, perhaps this was due to the crystal clarity of the score, as Shannon had said. He was confident with an obvious vision of how each passage should be executed. Loads of shifts in dynamics, and subgroupings and solos. A lot of space for improvisation which was very exciting for a group of this size. There were times when the huge room felt like it could have been mistaken for a tiny New York City basement venue, listening to some avant-garde underground explosion.

The acoustics at the Berlin Festspiele were particularly satisfying, especially during a duet solo between Mette Rasmussen and violinist Philipp Wachsmann. The tone and clarity of the saxophone mixing with the violin strings were spine-tingly good. Their combined sonic vibrations paired with their expertise caused physical sensations to arise - goosebumps - and I found this to be the case for all members of the orchestra. They are all super qualified, as musicians and improvisers, such that their combination felt like much more than the sum of its parts. Although there were moments that were busy and chaotic, it never felt overwhelming. It was very easy to hear each and every member's contribution and role in contributing to the overall masterpiece.

Amidst the more chaotic parts, there was an epic, uplifting, triumphant theme, which presented itself about halfway through the piece, played with such passion that it reduced me to tears. Needless to say, when the theme triumphantly returned near the tail end of the performance - the musicians united as one and the piece was honoured so beautifully. There were so many individual talents on the stage. When I initially saw the listing of performers, with so many big names, I was wondering how they were going to have their moment, or if they would simply just be part of the unified sound. How they would stand out. I told this to Barry’s good friend and frequent collaborator, pianist Jordina Millá, who had been watching the rehearsals. "Barry makes it work," she said. I didn't quite understand what she meant by this at the time, but I can confirm that Barry does indeed make it work. Apparently this performance was recorded. I would do anything to have a copy, because I need it in my life.

MOPCUT feat. MC Dälek: “Ryok” @ Quasimodo

MOPKUT feat. MC Dälek © Fabian Schelhorn

Lukas König – drums, synthesizer, voice
Audrey Chen – voice, analog electronics
Julien Desprez – electric guitar
Will Brooks aka MC Dälek – voice, electronics

For a particularly avant-garde aural onslaught beginning at 11:30pm, it was unsurprising that the Quasimodo was not sardine-packed for this loud, wild, experimental show. There’s so much going on – Audrey Chen’s birdlike vocal improvisations crackle and sparkle alongside MC Dälek's dark raps and effects. There are distinct grooves here, carried impressively by Lukas König's passionate drumming but if there is one unique standout amongst these beautiful freaks, it’s got to be Julien Desprez and his absurd “guitar” playing. Inspired by Brazilian tap dancing, Julien has taken to the concept using his feet to tap his effects pedals in sequence, creating bizarre rhythms and tones. He does this whilst playing the guitar, sitting atop a high chair. It’s giggle inducing because it sounds fantastic, and the performative element is undeniably fun. This is all glued together with a triggered digital bass sound from Lukas, filling in all the gaps for a lush, immersive collage. The club environment is a perfect atmosphere for this kind of avant-garde chaos, and for the passionate individuals who stick around til the very end, a quirky late-night delight!

*** 

  

Sunday @ Berliner (Paul Acquaro)

 

So here it is, the final day of the festival. Events had already transpired during the day at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche with the excellent French saxophonist Sakina Abdou performing solo along with a set from the international trio The Handover featuring keyboardist Jonas Cambien, oudist Aly Eissa and violinist Ayman Asfour. However, let us join the festivities at the Festspiele, starting with saxophonist Amalia Dahl and her expansive group*.  

 

Dafnie Extended

Cacophonous blasts merged into tumbling passages and unison explosions, then into a driving pulse from the drums and bass. In fact, two drums and two basses, joined by trumpet, trombone, sax, flute, and accordion, Dahl's usual quintet Dafnie was appearing tonight in a 12-piece extended version. Laced with highly energetic solo passages and solid rhythmic motion, Dahl's musical vision, a zestful mix of composition and improvisation, was delivered with conviction. Fragile moments provided pleasant contrast to bombastic ones, and more than once thoughts of Alexander von Schlippenbach's Global Unity Orchestra came to mind as the 12-piece veered between the unseemly and the sublime. Overheard later were quips of it being "too ambitious," to which I say, "good, keep it up!"  

