German reeds player-composer-bandleader Frank Gratkowski traverses broad
context of contemporary improvised music. There is no clear distinction
between composition and improvisation in his work, as his recent albums
testify.
Frank Gratkowski & Ensemble Modern - Mature Hybrid Talking (Maria de
Alvear world edition, 2024)
The democratically organized Ensemble Modern was founded in 1980 and at
home in Frankfurt am Main with aesthetic spectrum includes musical
theatre works, dance and multimedia projects, chamber music, ensemble
and orchestral concerts. In 2022 a ten-musician version of Ensemble
Modern, with Gratkowski as conductor and playing flute, alto sax and
bass clarinet, performed Gratkowski’s Mature Hybrid Talking, dedicated
to composer Iannis Xenakis, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of
his birth, and to an author James Joyce, celebrating the 100th
anniversary of Ulysses, as both had a major impact on him, and
Gratkowski was one of the leaders of the Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra.
Mature Hybrid Talking was inspired by the rhythm and sound of Joyce's
language, with its almost constant accumulation of complex utterances,
connected and within themselves in a way that seems to echo the
precipitous wordplay of Finnegans Wake, and Xanakis’ unique
architectures. British electronics player Richard Barrett (who played in
Gratkowski’s Trokaan project and the Skein ensemble), who contributed
insightful liner notes, observed the wise manner in which Gratkowski
applied his personal, non-idiomatic improvisational strategies, with the
kaleidoscope of colors, densities and unpredictable shifts of direction,
to the notated score, in terms of rhythm and pitch (incorporating
quartertones for all the instruments that can play them), and the
structure of the composition. Gratkowski conducted the composition using
hand signals to gather and channel the ensemble’s collective imagination
and contributed the cover photo.
This complex and arresting chamber composition captures the immediate,
unpredictable spirit of spontaneous, improvised dynamics when anything
might happen at any time but its has a mysterious, cohesive structure,
consistency and interconnectedness that testifies to Gratkowski’s
ability to compose for the distinct, articulate voices of Ensemble
Modern. And as Barrett concludes, “It’s authentically 21st-century
music, combining a maximum of freedom with a maximum of discipline in a
way that represents a significant and vital tendency in contemporary
musical thinking”.
Frank Gratkowski’s Entrainment (Klanggalerie, 2024)
Gratkowski’s Entrainment is a power quartet featuring long-time
comrade, Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi (of Altered States and
Otomo Yoshihide's seminal Ground Zero), who has worked with Gratkowski
in his Trokaan Project and the second incarnation of the Skein ensemble
and keeps performing with Gratkowski as a duo; Norwegian, Berlin-based
electric bassist Dan Peter Sundland, and American, fellow Berliner
drummer Steve Heather (who plays in Sundland's Home Stretch, Splitter
Orchestra and before in Tristan Honsinger's Hopscotch). Gratkowski’s Entrainment played its first performance at the Free Jazz Festival
Saarbrücken in April 2022, where this album was recorded, and later
performed only a few times in Berlin.
The expressive music of Entrainment is freely improvised and corresponds
with experimental and psychedelic rock and spiritual jazz, but sounds
fresh and unpredictable with no stylistic restrictions. It is raw,
urgent and high-octane and meant to push Gratkowski into ecstatic
terrains and beyond. Uchihashi’s guitar solos take the quartet into
cosmic and hazy atmospheres and the tough, propulsive rhythm section of
Sundland and Heather keeps all on their toes. Entrainment enjoys the
feeling of release that follows the crossing of a certain energetic
threshold and knows how to channel the mighty waves of energy into
cathartic climaxes.
Frank Gratkowski & Elisabeth Harnik - Bullungga (Klanggalerie, 2021)
Bullungga is the second album from Gratkowski with Austrian pianist
Elisabeth Harnik, following Burrum-bah (SoundOut Recordings, 2020), and
like the first album, it was recorded live in 2020 at Klangspuren Schwaz
during the Austrian Festival For New Music and at the German Moers
Festival. The title of the album refers to the Aboriginal taxonomy of
Australian animals, and bullungga is Eastern Quoll or Eastern Native Cat
(Dasyurus viverrinus), as Gratkowski and Harnik first played together in
Canberra, Australia, during the SoundOut festival in February 2020.
The music is freely improvised and captures these gifted improvisers at
their best. Harnik employs preparations and extended techniques while
pushing the piano into otherworldly terrains. Gratkowski alternates
between alto sax to soprano sax, clarinet and bass flute. Their dynamics
are immediate, deep and poetic, as Gratkowski and Harnik are highly
imaginative and bold sonic explorers-painters, masters of their
instruments. Gratkowski and Harnik are always searching for new and
unpredictable sonic territories, with mischievous playfulness,
captivating energy and touching lyricism, great sense of form and
structure and deep listening. A perfect showcase of free improvisation.
Frank Gratkowski's In Cahoots - Feat. Ingrid Laubrock (Klanggalerie, 2025)
German, Berlin-based woodwind player and composer Frank Gratkowski’s In
Cahoots began working in 2016 as an untitled, free improvised, and
non-hierarchical quartet featuring Cologne-based pianist-synth player Philip
Zoubek, double bass player Robert Landfermann, and drummer Dominik Mahnig.
This quartet released the live album Torbid Daylight (impakt Köln, 2020).
Soon this quartet expanded into a quintet with German-born, New York-based
tenor and soprano sax player Ingrid Laubrock. This quintet had its first
performance in Darmstadt in September 2023. It continued performing in 2024,
when it recorded its live debut album at LOFT in Cologne in April 2024 (on
its second performance), and plans more performances in 2026. Soon this
quartet expanded into a quintet with German-born, New York-based tenor and
soprano sax player Ingrid Laubrock, and this quintet had its first
performance in Darmstadt in September 2023. It continued to perform in 2024,
when it recorded its live debut album at LOFT in Cologne in April 2024 (on
its second performance), and plans more performances in 2026.
