Aki Takase plays Fats Waller
Aki Takase-p
Rudi Mahall -bcl
Nils Wogram-tb
Eugene Chadbourne-git
Paul Lovens-dr
Nichts Neues im Jazz? Mag ja sein, daß es eine Avantgarde im militärischen Sinne von Vorkämpfern, denen das Fußvolk in gebührendem Abstand folgt, nie mehr geben wird. Aber die großen Individualisten, die in Personalunion von Schöpfer und Interpret die Aura des Jazz immer bestimmt haben wie in keinem anderen Musikgenre, sind noch da. Und wenn sie in Hochform spielen, was sie begreiflicherweise nicht immer können, sind sie unwiderstehlich – und einmalig. Aki Takase zum Beispiel, die immer dann ihren bizarren Humor am besten inszenieren kann, wenn sie sich große Duo-Partner aussucht und sich an den möglichst bekannten Themen anderer Leute reibt. Das tut sie jetzt mit dem Nürnberger Baßklarinettisten Rudi Mahall und vorzugsweise mit Themen des Komponisten vieler Blues-Klassiker, W. C. Handy.
Mit Mahall verbindet Aki Takase eine alte Freundschaft glücklicher Resonanzschwingungen, die 1998 zu dem Meisterwerk “Duet for Eric Dolphy” führten. Dolphy machte Anfang der Sechziger mit einigen wenigen Soli die Baßklarinette als neu umworbenes Instrument im Jazz heimisch. Jedoch: Intonation und geläufiges Spiel sind schwierig, und in extremeren Artikulationen stören Verwandtschaften mit aufgeregten Gänsen den Kunstsinn. Deshalb gab und gibt es wenige, denen der 1964 verstorbene Dolphy den Ritterschlag gegeben hätte. Mahall ist einer von ihnen. Waren die Dolphy-Themen, die Takase und Mahall bei ihrer ersten Zusammenarbeit behandelten, äußerst kompliziert, so sind die Stücke von W. C. Handy fast kinderliedeinfache Evergreens, besonders der “St. Louis Blues”, der formal gar kein Blues ist und der CD, auf der er zweimal vorkommt, den Namen gegeben hat. Diese Melodien eignen sich so recht als Spielmaterial für schrille Phantasien und satirische Lust. Versonnen klimpert da ein Südstaaten-Klavier, während die Baßklarinette aus allen Harmonien herausspielt. Honky Tonk, Spieluhren-Idylle und Slapstick-Panik werden durch Free-Jazz-Erfahrungen unterminiert, freie Dialoge aber auch wieder in strengen Arrangements abgefangen; allenthalben Ausbrüche, Auswüchse, Unernst, Verspieltheit, im Kern zusammengehalten von blendendem Handwerk, das sich auch auf die Klangfarbengestaltung auswirkt – bei Mahall sowieso, aber auch bei Nils Wogram. Der technisch und intellektuell beste unter allen deutschen Posaunisten, die auch nur einen Tag jünger sind als Albert Mangelsdorff, ist als Ergänzung des Personals eine enorme Bereicherung. Wogram hat in der Gruppe “Underkarl” einen mit Aki Takase eng verwandten Humor bei der Traditionsverwaltung demonstriert. Auf etwas andere Weise passen die trockenen Dekonstruktionen des Gitarristen Fred Frith und das schrullige Schlagzeugspiel von Paul Lovens – sie sind weitere Gelegenheitsmitspieler – ebenfalls glänzend in die Geistes- und Geisterwelt der japanischen Pianistin, die für diese CD übrigens auch Mahall, Wogram und sich selbst hat komponieren lassen und mit “Lulu’s Back in Town” einen nicht von W. C. Handy stammenden “Schlager” zum Umschleifen freigegeben hat.
Ulrich Olshausen in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung vom 28. Dezember 2001
english
Nothing new about Jazz? Maybe, that there will never be again an avant-garde in the militaric sense of pioneers, which the footman follow in a certain distance. But the big individualists, who in a personal union of creator and interpreter always determined the aura of Jazz like in no other music genre, are still there. And if they play in top form, what isn’t always possible, they are irresistible and unique. Aki Takase for example, who always can produce her bizarre humour at it’ s best, when she chooses brilliant Duo- partners and rubs herself at the utmost popular themes of others. This is what she does now with themes of the componist of many blues-classics, W.C.Handy. With Rudi Mahall Aki Takase has an old friendship of ” happy resonance vibrations”, which resulted 1998 in the masterpiece ” Duet for Eric Dolphy”. Dolphy gave in the beginning of the 60′s the bass clarinet as a new courted instrument a new home in the Jazz. But Intonation and common playing are difficult, and in extreme articulations relations with excited goose disturb the sense for art. Therefore there are few, which the 1964-deceased Dolphy would have given the dubbing. Rudi Mahall is one of them. The Dolphy- theme which Takase and Mahall treated at her first co- operation, was very complicated, but the pieces of W.C.Handy are evergreens, nearly easy like children songs, especially the ” St. Louis Blues”, which formally seen isn’t even a blues and the CD, on which he is performed two times has the name of this blues. Those melodies are very suitable as playmaterial for shrill phantasies and satirical lust. Thoughtful there plays a southern- state piano, while the bass- clarinet plays out off all harmonies. Honky- Tonk, musical box- idyll and slapstick- panic are undermined by Free- Jazz- experience, but free dialogues are intercepted again in strange arrangements; on all sides break outs, excesses, unseriousness, playfully, holded together in it’s heart by brilliant trade, which has an effect on the tone colour arrangement at Mahall and at Nils Wogram, too. The most intellectual German trombonist with the best technique, is as completion of the group an enormous enrichment. Wogram demonstrated in the formation “Underkarl” a related humour in the management of tradition like Aki Takase does. On the other side the dry deconstructions of the guitarist Fred Frith and the cranky drum- playing of Paul Lovens -they are occasional performers -fit very well too in the spiritual and ghost- world of the Japanese pianist. For her CD Aki Takase herself composed but Mahall and Wogram, too. With “Lulu’s back in town” she gave a hit- song, which is not from W.C. Handy, free to be slured.