 

The Moabit Imaginarium © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

The interlude that followed connected the events at the Festspiele with the community involvement that the Jazzfest engages in annually. The festival had actually begun at the start of the week and a group led by bassist Joel Grip and documented by filmmaker Chris Jonas working with school kids and community members in the Moabit part of the city on a multifaceted art project. The Moabit Imaginarium, which was the group Ouat, with Grip on bass, Simon Sieger at the piano and Michael Griener on percussion joined by community member musicians drummer Assane Seck, trumpeter Berno Jannis Lilge, gayageum player Hyunjeong Park, electronicst Elsa M’bala and rig player Hakam Wahbi. The range of instruments blended into a gentle, rhythmic piece that slowly grew denser and more melodic over 20 minutes, with the trumpet cutting through towards the end. The short piece invited enthusiastic applause.

 

Pat Thomas © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

It was also a nice intro to the eclectic solo set from pianist Pat Thomas. Thomas, who has been an active musicians for decades in Britain, has seen his profile rise in recent years along with Grip in the band Ahmed. Tonight, however, the focus was on Thomas alone as he pounded, plucked, coaxed and caressed a smorgasbord of sound from his instrument. Bathed in blue spotlights, Thomas, bedecked in a dark, flowing robe, began with a crash on the keyboard - deliberate, loud, smashing - followed by a few tumbling notes, like glass tinkling downwards. Then, it became a flowing melody, soft at first, then growing stronger. The dynamism of his playing on full display, Thomas veered from lovely voicing with a touch of danger to riveting rhythmic explosions. The dissonances were a wild spice as well as structural element of his approach.

 

Fire! Orchestra  © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

The festival closer was the most grandiose of all, the Fire! Orchestra** led by saxophonist Mats Gustaffson. While trimmed down from the 40 members that made up their last recording Echoes     (2023), the new 18-piece group featured some Fire! Orcehstra alumni favorites such as saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, bassist Johan Berthling, trombonist Mats Äleklint and singer Sofia Jernberg, it also brought in new faces like drummer and vocalist Mariá Portugal, guitarist (and vocalist) Julien Desprez and organist Kit Downs, among many others (see below). Often organized around seismic riffs and pulse-setting beats, the Fire! Orchestra can also be surprisingly lithe, which proved to be the case this evening. It is tempting to say this version was perhaps more compositionally focused with a modern classical twist to the sound. An embedded string ensemble comprised of Anna Lindal and Anna Neubert on violin and Emily Wittbrodt on cello had an extended part in the middle of the piece that seemed to highlight the composer's ambitions. At the start, saxophonist Anna Hogberg introduced the work with an extended solo, followed by a wild exchange of "words" between Portugal and Desprez. There were few other outright solos in the piece, though it ended with an extended coda by Downes and trumpeter Tuva Olsson. For an encore, the audience was treated to shades of Fire! Orchestra past, in which nearly heavy metal grooves, a fiery solo from Rasmussen and growling B3 tones from Downes shook the stage of the Festspiele.

The final concert of the festival was actually the James Brandon Lewis Quartet at Quasimodo ... undoubtedly an excellent digestive to this musical feast.

---

*Dafnie Extended:

Amalie Dahl – saxophone, composition

Oscar Andreas Haug – trumpet

Jørgen Bjelkerud – trombone

Sofia Salvo – baritone saxophone

Henriette Eilertsen – flute

Ida Løvli Hidle – accordion

Lisa Ullén – piano Anna Ueland – synthesizer

Trym Saugstad Karlsen – drums

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – double bass

Nicolas Leirtrø – double bass

Veslemøy Narvesen – drums

**Fire! Orchestra:

Sofia Jernberg – voice

Mariá Portugal – drums, voice

Anna Lindal – violin

Anna Neubert – violin

Emily Wittbrodt – cello

Mats Gustafsson – baritone saxophone, live electronics, conduction

Mette Rasmussen – alto saxophone

Anna Högberg – alto saxophone

Adia Vanheerentals – tenor and soprano saxophone

Mats Äleklint – trombone

Heiða Karine Jóhannesdóttir Mobeck – tuba, electronics

Tuva Olsson – trumpet

Lina Allemano – trumpet

Kit Downes – piano, keyboards

Mariam Rezaei – turntables

Julien Desprez – guitar, voice

Johan Berthling – electric bass

Mads Forsby – drums

Read More

Jazzfest Berlin 2025 - Part 1

 

By Paul Acquaro and Sarah "Flake" Grosser 

 

Thursday @ Festspiele (Paul) 

 

"Where will you run when the world's on fire?" asked the slogan of the 62nd Berlin Jazz Festival, and while I have not yet come up with a satisfying long-term answer to the question, for four nights in mid-autumn, I at least found some refuge in the expansive Haus der Berliner Festspiele, ground zero of the festival. Ensconced safely enough in the impressive, mid-century modern auditorium, home to theater, dance and modern music, it felt at least temporarily removed from the raging discontent 'out there,' that is, until the Beyond Dragon's trio breathed their musical fire.