Gratkowski describes In Cahoots’ raison d'être with a quote of American
producer-guitarist-singer-songwriter T-Bone Burnett, relating to string
theory and music: “Beneath the subatomic particle level, there are fibers
that vibrate at different intensities. Different frequencies. Like violin
strings. The physicists say that the particles we are able to see are the
notes of the strings vibrating beneath them. If string theory is correct,
then music is not only the way our brains work, as the neuroscientists have
shown, but also, it is what we are made of, what everything is made of.
These are the stakes musicians are playing for".
This quote makes perfect sense when you listen to the debut album of In
Cahoots. The opening piece, “OKTF”, suggests In Cahoots connected by strong,
emphatic fibers and almost telepathic dynamics, relying on tight rhythmic
interplay and collective theme development, immediately solidifying the
camaraderie between Gratkowski (on alto sax, clarinets, and flute) and
Laubrock. But Gratkowski is also an ambitious composer and wise bandleader
who seeks to explore free tonal ideas, enhanced by unorthodox playing
techniques and microtonal concepts. The following pieces juggle with this
elusive, thoughtful play with elements taken from free jazz, free
improvisation, and contemporary music, enjoying the great experience of
Zoubek, Landfermann, Mahnig, Laubrock, their mutual trust, and their in
cahoots-like willingness for risk-taking. Their vibrations may work in
different intensities and frequencies, but together they move the music into
inspiring, thought-provoking territories.
Frank Gratkowski & Kazuhisa Uchihashi - Live in Japan (Innocence, 2025)
Frank Gratkowski and Japanese guitarist, daxophone player, producer, and Innocence label owner Kazuhisa Uchihashi have been working closely in recent
years. Uchihashi guested on Gratkowski and pianist Achim Kaufmann’s SKEIN
band, and both played in Kaufmann’s Trokaan project; Uchihashi plays in
Gratkowski’s new Entertainment quartet. and Gratkowski joined the
performances of Uchihashi’s Altered States trio, and Gratkowski and
Uchihashi performed as a duo in Europe and in Japan. Live in Japan was
recorded during the duo's second tour in Japan in October 2023.
Gratkowski plays the alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute, and Uchihasi plays
the electric guitar and daxophones. The nine pieces, taken from six
performances, are spontaneous, powerful, and intense conversations between
close friends who enjoy experimenting and challenging each other’s sonic
palette, often with unpredictable yet highly playful ideas. These
conversations often become a free associative exchange of eccentric gestures
when Uchihashi produces vocal-like sounds from the daxophones, and
Gratkowski answers with colourful bird calls, and both Uchihashi and
Gratkowski enhance their vocabularies with extended breathing, bowing, and
percussive techniques. Each piece suggests a distinct atmosphere and deepens
the immediate, imaginative interplay of these resourceful, great shamans of
sound.
Sometimes you come across an artist by chance. Although I (Martin) heard about Frank Gratkowski before, I haven't seen him live or bought one of his albums. But since I go to all of the concerts Peter Ernst organizes in his seminal Nigglmühle (a spectacular location in Bernbeuren, a small village in the Alpine Upland, which presents only two concerts a year) I got the chance to see Gratkowski's quartet. To cut a long story short: It was simply marvelous!
Gratkowski is a musician with a lot of different talents. As a composer who tries to explore and expand the sound possibilities of his instruments he combines written elements with collective improvisation and as a reedist who is obviously influenced by Steve Lacy and Evan Parker he uses multiphonic and microtonal techniques. On top of his excellent musicianship there is also a very immaculate clarity and purity of his tone. Gratkowski is a prolific musician who produces several albums each year, we have selected three that have been released recently.
Frank Gratkowski Quartet: Le Vent et le Gorge (Leo Records, 2012) ****
Gratkowski's most interesting project might be his quartet with Wolter Wierbos on trombone, Dieter Manderscheid on bass and Gerry Hemingway on drums.
At the center of their latest album "Le Vent et le Gorge" (The wind and the Canyon) there is the 8-piece-suite "Harm-Oh-Nie" (a pun referring to "harmony" and "nie" - the German word for "never") which discusses the possibility of harmony and organized chaos. The first part is pure harmonious unison playing, as if real harmony seems to be possible - but obviously the composition sets us on the wrong track because there is an abrupt change of atmosphere and structure in part 2, a dissonant composition which reminds of a vivid, heated discussion with all four musicians involved. This is almost classical free jazz at its best. After a weird meditative interlude with the saxophone in front of warped loops, the band throws in three short pieces based on jazz/funk staccato riffs. Sometimes they are open for chamber music intersperses (part 4), and then the riffs are so harsh that they remind of heavy metal breaks (part 5) or they serve as a tight background for a wild sax solo which is almost going berserk (part 7). These pieces are only interrupted by a large, concentrated sound exploration (part 6) before a very short solo by Manderscheid - like an aftermath - finishes the suite.
The other central composition is the title track, "Le Vent et le Gorge", actually program music imitating wind in a canyon. First the music seems to describe craggy mountains, wild, untouched nature, and then the wind soughs through (especially Wierbos and Gratkowski seem to exhale breath into mouthpieces and other parts of their instruments).
Live it was particularly interesting to watch the band play this track, they were focused on the compositional parts just to get lost sooner or later as if the wind came in through an open window blowing away the sheet music so that they were thrown back on collective improvisation.
As an introduction to Gratkowski's work this is a great start.
Watch them live at the jazz festival in Ulrichsberg:
Frank Gratkowski, Philip Greenlief, Jon Raskin: All At Once (Relative Pitch, 2013) ****
Gratkowski's work on 'All At Once', as the title would imply, is hard to single out. With three saxes blowing, all at once, it's hard to pinpoint an individual voice.