Ulrich Olshausen in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung 28. December 2001
Eugene Chadbourne began playing guitar at an early age. Noticing that girls liked The Beatles, he thought perhaps learning to play the guitar could lead to getting a girlfriend. What began with a simple boyish dream and a Herman’s Hermits record turned into a musical odyssey that has connected the dots between the Appalachians and the edges of the known musical universe. Along the way, he’s taught himself the banjo as well as piano, bass and drums.
Eugene is a music lover who listens to the world with an open mind, which is reflected in his sets. A typical one could include the music of Thelonious Monk, Eric Satie, Merle Haggard, Phil Ochs along with his own. Some of the departure points may be familiar, but even if you have heard him play a song before, you won’t hear it the same way again. Each performance and each listening is unique. It has to be. To paraphrase an old saying “you can’t play the same note twice” and at the heart of improvisation is an awareness of music, the instrument, the place and all that has led up to that moment. The improvisational music scene can sometimes get a bit rarefied and oblique, but Eugene’s guiding star is his ongoing love for country music. It is not a repertoire customarily heard in New York’s The Knitting Factory or the avant-garde festivals of Europe, but Dr. Chad has made it so.
The list of artists he has collaborated with runs into pages. His favorites include great drummers such as Jimmy Carl Black (Frank Zappa), Paul Lovens, Han Bennink and Ernie Durawa, appearing in clubs, galleries and festivals and in one case, a command performance with banjoist Tony Trischka for William S. Burroughs.
He has also written widely about music, he is one of the founders of the “low-fi” or “low tech” movement that came to see thousands of artists creating and releasing their own cassettes (and now CDs) on their own labels. He has also inspired many as a creator of instruments. His electric rake has motivated many artists to build new instruments and expand the sonic landscape. When you combine all of the above with his penchant for speaking out loud and clear about what exactly the hell seems to be going on, you have an unforgettable artist whose connection to folk is both deep and wide.
Rudi Mahall was born 1966 in Nürnberg, Germany. He studied classic clarinet and within this he got the possibility to examinate contemporary music and improvisation. He is part of the avant-garde-band “DIE HARTMANN 8″, “DER ROTE BEREICH”(with John Schröder and Frank Möbus), of the Trio &QuotTIEFE TÖNE FÜR AUGEN UND OHREN”( with Henning Sievert and Bill Elgart), PRO SUSI, STOL, and “DIE ENTÄUSCHUNG”( with Axel Dörner, Jan Roder, Uli Jenneßen). He performed in concerts together with Conny and Johannes Bauer, Lee Konitz, Barry Guy, Marty Cook, Karl Berger, Paul Lovens, Radu Malfatti, Jim Black, Ed Schuller, Alexander von Schlippenbach and many others.
Nils Wogram was born in 1972 in Braunschweig, Germany. He began his classical training when he was 12 years old. Between 1989 and 1992 he was multiple prizewinner at “Jugend musiziert”(young musicians). He received the price for new music of the town of Erlangen and the Jazz-price of Niedersachsen. In 1989 he became member of the Bundesjazzorchester under the leadership of Peter Herbholzheimer. From 1992-1994 he went to New where he studied together with Reginald Workman, Slide Hampton, Conrad Herwig, Kenny Werner, Buster Williams and Maria Schneider. 1994 he published his debut- album “New York Conversations” (Mono Records). Since his return to Germany Nils Wogram is one of the most demanded solo-trombonists. With his ensemble and also as solist with groups like Jazzkantine, Franck Band spezial Ex-zess, Underkarl, De 8 Baan, Gunter Hampels Next Generation he was guest at international festivals like Jazz Baltica, Varna Summer Festival (Bulgarien), Vilnius Jazzfest (Litauen), ENJA 25th anniversary (New York), Berliner Jazztage, Moers New Jazz Festival, Theaterhaustage Stuttgart, Jazzfest Wien and many more. He performed in the USA, France, Swiss, Austria, Bulgaria and the Netherlands and took part in different TV-and radio productions. Nils Wogram worked with Kenny Werner, Arnie Lawrence, Herman Foster, Gunter Hampel, Nils Landgren, Tomaz Stanko, Ed Schuller, Illinois Jaquet, Michael Formanek, Brad Shepik und Georg Garzon.
Paul Lovens was born at the 6. June of 1949 in Aachen, Germany. He already played drums as a child. At age 14, he played in groups of different jazz styles and popular music-styles. His interest in improvised music was initiated through Robert Wenseler and Christoph Caskel. Up from 1969 he was nearly only improvising on individual arranged instruments. Since then he worked together with numerous musicians of the international scene of “Free Jazz” and ” Free Improvisation”. Concert tours in more than 40 countries. He was one of the Co- founders of a music- cooperation and is producing on his own record- label “Po Torch Records”. You can listen to this on more than 100 records. Research with the painter Herbert Bardenheuer. Beside very rare performances as solist and occasional concerts with band projects, and although taking part in projects with film, dance and actors, his main interest and – work is the musical improvisation in small, permanent groups.