 

 

Beyond Dragons. © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

Beyond Dragon's saxophonist Angelika Niescier, along with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Eliza Salem, lit up the stage with a welcome energy. A tough melody, eschewing any frills and niceties, bolted from the leaders horn while an intense pulse eminated from the cello. Along with the drums, the two a driving engine. Focused and ferocious, but not without an ear to melody, the trio burned up the stage for an hour, building up tension, Reid taking friction-full excursions, Niescier oscillating between tough heads and heady solos, and Salem always purposeful. 

 

Deranged Particles.© Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake 

German bassist Felix Henkelhausen's "Deranged Particles" took the stage next, and its seven piece configuration seemed to promise an expansive counter to the focused might of the previous trio. The Deranged Particles began with the hum of Valentin Gerhardus' electronics and a splatter of Philip Dornbusch's percussion. Then as layers of sound began to pile up, Henkelhausen's bass could be heard cutting through the expectant atmosphere. Particles of sound indeed - as the group came together, Percy Pursglove's trumpet and Philipp Gropper's tenor saxophone were front and center, while Evi Filippou's vibraphone and Elias Stemeseder's keyboard work formed the perimeter, the music that emerged was a loose collective of sound with a tinge of orderly chaos. Each tone was an important piece of the picture, each shift of the rhythm adding slight instability to the structure. 

 

Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

Closing out the first night was the most intimate of the configurations, the duo of pianist Vijay Iyer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Touring their latest recording, Defiant Life on ECM, there was already a bit of an answer to the festival's motto: we live in spite of the fire engulfing our worlds, and the music that the two created showed us how to do it. The two began defiantly - sharp chords from the piano and incisive notes from the trumpet - expressive and lined with small melodic statements, punctuated with big intervallic jumps. After a passage of loose tones from the horn, the two found themselves emerging from musical mists into engrossing, emotional pastures. The sounds of Iyer's Fender Rhodes and Smith's soft and wide-ranging trumpet was poignant. Rhythmically strong with cutting melodic lines, the duo was inspired and their music cerebral but passionate. A strong ending to a strong opening night in the main hall.

 

While the main event is happening at the Festpiele, the clubs A-Trane and Quasimodo, both in the vicinity, were serving as outposts of the festival ... other safehouses in this dangerous world ... and both were featuring top-notch groups. For a quick report on these activities, we turn to Free Jazz Blog colleague Sarah "Flake" Grosser, with a panoptic view of the goings on at Quasimodo...

 
Tim Berne’s CAPATOSTA @ Quasimodo (Sarah)

 

CAPATOSTA. © Fabian Schelhorn

There's no line, but the sold-out venue is truly packed. A couple hundred patient and attentive jazz lovers stand to attention as Tim, Tom, and Gregg wail away on stage, commanding the club to take notice. Barely anyone is moving, mesmerized by the frenzy. It's rapid, and busy; crunchy guitar and high tootling sax with Tom's intuitive accompaniment on drums. It goes down a treat and the crowd whoops and cheers once it's over.

From the back, there is still a pretty good unobstructed view, even for shrimps, but the sound quality and mix are well balanced. Even through light conversation, the music is nicely audible. Tim demands attention both musically and literally, asking a few rowdier patrons over at the bar: "What's German for 'Shut the fuck up'? It's really hard to play while you're talking…" Granted, it’s quite late at night, and people have had a few drinks at this point. The crowd is not offended, even laughing along with Tim’s American bluntness. Regardless of his question being rhetorical, in true German tradition, the fans offer practical suggestions back: “Halt die Fresse?”(Shut your face?) ”Schnauze? (muzzle/snout?)." Tim’s musical response is raw and unapologetic; an anarchic breath of fresh air. 

Gregg Belisle-Chi – electric guitar
Tim Berne – alto saxophone
Tom Rainey – drums

***

Friday @ Festspiele (Paul)

 

Friday evening and the Lina Allemano Four were hitting the small stage at A-Trane. This was happening just as the main stage was heating up at the Berliner Festspiele. In an effort to keep things simple, I stuck to the main hall, but really, how unfair this burning world is!  