Gratkowski, along with Phillip Greenlief, and ROVA's Jon Raskin push, pull, poke and prod each other - with tracks starting out slowly and evolving organically, growing, twisting, and becoming songs drawn from thin air. It may be that there is a seed of an idea that the three agree upon, but like a conversation, each one takes on its own tone, twists and turns. The trio call, respond, laugh, argue and agree without missing a beat - or perhaps entirely without a beat. Rather, they follow a pulse as they lead the listener on a journey through sound and emotion, in all of its intertwining complexity and beauty.
Gratkowski and his partners deliver a fascinating recording, and even when the listening gets tough and extended technique takes the helm, the interactions and textures that they create something far beyond each individual voice. Like Relative Pitch's other albums in its growing discography, it's a challenging combination that grows stronger and stronger on each listen.
Watch the trio here:
Achim Kaufmann, Frank Gratkowski, Wilbert De Joode: Geäder (Gligg Records, 2013) ****
On this album Gratkowski (clarinets, alto sax) is joined by the German pianist Achim Kaufmann and Dutch bassist Wilbert De Joode, a group that has existed since 2002 and which has released three CDs - "Kwast" (Konnex), "Unearth" (Nuscope) and "Paläe" (Leo). The music of this trio has always been instant composing, there are no prearrangements or rehearsals, although some parts seem to be written out in detail. Albeit their instrumentation seems to refer to the legendary Jimmy Giuffre Trio their approach rather reminds of the Schlippenbach Trio (although that trio has Paul Lovens on drums instead of a bass player, of course). "Geäder" (which means "veins" in German) is very ramified indeed, yet it is also very transparent and energetic, spontaneous and unpredictable. Especially when Kaufmann plays the interior of the piano or when he throws in broken chords the pieces are very close to new classical music. Gratkowski, who is a perfect team player in this line-up, is able to display his complete spectrum of impressing techniques here.
Like on the other two albums there is a lot of space for the music, timbral explorations mingle with fierce outbreaks, there is a collective, poetic unity. Discursive strategies are in the focus (as well as the quartet and FPR) and the communication and listening among the musicians are excellent. Favorites are the chamber-music-like "Involute" and the wild "Mettle" representing both ends of the musical spectrum of this splendid trio.
Watch them live here:
So, if you have the chance to see Mr Gratkowski in any kind of collaboration live, don't hesitate. He is also a very funny musician, it might be possible to watch him integrate the putting-together of a clarinet in a composition or sometimes he throws in awkward dance acts. Above all, you can't go wrong with any of his albums. Further recommendations are all his albums with German pianist Georg Gräwe (especially "Quicksand" with Paul Lovens on drums), his album with Hamid Drake (Valid Records, 2010) or his alto quartet "Fo(u)r Alto" (Leo, 2012).
There is the kind of mad, passionate attraction that fuels one-night stands and Las Vegas marriages, that mad desire that sweeps you away at first glance; wonderful, perhaps, but typically short-lived, and often leaving deep disappointment in its wake. Of course, there is its equal but opposite passion: instant antipathy. Somewhere between these poles of feeling is the sort of relationship that grows over time, built by affection, respect, and a mature appreciation of the other. Such relationships tend to deepen and endure. Frank Gratkowski is the type of musician who engenders this kind of relationship with his listeners. He is unlikely to bowl you over or to leave you fuming on first hearing. His appeal is more subtle; his virtues, while manifest, are of a mature variety that take root and grow with repeated listening.
Gratkowski is a good saxophonist, a fine clarinetist, and a superb bass clarinetist; these instruments form his usual musical arsenal. But it is Gratkowski's musical intelligence, his superb compositional sense, and his ability to develop compelling narrative lines that are perhaps his greatest strengths. Many of these virtues are on display in Ardent Grass, Gratkowski's new duo recording with pianist Jacob Anderskov. The title puts me in mind of Walt Whitman's epic poem, Leaves of Grass, which is nothing if not ardent. Gratkowski has played with a number of fine pianists, including Misha Mengelberg, Fred Van Hove, Simon Nabatov, and frequent collaborator Georg Graewe; however, Gratkowski has only released a couple of duo albums with pianists (one with Graewe, one with Mengelberg). Neither of the preceding reeds-piano duo albums, I think, has been an unqualified success, and one has to say, the album at hand follows this pattern.
Anderskov has an impressive resume and is undoubtedly a fine pianist. On Ardent Grass he is all that one might ask for in an accompanist; sensitive, a good listener, and technically capable. This is perhaps part of the problem, for the album calls for something more than an accompanist. It asks for, indeed requires, a partner, someone who can push Gratkowski rather than merely support him. Say what you will about Mengelberg, he is not afraid to strike out in his own fashion and force his partner to react. I prefer waywardness to absolute correctness. For Graewe's part, he has the confidence of many avant-garde improvisational experiences to guide his playing, and can engage in the sort of push-pull that one would welcome more of here. Gratkowski's usual forum is the trio and quartet, often with piano, and I think in these larger group settings, Gratkowski's numerous talents shine more brightly. He seems to thrive on the more complex interplay among the musicians. For example, check out Gratkowski's trio album, Quicksand, with Graewe and percussionist Paul Lovens to see how vibrantly Gratkowski can play off Graewe's piano in alliance with Lovens' sparkling percussion.
Still, I would not want to give a wrong impression of the overall accomplishment of the album. There are many fine moments here. The nearly-11 minute opening track, "Narrative," is all that its title implies, and Gratkowski spins out the sort of narrative line that is both lovely and strong. The title track, the most powerful piece on the album, itself seems to oscillate between poles of powerful feeling. The remaining six tracks are of a high standard, if not quite deserving of the appellation "compelling." I listened to the album several times over and it did not pale on me. Like other Gratkowski albums, I think it will reward repeated listening; indeed, like most mature pleasures, its deeper attractions are likely to reveal themselves only in the course of time.
A couple of weeks ago I was wondering why I hadn't heard from Hamid Drake in a while. The wonderful drummer has been one of my favorites for a while, just because of the soul he puts into his playing. It is hard to describe, and possibly even harder to explain, but the guy's drumkit actually lives! Just to hear him play is an absolute joy, regardless in what context. But my thoughts about him were not yet stored in the archives of my habitual stupor, or here we find him back, with two of the German grand masters of the European free improv saxophone.
