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2 Reviews Found. Use search to find more reviews or follow the links in the review text.

SIMON KANZLER ~ DOUBLE IDENTITY
WHYPLAYJAZZ 027 (Barcode: 4250459990377) ~ GERMANY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion

Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016

This is the second album by German vibraphonist / composer Simon KanzlerFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with pianist Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist, bassists Italian Igor SpallatiFind albums by this artist and Polish Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and drummer Max AndrzejewskiFind albums by this artist. A chamber ensemble consisting of eight additional players also participates in the recording. The album presents six pieces and a three-part suite which gives the album its name, all composed by Kanzler.

The music is a contemplative form of Improvised Avant-Garde, very introvert and minimalistic, which deals mostly with the relationships between sound and silence, and the exchanges between the participating musicians. There is no melodic stream in the conventional form, but there is continuance and development. The music happens on three juxtaposed planes, created by the vibes / drums conversation, the piano contributions, which are the only link this music has with the conventional Jazz idiom, and lastly the double bass conversations. By bringing these planes closer or further away from each other and by changing the focus on the specific plane is where the dynamics of this music fluctuates. Volume and emotional wise the music stays almost on the same level throughout the entire duration, which obviously makes this music quite challenging and difficult to follow.

But regardless of the intellectual effort this music demands from the listener, it definitely has its merits, expanding the boundaries of contemporary music. There are many innovative and imaginative moments, which will surprised even the most experienced connoisseurs of contemporary music, and those should find this music as much entertaining and aesthetically pleasing, as educational.

There is no doubt that this music derives a lot of its content and form from contemporary Classical music, especially the suite. In the expanded instrumental form the music keeps its basic characteristics, but becomes much more impressive and evocative, and as such sounding much more emotional than the quintet pieces, which tend to be a bit chilly.

Overall this is another piece of music created by young European musicians, who keep searching for new forms of expression, boldly ignoring limitations and traditionalism, which keeps music stagnant. Kudos to the WhyPlayJazzFind albums on this label label for serving as a faithful home to these visionary souls, spreading their musical gospel to the world.
Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 10/06/2016CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

WINDISCH TRIO ~ PROS & CONS
CHALLENGE 71389 (Barcode: 608917138924) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021

This is the debut album by the Windisch TrioFind albums by this artist led by young German pianist / composer Julius WindischFind albums by this artist and also including Italian bassist Igor SpallatiFind albums by this artist and Argentinean drummer Fermin MerloFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by the leader.

The music is brilliant modern Jazz, which takes the classic piano trio format to completely contemporary and even innovative platform, producing a sophisticated amalgam of melodic themes with highly individual soloing by the trio members. In contrast to the established piano trio concept of piano / rhythm section balance, but trio offers a unity of three individuals improvising concurrently, with no obvious leader, each of the instruments playing at times as if it existed only in its own world, but amazingly sounding overall as a perfectly synchronized ensemble. The result is pretty stunning, especially to conventional Jazz listeners, who might, at least during the initial listening, experience a slight dizziness / confusion, which hopefully should transform into pure amazement and aesthetic joy.

Despite the external appearance of being mostly Freely improvised, the music does have a perfectly coherent structure and modus operandi, which perhaps needs some time to get used to, but the initial effort leads to a most rewarding satisfaction. The concept works only thanks to the perfectly combined talents of these instrumentalists, which for the entire duration of the album stand shoulder to shoulder with their partners. There is intentionally no leader as such in this music, despite the fact that the piano is able to play vivid notes, as this music would lose its meaning without any of the instrumental ingredient missing in any given time.

I must admit that this album made a much stronger impression on me than expected and so far it definitely is the most exciting new album that landed on my desk this year. I have yet to hear the quartet album Windisch recorded a while back, but if it is as good as this one, he is certainly one of the bright young European musicians worth following closely. He certainly is a proud representative of the burgeoning Berlin Jazz scene, that returned to its former glory of decades ago, now in the hands of the new generation.

Anybody interested in contemporary European Jazz at its best should grab a copy of this gem immediately and don’t forget who told you about it :) Kudos to these young Lions! And no, there are co Cons whatsoever herein…
Updated: 11/08/2021Posted: 11/08/2021CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

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