 

Signe Emmeluth's Banshee © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

Saxophonist Signe Emmeluth's Banshee, whose self-titled debut recordiing is out on Motvind Records, is a multi-headed, genre-bending, free-form group that is hard to categorize. Emmeluth's profile has been on the rise in recent years as a fierce, free saxophonist and with Banshee she both doubles down and confounds. Drawing on a a-list roster of Norway's young, burgeoning experimental scene, Banshee features Guoste Tamulynaite on keys, Jennifer Torrence on percussion, Guro Skumsnes Moe on bass, Heiða Karine Jóhannesdóttir Mobeck on electrified tuba, Anne Efternøler on trumpet and the scintillating Maja S. K. Ratkje on voice, electronics and violin. Everyone, in fact, is credited with voice, which proved to be a central piece of the work. The piece began promising with a blend of vocalizations and a progressive groove. Rhythmic ideas interwove as the leader interjected energetic lines. Then, following a noisy-laden musical breakdown, they group began to wander and for a little too long. Eventually, an emerging pulse helped point the way out, which culminated in the arrival of the banshee. Pained wailing at first, then an emergent, folkloric melody formed, giving new shape as a blend of zombie sounds, melodic shapes and diffuse grooves rode the piece out.

 

David Murray © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

The contrast with the next group could not have been greater. Woodwindist David Murray, a veteran of the venerated NYC Loft-Scene of the 1970s and a prolific player whose style straddles avant-garde and traditional jazz, appeared with his current quartet and provided a set to soothe unsettled souls. Murray, who plays tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, ripped on both as he presented the music from his latest Impulse! recording Birdly Serenade (2025) with pianist Marta Sánchez, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Chris Beck. A more than capable quartet, it was perhaps Sanchez who stood out the most, with an early solo that added a bright energy to the pulsating rhythm. Murray proved spry and versatile throughout, shifting effortlessly between bopping melody and outside lines. The penultimate piece featured artist Francesca Cinelli, who also happens to be Murray's wife, dramatically reciting her lyrics to the song 'Oiseau Du Paradis' (Bird of Paradise), ending with saxophonist and poet trading-eights. 

 

Makaya McCraven © Berliner Festspiele Photo Camille Blake

The final act at the main stage was a more recent ascendant to in the modern jazz scene, drummer Makaya McCraven. Another contrast to the evening, the quartet of McCraven on drums, Junius Paul on electric bass, Matt Gold on guitar and Marquis Hill on trumpet, played a CTI-reminiscent set that offered glimmers of inspiration. Stand out was Gold, whose guitar work offered interesting melodic twists and rousing solo turns. Generally groove oriented, Paul did a wonderful job interjecting unexpected rhythmic accents and impulses. Coming back for a rare festival encore, they were a crowd favorite.

However, while it is over at the main hall, the youngsters are still keeping it going at Quasimodo. We turn again to our intrepid reporter in the field, Sarah "Flake" Grosser for an update from the fringes...

 

The Young Mothers @ Quasimodo (Sarah) 

 

The Young Mothers  © Fabian Schelhorn

Back at the club across town, away from the packed Festspiele, a different kind of packed show was taking place. The atmosphere here was entirely different - adventurous, playful, and free-spirited. I’m not sure what gave The Young Mothers their special sheen. Perhaps it was the combination of instruments or the colourful combination of characters onstage. Maybe it was the uplifting, catchy melodies. When everyone sings along in chorus: “It is better if you let it,” it’s such a happy sound and I can’t get the smile off my face. The crowd is immersed in the bright aura of the beautiful music, far from the mainstream, and wonderfully creative. Jonathan F. Horne whips out a violin bow and starts going to town with it on his guitar, giving a double meaning to the term “shredding.” It’s most entertaining keeping an eye on Stefan González the percussionist, pivoting from pretty vibraphone articulations to intense black metal blast beats on the drum kit, and throaty growling. It sounds almost schizophrenic on paper, but the transitions between the metal segments were seamless and fit the mood, which also shifted via a fusion of genres from jazz, to hip-hop to rock and beyond. It felt like a party - one I never wanted to end.