Frank Gratkowski & Hamid Drake (Valid, 2010) ****½
This album is absolutely exceptional. If you think that the limited line-up of sax and drums is the best recipe for boredom, think again. What you will hear on this album drags you through the musical universe of two musicians whose capabilities to interact in the moment are pretty spectacular. Gratkowski howls cries wails weeps screeches sings whistles vocalises. Drake uses his entire arsenal of polyrhythmic skills to respond, to move forward, to create together. Yet it does not stop there, Drake appears equally versatile, and how, in the more avant or free improv environment, where rhythm as such is less relevant than sound and texture, and he does so brilliantly, making rhythm omnipresent without actually playing it.
Gratkowski can be very abstract yet sensitive in his improvisations, like in the first piece, "Brother G's Walk", in which his intro is full of vocalised multiphonics, yet gradually the piece gains in intensity, with the drums shifting from accentuating cymbals to tribal drumming, pushing the sax into more fierce regions, full of agony, repeating the same phrase almost hypnotically, and Drake keeps changing rhythms, he just keeps changing the rhythm underneath Gratkowski's repetetive blowing, turning the piece into absolute funk, and the German moves along, without relinquishing his own concept, yet fully part of the fun and funk, then slowing down the volume and the number of notes, while keeping the pulse going, howling to the beat. Just staggering.
I will not even try to describe what I hear, but you get the gist : absolutely great stuff. I have the tendency to be swept away by what I hear, and I like the sax-drums format, but even then ... this is great stuff.
Although recorded live, the sound quality is excellent, as if you were sitting next to them.
Peter Brötzmann & Hamid Drake (Brö Records, 2010) ***
Brötzmann is another kind of musician than Gratkowski. He represents raw power and lung capacity, where the latter embodies technique and subtle creativity. On this album Brötzmann plays alto, tenor and tarogato. Brötzmann has released several sax-drums duets, with Han Bennink, with Paal Nilssen-Love, but his collaboration with Hamid Drake is possibly the longest, with their first duo album released in 1995, the famous "The Dried Rat-Dog".
On this album, the playing is relatively straight-forward, with Brötzmann setting the high energy scene from the start, then giving Drake quite some solo time, after which the German starts blowing his lungs out, ending in the higher regions of his sax.The sound quality is not always ideal, with the sax being quite distant at times. The second track is more spiritual, with slow tarogato sounds and Drake on frame drums, with at the end Brötzmann falling back on his repetitive powerplay.
The third track starts with a solo tenor for close to four minutes, then Drake joins, with rumbling sounds while Brötzmann keeps going at it, relentlessly, possibly not listening to the drummer, but then giving him some solo time again. The last track is more Ayleresque, with a kind of gospel tune or hymn going haywire, giving Brötzmann again some fierce moments, but ending in sweet softness. Drake does his best, but he is clearly pushed in a supporting role.
In sum, two totally different kind of sax-drums duos, with my obvious preference going to the first one, and with reason.
Watch a recent Brötzmann/Drake concert, quite well illustrating my point.
The trio of Achim Kaufmann (piano), Frank Gratkowski (clarinet, saxophone,
flute) and Wilbert de Joode (bass) has been around for more than 20 years,
but I have to admit that I first noticed them in 2014 in their expanded
line-up under the moniker
Skein
- with Tony Buck on drums, Richard Barrett on electronics and Okkyung Lee
on cello. This happened with a fulminance that was second to none.
Inexplicably, the band disappeared from my radar just as quickly as they
had appeared, even though there are other recordings of them in different
line-ups. Just as accidentally as I discovered Skein nine years ago, I now
stumbled across the core of the band, the original trio. Canberra is their
sixth album, recorded on their tour of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia,
made possible by the German Goethe-Institut.
The fascination that I felt the first time I heard Skein was immediately
there again on this recording. Canberra is a musical puzzle, the trio
constantly lures you onto the wrong track and just when you think you are
on the trail to the core of the music, you only realize that it has taken
another turn. A common denominator of the four pieces is the hardness of
Kaufmann’s piano touch, the power of De Joode’s bass and Gratkowski’s
unforeseen changes of instruments. The reedists’ notes shoot through the
room like a swarm of bumblebees gone mad, at lightning speed, then elegant
and relaxed again, while De Joode’s plucked bass seems to drip like fat
drops of water from the ceiling of a stalactite cave. Especially in the
opener “Now and Here, Burning“, only Kaufmann’s rigor holds the busy bustle
of the two together. Structurally, the trio floats back and forth between
sound exploration, free jazz and chamber music approaches. Often they try
to come together from different angles. In “Windows Alive“, the saxophone
hisses and smacks, Gratkowski pushes the limits of the available tones. De
Joode uses the entire body of the bass to produce sound. It seems to be a
big mess, yet the piece doesn’t fall apart, even though it groans, moans
and sighs. It goes on like this for four minutes before an almost
inconspicuous melody line on the saxophone brings the instruments closer
together and they seem to drift off into familiar territory in free
jazz-like expressivity. The fact that this doesn’t happen is again thanks
to Kaufmann, who works the inside of his piano and thus provides the
ultimately decisive friction to keep the ship on course. On “Coral in the
Blast“, the musicians once again let the listener wander through a musical
maze. The harshness of the sounds is still there, but a certain beauty is
no longer wiped away; they almost seem to welcome it and look forward to
integrating it. So the piece swells up and down, mainly because Kaufmann
and De Joode push it to do so. Yet, Gratkowski’s saxophone floats above it
with great ease.
The music on Canberra is completely improvised, it’s created in the moment.
Silence, dynamics, the juxtaposition of textures, the use of tonal elements
and the energy of jazz - it’s the juxtaposition that makes the music so
fascinating. This project - whether it’s the trio or its extensions - will
not disappear from my radar again.