Jawwaad Taylor – trumpet, rhymes, electronics, programming 
Jason Jackson – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone 
Stefan González – vibraphone, drums, percussion, voice 
Jonathan F. Horne – guitar 
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – double bass, electric bass 
Frank Rosaly – drums, electronics, programming

Read More

Kai Fagaschinski - Aerodynamics (2025)

By Charlie Watkins 

Aerodynamics is the newest release from ‘psychoacoustic clarinettist’ Kai Fagaschinski. This record contains two tracks: the first, ‘Welcome to the 20 ^th Century’, is a 30-minute piece performed by The Paranormal Clarinet Society, although recorded in two sessions in June 2023 and January 2024; the second, ‘Surrounded by Idiots’, is a nine-part improvisation, each improvisation recorded separately by Fagaschinski. ‘Psychoacoustics’ is the best way to understand the music: it is about the sound and how it is perceived by the listener, perhaps more than the music as such.

Unlike Fagaschinski’s duo The International Nothing, ‘Welcome to the 20 ^th Century’ largely eschews extended techniques, instead focusing on the possibilities of simply putting eight clarinets in a room together – as Fagaschinski writes, to use ‘simple language’ only. But by no means does that make this a conventional recording, especially as the clarinets creep perilously close to one other, causing the frequencies to beat together furiously, before moving apart again. The music certainly requires a good set of headphones to properly appreciate: the sound of breath or clacking of keys is as much a part of the music as the notes, making you feel like you’ve walked right into the middle of a clarinet coven – which I expect is exactly the effect Fagaschinski wishes to create.

The track was recorded in two sessions, and I found the change quite jarring when it occurs (it isn’t subtle). I would have preferred to separate the two sessions, rather than suggest they form a cohesive whole, which doesn’t seem the case here. Nonetheless, the slow pace of change and intricacy of sonic detail make this an interesting listen.

The second track, ‘Surrounded by Idiots’, is an improvisational experiment. Fagaschinski recorded nine improvisations, each 35 minutes and 19 seconds long exactly, whilst imagining that he is improvising with the other eight incarnations of himself, and reacting as such to these imagined sounds. Again, it is a very intimate recording, the microphones picking up every intake of breath, the transformations taking place measuredly. The experiment itself is an exercise I have tried on occasion – although never in nine parts! – and it demonstrates how improvised music has its own recognised structures and expectations. On the whole, it works: there are moments of surprising synchronicity and textures that are unique because of their independence. But when Fagaschinski’s whole approach is so subtle, it was never likely that it would produce much incongruity, and it did make me question whether as a whole this achieves something that couldn’t be done to greater effect by actually improvising with eight other musicians.

This record is a fascinating listen for clarinet players like myself, who will want to listen closely to how Fagaschinski uses the instrument so creatively. But it is best as a psychoacoustic document, absorbing in its precision and its intimacy, that will reward any listener willing to give it their attention.

Read More

Teen Prime - Let's Just Werewolf Them

By Richard Blute 

How could I pass on this album? It has a wildly enigmatic title with a horror movie vibe. (I’ll bet you didn’t know “werewolf” could be used as a verb.) And it has Jörg A. Schneider on drums.

I first discovered Jörg Schneider through the band Roji, a duo with bassist Gonçalo Almeida. Their first album The Hundred Headed Women is a favorite of mine, as is the follow-up Oni. Their music lives somewhere in the intersection of harsh noise, thumping metal and improvised music. It’s a pretty great intersection.

Schneider seems to especially enjoy duos with guitarists. There’s his 2025 album This Ain’t My First Rodeo, Pal! with Michel Kristof, the project The Nude Spur with Thomas Kranefeld and his pair of albums with Dirk Serries, Schneider-Serries I & II. The Schneider-Serries albums in particular are year-end list calibre good.

But perhaps his most significant drum-guitar duo is his ongoing project with Sebastian Fäth, called Teen Prime. They have 10 releases, helpfully numbered 1 through 10. Listening to some random tracks off their bandcamp page, I hear fine examples of the great variety of music that can be made with this simple combination of instruments. At times, I hear Derek Bailey in one of his many duos with drummers. Then maybe a Gang Of Four riff. Then maybe a bit of Steve Reich’s Electric Guitar Phase.

That brings us to Let’s Just Werewolf Them. Jörg and Sebastian had recorded what was intended to be a Teen Prime album. But they realized that what they had produced was a “more intimate, low-key gathering” than a typical Teen Prime recording. So they invited Yvonne Nussbaum, who had previously worked with Jörg on the projects Skim and Wolfskull, to overdub her piano playing. It was a great decision.

The track “a single life in a single body” is beautiful. Schneider’s drumming skitters in the background while Fäth’s guitar style is almost ambient. Nussbaum’s pensive and plaintive piano feels like the completion of a thought. On the final track “as for parameter”, Fäth’s guitar starts off repeating a simple, minimalist riff which he then builds up in complexity and intensity, with Schneider matching him along the way. Nussbaum’s peaceful piano is keeping the listener grounded, until eventually the album ends on her playing a final few quiet notes.

The whole album contains depths I am still finding. Highly recommended.

Read More

Sei Miguel (1961—2025)

Sei Miguel. Photo by Nuno Martins

By Nuno Catarino, courtesy of jazz.pt 

Sei Miguel passed away on November 11 in Lisbon, aged 64. A trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, he was one of the foremost figures of the Portuguese musical avant-garde and the author of highly original music. 

Born in Paris in 1961, he lived in Brazil before returning to Paris, and later moved to Portugal, where he began developing musical ensembles from 1986 onwards. He started with the group Moeda Noise, which already included Fala Mariam (trombone), his lifelong collaborator. He became known for his use of the pocket trumpet, and his discography began in 1988 with the album Breaker, where he lead a septet that included a young Rodrigo Amado on saxophone. In the following two years, he released Songs Against Love and Terrorism and The Blue Record — these first three albums were issued by the Ama Romanta label. 

Throughout a career that never made compromises, he collaborated with musicians such as Rafael Toral, Manuel Mota, César Burago, Bruno Silva, among others, in different formations. In the orchestrations for his groups, he worked with systems of graphic notation, preparing a general score for each piece and a specific score for each musician, complete with detailed instructions. He described himself as a “jazzman”, although his relationship with the genre was not straightforward. As he said in an interview: “The ever more institutionalized jazz, the pseudo-global jazz of the European Union Rule-Spewers, doesn’t want me. And I, given what it has become, don’t want it either. What matters to me is true jazz.” 

From 2010 onwards, he established a connection with Pedro Costa’s Clean Feed label, which gave new momentum to his recording career, releasing albums such as Esfíngico — Suite for a Jazz Combo (2010), Salvation Modes (2014), (Five) Stories Untold (2016), and The Original Drum (2023). One of his most unusual albums is Turbina Anthem (No Business), a sparse and melancholic jazz/folk duo with Pedro Gomes. An important project in recent years was O Carro de Fogo de Sei Miguel, a “small orchestra of all fusions,” as he called it. They released a self-titled album in 2019 (Clean Feed), followed in 2023 by their second record, Um Um Um E Não Há Forma De Morrer (Shhpuma). His final release was Panorama (ezz-thetics), recorded in a trio with Fala Mariam and cellist Daniel Levin. 

Beyond being a profoundly original musician, Sei Miguel was also a fascinating personality — marked by deep intelligence — who left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

Read More

Damianidis/Dikeman/Damianidis/Skoric – Live in the Balkans (noise-below, 2025)

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

This recording coming from a tour of the Balkans (Greece, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria) is treat to all of us that still believe in the transcending nature of the volume that free jazz incorporates. Five tracks, the first two from the gig in Thessaloniki (I was there!) and the next three from Kragujevac in Serbia.

This powerhouse quartet consisting of (order of appearance is irrelevant dear reader) Giotis Damianidis on electric guitar, Petros Damianidis on double bass, John Dikeman on tenor saxophone and Aleksandar Skoric on the drums is on top form. But what that means exactly? Obviously musicians love to play their music, especially with like minded players. But here on this CD, but also on the actual live experience, the listener can certainly find and enjoy the rapport between the players.

There’s a certain interaction going on, one that appears when the musicians are there firstly to enjoy. When you are there, confronting the music, even as a listener of a recording, you can almost always tell when the artists are really enjoying their presence in the here and now of the music in contrary to “the another day at work” feeling.

Don’t get me wrong, musicians are also workers who need to make money on a day to day basis too, but the difference lies in the Greek word pathos, meaning passion. Add energy, collectiveness, togetherness even and you have recordings like this that can easily defy the time distance and transport (transcend maybe?) you, me, the listener to that certain moment of time and space they were created.

I tend to write less and less about the individual players when it comes to collective ways of playing. This is, certainly, not a way to avoid anything. The biggest compliment coming from me, the power that, still thankfully, makes me enthusiastic about this music, is when the artists try and succeed, and that is hard work really, to play in unison.

Live in the Balkans is one of those rare occasions.

Listen here:

@koultouranafigo

Read More