In recent years, things have gone quiet around Paul Lovens, one of the
great drummers of European free jazz. His body has been bothering him
(knees, back, hands), which was the reason why he decided that it no
longer made sense to play live a few years ago. On the occasion of his
75th birthday in June, Hans Martin Müller, the man behind the Loft in
Cologne, asked himself how the man could be honored and it turned out
that this could be done as part of the Cologne Jazzweek. Müller - as he
explains in his introduction - met Lovens in Aachen (Lovens’s home town) in
the 1970s and, after founding the Loft almost 35 years ago, Lovens played
there time and again. For the concert Müller coordinated the musicians who
played at the Loft in Lovens’s honor with Lovens; all of them had played
with the drummer at some point (with the exception of Michael Vatcher). And
before the concert finally started, Müller said the crucial sentence:
“Paul Lovens never had his own band under his name, but he made every band
he played in better.“ Frank Gratkowski (alto saxophone and bass clarinet),
Tobias Delius (saxophone, clarinet), Florian Stoffner (guitar), Philip
Zoubek (piano), Wilbert De Joode (bass) and Michael Vatcher (drums and
percussion) played in his honor. However, this was not supposed to be a
sextet, but two trios.
The basic idea for both trios was that the musical focus should be more of
a chamber music style. Philip Zoubek, Frank Gratkowski and Michael Vatcher
started off with a strong 20-minute set. Their three pieces in total were
characterized by the above-mentioned rather chamber music-like playing
style, which they didn’t maintain continuously - on the contrary. It was a constant alternation of spherical, meditative passages
(especially with Gratkowski on bass clarinet), hard sections with harsh
staccatos from Vatcher and almost what you could call classic free jazz of
the old school. Extended playing techniques played an important role for
all three on that night (Zoubek on the prepared piano, Vatcher on the
singing saw and Gratkowski sometimes stuffs a glass of water into his sax).
The second set was then performed by Delius, Wilbert de Joode and Florian
Stoffner. The music of this trio also thrives on the contrasts in improvisation,
which - as with the trio before - blend together almost perfectly (which is
all the more interesting because Stoffner has never played with Delius and
de Joode before). This trio, however, places a somewhat stronger emphasis
on the melodies, with Delius in particular repeatedly interspersing real
swinging solos and de Joode also providing rather tender support, while
Stoffner’s playing on this evening clearly shows how much he is obviously
influenced by Derek Bailey (which is meant as a compliment). The whole
thing is at its best when all three accelerate, Delius shouting into his
sax, de Joode stroking the bass and using it like a rhythm guitar while
Stoffner let the harmonics rain down. In these moment the trio sounded
like some projects of the legendary British Incus label. It was as if you
were listening to a swarm of insects in a dead tree stump. All in all a
great trio that hopefully hasn't played together for the last time.
Anyone who would now like to see Paul Lovens once again and listen to music
in his honor can still do so. On September 8 at 6 p.m., Sebi Tramontana
(trombone) and Florian Stoffner (guitar) will be playing at the Musikbunker
in Aachen. Paul will also be there.
Cologne-based, Austrian pianist Philip Zoubek integrates many fascinating
sonic universes. You can find in his composed and free-improvised music
echoes of the chamber jazz of Jimmy Giuffre, the free jazz of John Coltrane
but also ideas coming from innovative, contemporary composers like John
Cage, Iannis Xenakis and Gérard Grisey. Here are a few recent releases of
the prolific Zoubek where he plays on the piano, prepared piano and
synthesizer.
The unique instrumentation of this free-improv trio - fellow, Cologne-based
tubist Carl Ludwig Hübsch also plays on various objects, Canadian,
Montreal-based Pierre-Yves Martel on the rarely-heard viola da gamba,
harmonica and pitch pipes and Zoubek on piano and synthesizer - defines its
mysterious, almost transparent sound. This trio is an anomalous
reconfiguration of chamber classicism but also suggests a patient,
minimalist and almost static aesthetic, expanding and transforming the
Morton Feldman-esque and AMM legacies. This trio began working in 2012 and
Ize is its fourth album, recorded at the Loft Club in Cologne in November
2018. Hübsch and Zoubek collaborated before in several projects and Hübsch
and Martel collaborated in another band Fleur de chaos, with Candian
vocalist Joane Hétu and synthesizer player Émilie Mouchous (HMMH, Ambiances
Magnétiques, 2019).
The five pieces emphasize that Hübsch, Martel and Zoubek are not only
resourceful and imaginative improvisers. Naturally, they excel in the fine
art of deep and sensitive listening, but all are well-versed in the art of
spontaneous and instant composition, while keeping a delicate balance and
organic fluidity. Together they create a mostly acoustic entity with
minimalist electronic layers, subtly incisive, with a poetic collective
entity, where the three musicians sound as extending each other’s palette
of sounds. The static oscillations of “Any'' introduce the minimalist,
reverberating aesthetics of this trio. The hypnotic vibrations of the dark
“Kolt” echo the innovative work of John Tilbury. Hübsch, Martel and Zoubek
turn their instruments to noisy, sonic objects on “Letik” and suggest an
enigmatic-cinematic drone on “Bard”. Only the last piece ‘Kult” attempts to
offer vivid contrasts between the dissonant, sparse piano chord of Zoubel
and the quiet deep tones of Hübsch and Martel. A fascinating masterpiece,
that is guaranteed to send you looking for more albums of these master
improvisers.
Zoubek plays the piano in a quartet with Berlin-based reed player Frank
Gratkowski (who teaches in a conservatory in Cologne, Zoubek and Gratkowski
also collaborate in the quintet Shift), and fellow, Cologne-based, double
bass player Robert Landfermann and drummer Dominik Mahnig (who also plays
in Zoubek's Trio). The quartet has performed sporadically since 2016 and its debut
album was recorded at the Loft club in Cologne in February 2020. This
quartet borrows guitarist-producer T-Bone Burnett’s description of string
theory to describe its art: “Beneath the subatomic particle level, there
are fibers that vibrate at different intensities. Different frequencies.
Like violin strings. The physicists say that the particles we are able to
see are the notes of the strings vibrating beneath them. If string theory
is correct, then music is not only the way our brains work, as the
neuroscientists have shown, but also, it is what we are made of, what
everything is made of. These are the stakes musicians are playing for”.
The interplay of this free-improv quartet is intense, even in its most
sparse and contemplative pieces, and stresses the strong-minded
personalities of Gratkowski, Zoubek, Landfermann and Mahnig. Gratkowski is
the natural leader of the quartet, even though all the pieces are credited
to the four musicians, and he often sets the uncompromising, energetic tone
and uncompromising course of the pieces. But Zoubek, Landfermann and Mahnig
are ready for this roller coaster challenge. Zoubek shines on “First
Echo'', where he takes the quartet into a series of poetic and lyrical
conversations. He balances Gratkowski’s furious and muscular energy with
elegant and playful gestures, especially on the last piece, the explosive
“Catalyst'' and the hidden, untitled piece, both demonstrate the strong,
vibrating fibers that connect this quartet.
Zoubek plays here in another free-improv trio with French guitarist and
electronics player Ivann Cruz, and Polish drummer and electronics player
Marcin Witkowski, recorded at La Malterie in Lille, France, in December
2017. Radium is a meeting of prepared piano, primed guitar and extended
drums, aimed at deconstructing the respective instruments in a search for
challenging electro-acoustic ambient textures and unstable harmonies.
Zoubek, Cruz and Witkowski are driven by the idea of building a meta
instrument, an egoless creative process to open up new sound worlds and to
explore uncharted musical territories.
Radium is the first opus of this trio, conceived after two years of working
together. The sounds of the prepared piano, the effects-laden guitar and
the prepared drums never cease to metamorphose or fade. Their inventive
sonic palettes collide, bang, crackle, resonate and intertwine to seek a
counterpoint of strings, skins and electronic sounds from which enigmatic
harmonic landscapes and weird sounds and noises emerge. Each piece explores
a distinct soundworld, moving from the rhythmic and suggestive to the
atmospheric, from the urgent and energetic to the intriguing, symphonic
drones, and from the sparse and the minimalist to the noisy and intense,
mainly on the dark, sci-fi textures of “Tungsten” and “Lithium”. Then the
piano, guitar and drum-set soar and lose their original syntax and
vocabulary in favor of a new, brave one.
Christian Lorenzen / Philip Zoubek - Scales (Self Produced, 2020) ***½
Zoubek collaborates here with fellow Cologne-based pianist Christian Lorenzen in a concert at the Loft in Cologne in May 2020 as part of piano duo series curated by Zoubek. Zoubek plays the piano and analog synth. Lorenzen plays a prepared piano connected with a modular synth, an electro-acoustic setup with contact loudspeakers that channeled the electronic sounds into Lorenzen’s acoustic grand piano. The album is released on Zoubek’s Bandcamp page. The two extended pieces, “57 Feet” and “247 Ohm”, are mysterious, carefully layered soundscapes of elusive percussive sounds, gentle ripples of acoustic piano alien, eerie sounds and subtle, noisy feedback loops. Surprisingly, this kind of highly nuanced but weird sounds blends organically.
Philip Zoubek - Vortex (WhyPlayJazz, 2020) ****
Zoubek plays on his solo album Vortex the prepared piano. He composed all
pieces and recorded this album in December 2018 at the Loft club. This is
the second solo album of Zoubek playing the prepared piano, following Air
(WhyPlayJazz, 2014). The sonic palette of the prepared piano is manipulated
with wooden objects, e-bows, rubber, and a variety of plastic and metal
screws and transforms the acoustic piano into an exotic, futurist orchestra
of fascinating, precisely layered sounds.
Zoubek’s prepared piano explores the full resonating characteristics of the
keyboard, strings and wooden body and corresponds with far and traditional
music legacies. Zoubek creates a vortex of cyclical-hypnotic soundscapes
with a great sense of focus, coherence, and percussive force. Zoubek
patiently exposes more percussive layers of the piano that becomes an
abstract sound generator, and later finds more playful nuances throughout
the percussive qualities of the prepared piano. There is also an enigmatic
texture in Vortex, suggesting an ancient, meditative, ritual, and another
texture that alternates between hymn-like segments and highly emotional
elements. The last one travels to faraway, industrial galaxies.
Philip Zoubek Trio - Nonplaces (WhyPlayJazz, 2020) ****½
The sophomore album of Zoubek trio - Zoubek on piano and synthesizer,
double bass player David Helm and drummer Dominik Mahnig, was recorded in
December 2019. This trio experiments with new dynamics in the classic
format of the piano trio. Often these dynamics may sound at first listening
as diving into deep chaos, with its extreme, emotive twists and turns, but
this trio executes its radical and complex vision with precision and clear
joy, as well as constructive spontaneity.
Philip Zoubek envisioned Nonplaces as poetic, imaginary places that do not
yet fit into the usual categories, or as a strange dream. The trio
alternates between intense dynamics, and never settles on familiar
narratives but maintains a coherent dramaturgy in which improvisation and
composition exquisitely separate and combine. Zoubek, Helm and Mahnig sound
as colliding with each other with fierce energy on the opening “Alarms” and
the last piece, “Alarms Postlude”; searching for sparse yet mysterious
sonic territories on “Mirrors”; deconstructing and re-construction the
pulse on “Memento” and “Kran”; sketching balanced beauty on the ballads
“Silver”, “Those” and “The Other Life”; enjoying a fast, comic interplay on
“Gorilla” and “Mind at Play”, and always sounding fresh, restless and eager
to expand its sonic envelope.
Brilliant.
TAU5 - Kreise (Fun in the Church, 2020) ***½
TAU5 is the Berlin-based electro-acoustic quintet. Zoubek focuses here on
the synthesizer and plays with sax player Philip Gropper (who leads the
PHILM quartet), bassist Petter Eldh (of Koma Saxo and Punkt.Vrt.Plastik),
drummer Moritz Baumgärtner and electronics player-producer Ludwig
Wandinger, who edited and mixed the original improvisations of Zoubek,
Gropper, Eldh and Baumgärtner, conducted in 2015 and 2017. The reliance on
electronic, manipulated and processed sounds and shifting, rhythmic
patterns sends this band far away from the legacy of modern or free jazz
bands, even the ones that have integrated electric instruments into their
aesthetics, into the territories of prog-space-rock, post-rock, noise and
even hip-hop and IDM territories. The focus here is not on composing
melodies or clear narratives but on the elastic and transformative
qualities of all sounds and how these sounds can be deconstructed and
reconstructed into an uncompromising amalgam of new, weird sounds and
complex and irregular rhythms. Or as TAU5 articulates its mission: “We send
our blindfold signals / to a listener in dim Andromeda / We send out our
folded signals / to the listener in all Andromeda / hoping for dreading
response /Alpha rhythms delta rhythms / dark transmissions old as a
sandstorm / wild as pop / beetween the communiques / another sleep-form new
invented / toparies upwards outwards”.
The German band, The Resonators, self describe as: “The sonic realm of
Frank Gratkowski's new quartet echoes a number of styles and decades of
musical changes. Always on the basis of free, energetic jazz, the four
exceptional masters surf through 70s rock, noise with a dash of
psychedelic. A breathtaking flight from Ornette Coleman's Prime Time to
Jimi Hendrix.” This description encapsulates the diverse music to be
found on this seven-track album.
The group features: Frank Gratkowski (reeds: saxophone, clarinet,
flute); Sebastian Müller (guitar); Reza Askari (bass); and Thomas
Sauerborn (drums).
The opening track on this May 19, 2021 release, 'It is best to dash in
headlong,' is aptly titled and it is the strongest track on the album.
It is a tumbling, headlong five minutes and twenty-nine seconds of
unrelenting, high-energy free improvisation that elides into track two
with the emergence of a sixteenth-note rock groove. In fact, tracks one
through four are a single improvisation that has been cut into four
individual tracks that elide into one another. This has also been done
with tracks five and six.
Track two, 'Subgame,' has a spacey, jam band vibe, albeit with some
moments of aggressive and noisy, in-time improvising from the quartet.
Track three introduces mostly textural, free improvisation until the
end when the rock-influenced improvising of Sauerborn reappears and
subsides to track four’s bowed bass and cymbals, flute, and electronic
pads. Track four, 'Baburu Keiki,' is very nice textural, free
improvisation with an expansive, orchestral or cinematic quality. In
addition to track one, this is the other standout track on the album;
both tracks demonstrate focused intention, albeit in strongly
contrasting musical contexts.
The rock/jam band feel returns on track 5 with a heavy eighth-note drum
groove and guitar riff; eventually this is stirred up into some
energetic free improvisation reminiscent of track one. Ultimately this
gives way to a quiet recap of track four’s cinematic character but with
the constant hinting at, and emerging of, the rock/jam band influences.
This recurring mix of rock/jam band elements with free improvisation is
what I presume the Prime Time comparison is regarding in the group’s
description.
Finally, track seven feels like a summation of all of the varied
elements of the album; a kind of closing statement that summarizes the
wide-ranging material at play.
This is a disparate first album from The Resonators. The album’s
continuity would be the focus on improvisation through a variety of
musical contexts; i.e. it has a little something for everyone that is
into improvised music, but as a whole it won’t be for every listener.
After multiple listens, it is difficult to grasp the album’s
wide-ranging, collage-like material as a unified whole. Is it free
jazz, free rock, free improvisation, or something else? That depends on
the track and the moment. For those into various rock, metal, or jam
band genres, and who have an adventurous ear, (maybe even some Hendrix
fans?) this could be the album to introduce them to the world of
creative music and free improvisation. It will be fascinating to hear
what future releases from this group will present and what direction
their music will take as it develops.
The Uferstudios, in Berlin's Wedding district, sit on the edge of the Panke, a small creek that cuts through the city from north to south. This collection of low red-brick buildings that once housed public transit workshop is now the long-term home of studios and theaters dedicated to dance. However, on a recent mild mid-December weekend, a theater space near the entrance to complex provided a live report on the state of avant-garde jazz and improvised music in the German capital.
The Serious Series, now in it's thirteenth year, is curated by pianist Achim Kaufmann and woodwind player Frank Gratkowski who took over programming from musicians Kathrin Pechlof and Christian Weidner in 2019. The program, a rich three nights of musical acts, draws heavily from the fertile Berlin music scene as well as reaching out to Europe and the USA.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15
The event began on Friday evening with a fantastic solo set by woodwindist Tobias Delius whose loose limbered demeanor is a perfect compliment to his exuberant playing style. Delius intersperses sudden squawks and vocalization into his melodic and bouncing lines, switching between Bb clarinet and tenor saxophone, and swinging breathlessly from dark and grumbling motives to buoyant and melodic ideas. Though the stage area was deep and wide, Delius filled the space with an inviting warmth. The pieces he played veered between melodic and atonal, the final one, dedicated to his longtime colleague cellist Tristan Honsinger who passed away this year, was a sweetly melodic theme.
The second set of the festival was by the long standing duo of guitarist Olaf Rupp and cellist Ulrike Brand. Having worked for many years together, the two musicians seem to be more a quantum entanglement than just a duo. Tones from one instrument instantly cause a reaction from the other so finely calibrated that one could imagine that even if the two were not within earshot, they would still be as acutely intertwined.
At some point, Rupp plucked a sequence of notes, Brand produced a gently droning reply, which became the catalyst of the guitarists next tone. What then began as a slowly forming soundscape drew to an understated peak. Brand played a sweeping, arcing melody line that settled into legato notes as Rupp clicked on the distortion. At times, both used bows to sculpt their sound. Through their sympathetic musical interactions, the two engage in a natural ebb and flow of ideas and uncannily calibrated responses.
The first night was rounded out by the duo of pianist Steve Beresford and trombonist Sebi Tramontana. Originally programmed as a trio, Frank Gratkowski was unfortunately sick and unable to perform. Undeterred, the two brought the evening to a successful close with humorous set of short pieces.
They began with a whimsical melody from Beresford and a muted melodic line from Tramontana. Then, an elbow to the the keyboard and the consonant melody splintered, Beresford forcefully expelling tonal shards and Tramontana sliding exuberantly through notes. Between - and during - the pieces, Beresford prepared and re-prepared the inside of the piano. He seemed to pull more and more playthings from the instrument's inside, including a penny whistle, what looked like an exercise weight, a rubber duck and a crackling electronic device that he used to augment the musical atmosphere. At one point, he flogged the strings of the piano with a cloth and in addition to the quivering sound from the strings, visible clouds of dust wafted out from the instrument. Tramontana too joined in with humorous vocalizations through his horn among some other extended techniques.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16
Saturday opened with a solo percussion set by French percussionist Toma Gouband featuring the unique use of plants as drumsticks, an array of tiny bells a top the single drum, and a bass pedal that knocked on a piled of bricks. In a sense, the performance could be called hyper-local as Gouband ingeniously incorporated plants sourced from the banks of the Panke as musical devices. Intense and focused, the set began with a curious and engaging energy but whose intense minimalism veered towards monotony after a bit.
The trio of Achim Kaufmann, woodwindist Michael Moore and bassist Nick Dunston picked up the energy again in a set that dazzled with ferocity and calmed with swinging coolness. Though first time performing as a trio, all three had performed with each other in different combinations, especially Kaufmann and Moore who have been playing together since 1998, as a trio they gelled quickly.
Starting with a quiet but quickly moving
improvisation, Kaufmann offered some sparse chords while Moore added a
gentle melody with some slight dissonant moments over Dunston's deep,
walking groove. The group's music fell somewhere on the "jazzier" side of the spectrum without landing in anything routine or staid. Next, the group engaged in an experimental exchange with Moore getting edgier and Dunston going beyond the strings
with his bow. Playing with songs from Herbie Nichols mixed with
compositions from Kaufmann and Moore, the music was seamlessly connected by buzzing freely
improvised passages.
Drummer Michael Vatcher's project with electronics and dancers provided an exciting ending to the night. Taught interplay between Vatcher at the drum kit and Richard Barrett and his self built electronics provided a percolating soundscape for the two dancers, Liat Waysbort and Balder Hansen, to move fluidly around - and under - the musicians. Perhaps the most unusual moments, aside from some surprisingly agile movements from the dancers, was a dynamic exchange between Barrett's electronics and Vatcher playing a saw.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17
Sunday's concerts began with Serious Series' previous organizer and harpist Kathrin Pechlof with her newly formed Radical Empathy sextet. Pechlof is this year's winner of the SWR Jazzpreis and the piece, written for the group in particular, will be recorded at the broadcaster's studio in the coming months. In addition to Pechlof is Christian Weidner on alto saxophone, Elias Stemeseder on synthesizer and harpsichord, Robert Landfermann on bass, Leif Berger playing drums and finally Kaufmann on piano. The group's music is fluid, even ocean like, with slowly ebbing and flowing tidal movements, and ever lapping waves of sound bisected by melodic crosscurrents. During the set the occasional wave crested and blasts of free improvisation brought on musical white caps.
The set began plinkingly with an exchange of the harp and harpsicord's delicate tones. Kaufmann took the first solo, one which slowly formed out the collective playing and ending with stabbing chords. At the same time, Landerferman's bass was a steady but restrained presence, providing a tension-full drone, foreshadowing the turmoil on the horizon. Weidner's sax provided occasional contrasting textures via overblown passages that resolved back into the group full sound. The set-long piece ended in a series of climatic passages, the final an excitingly arrhythmic peak, resolving satisfyingly after the long build-up.
Next, the ACM trio featuring pianist Celine Voccia, saxophonist Anna Kaluza and standing in for bassist Matthias Bauer, Meinrad Kneer (chosen, not just for his improvisational prowess but perhaps also that his first initial required no changes to the band's name), took the stage area to continue the evenings musical journey - though with a more spontaneous approach.
The trio's music exemplified the subtleties that come from listening closely to each other. In their three way conversation, Voccia masterfully crafted rich phrases that ranged from lightly melodic to dynamically urgent, giving the music a push and pull reflected by Kaluza who too swung between blasts of melodic fragments and textural passages. Kneer, whose approach covered the full spectrum of his instrument, fit in perfectly. Throughout the set, Voccia added tension to the music, often with a focus on the lower end of the keyboard, while Kaluza contributed as much tonal shading as she did bright powerful moments and Kneer provided rooted and poignant counter arguments.
The closing act was an unexpected blast of energy in the form of the art-punk prog-jazz project Brique from pianist Eve Risser with the singer Bianca Iannuzzi, the acoustic bass playing of Luc Ex and the rock oriented drumming of Francesco Pastacaldi. The group was a study in contrasts with Risser's sometimes classically oriented playing mixing with Iannuzzi'sno-wave/operatic singing and the commanding punk-like bass and drum work of Ex and Pastacaldi. Just as edgy as the music, with its strong punk attitude, was the lyrical content. While many of the details have melted away, the attitude remains. For example, one song was drawn from letters from patients in a psychiatric hospital in the 1980s. In general, the eclectic rock pulse and classical elements came together in an alluring retro-futuristic way.
The group's energetic set came to an even more energetic encore as Risser ran to the back of the hall to pick up a flute and welcome two guests, namely her Red Desert Orchestra collaborators, trombonist Matthias Mueller and trumpeter Nils Ostendorf. The wildly chaotic brass-band dance party brought the Serious Series to a seriously fun conclusion.
