Reza Askari ROAR ...

Reza Askari ROAR feat. Christopher Dell (QFTF, 2022) 

Reza Askari ROAR feat. Christopher Dell - Zen World Cables - (Boomslang Records, 2024)

 

By Sarah Grosser

 

Reza Askari (bass) and Christopher Dell (vibes) are both professors. It’s not something that they parade about, but the level of elite musical education between these two is beyond impressive. Suffice to say, they take their shit very seriously. In 2022 Dell teamed up with Askari’s Trio “ROAR" to release a collaborative album, the success and chemistry of which spawned a follow up release, 2024’s Zen World Cables.

Fans of Christopher Dell’s work with DLW (Dell Lillinger Westergaard) will be familiar with his architectural approach to musical structure - a sound that is recognisable when listened to, but, at least for this journalist, somewhat clumsy to try and describe. Details about complexity, texture, frames etc. are far better outlined by the band in their liner notes . If you like what you’ve heard before, you will enjoy this too, as Dell is clearly in his element among the highly talented trio of Askari, Stefan Karl Schmid (clarinet, tenor sax), and Fabian Arends (drums).

The first album consists of mainly improvised atonal works, with bursts of melody just to keep you guessing, and a mixture of different tempos from plodding, meandering swing ballads through to more extreme, fast freak-outs. It contains a number of individual pieces, which is in contrast to the second album (Zen World Cables); an extended piece later split into tracks. The premium listening experience for ZWC is to let it run from start to finish. The track lengths on the first album average out at about 3:50 each, but on ZWC the durations are more sporadic, ranging from just 19 seconds to over 7 minutes. The tracks themselves are borderline superfluous, as the changes are not something you would notice in a live setting, or even a listen through at home.

The titles are also slightly less colloquial on ZWC - the debut featuring subject matter such as “Wheelchair Weed,” and (a personal favourite) “FCK.THT.SHT.ND.MK.MSC,” but just because they are less colloquial doesn’t mean they are any less fun; while “Desayuno Nica” might sound like the name of an exotic desert island, it is in fact, a standard Nicaraguan breakfast of eggs, rice and beans, and a slice of soft cheese.

Highlights include Dell’s 19-second solo “Interceptor:” a masterclass in vibraphone, in and of itself. Aside from the totally inhuman speed at which he can play, there are, (amidst a myriad of other impressive techniques) also subtle variations in reverberation, executed at precise moments to create a faint swooping, reverse-pedal effect. The thing is, it all happens so quickly, you’ll be skipping back to hear it again; one of the only benefits of having a recording versus seeing his unforgettable live performances in the flesh.

It’s all very complimentary: Arend’s skittery drumming style supports Askari’s intuitive, quick thinking on bass and vice versa, while Schmid’s conversations on sax and clarinet fit effortlessly among the quartet. There is no question about the musicianship of the players here.

Much of the music is quite busy. One would know very quickly whether or not this was going to be an album “for them.” With the level of academia generating the bulk of the sound, one might question whether or not a Ph.D. is required to fully enjoy the minutiae and levels of complexity at play. Surely there would be benefits that arise from a deeper understanding of the relationships between the instruments, the modi, and the architecturally-inspired musical structuring and so on, and so forth… but is it a requirement to "be smart" to be able to get something out of a record like Zen World Cables?

Well, let’s put it this way: If you prefer sweet catchy melodies, standard hooks, predictable returns to the head after a little soft noodling, steer well clear. These albums demand attention. They cannot simply be "on in the background." If you love to be challenged by music, to be fascinated by it, this is going to be right up your alley.

Music aside, one cannot go past the stunning packaging and artwork by Kristina Brauweiler. Both albums, while distinct in palette, contain consistent design themes indicating clearly that the two albums are companions. A signature “pop” of contrasting colour on each CD disk makes for a real “wow” factor when opening the gatefold, but it is the vinyl editions that really steal the show. The intense, translucent, orange wax of the first album is beautifully aesthetic, but the Zen World Cables marbled black and deep petrol-green is so gorgeous it can’t be captured by a photograph. The pictures on Reza’s Instagram don’t do justice to how impressive the marble effect looks in reality, how intense the dark turquoise colour of the wax is, and how it illuminates when held up to a light.

Satisfying in the hands, satisfying on the ears - two worthy additions to any contemporary collection. Here’s hoping for a third. 

 

 

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Ivo Perelman & Fay Victor - Messa Di Voce (Mahakala Msic, 2024)

By Sammy Stein

I wrote a piece for Reader’s Digest a year or two ago titled “10 Female Musicians You Should Get To Know”. One of these was Fay Victor, who coincidentally was interviewed for FJC’s Sunday interview in August. Her voice is an instrument of delight. So to find Victor featured on this album in my inbox from Perelman was a joy. Perelman has collaborated with only two vocalists, Flora Purim, and Iva Bittova. Here, the mastery of Victor pushes Perelman to explore even deeper, the wealth of musical discovery, he has made – and it is easy to believe he also makes a few new connections. The album also has the supremely creative rhythm section of Joe Morris and Ramon Lopez. Victor has worked with Anthony Braxton, Randy Weston, Wadado Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell, Daniel Carter, and more and her ‘Freesong’ approach has shown her as an individualistic, creative vocalist. Joe Morris brings his blend of African and jazz-rooted music to his bass playing and Ramon Lopez is a jazz drummer familiar to many for his multicultural cadences.

To find four musicians of such calibre on one recording is a rarity. To discover they blend and merge so well, with Victor’s vocals adding nuances almost impossible on any other instrument, is a delight. Messa Di Voce (which means placing the voice in Italian) could not be a more appropriate title because Victor understands how to use her voice as an instrument in as precise a manner as anyone plucking or bowing a string or striking a key. And the other musicians understand how to utilise the depth of Victor’s voice to the best, allowing her to express its full range and versatility.

Perelman, ever the organic grower musically, has placed these three musicians together and cast his net across using his sax lines to link, and his musical suggestions to inspire. The notable similarity between the range of the female voice and that of the upper sax registers is clear along with the possibilities for complimentary phrases and contrast. At times on Track I-One it is possible to imagine the sax and voice as one and at others, the point where they diverge and separate is difficult to discern. Victor’s pitching is profound and vocalising as she is against Perelman who, as ever, introduces unexpected musical dalliances into the melodic lines, veering off along pathways of his invention, and leaving Victor to follow, is a feat most vocalists might not relish. Victor, however, is no ordinary vocalist and she counters and enhances Perelman’s musical deviations, at times re-taking the creative mantle, causing Perelman to backtrack and re-engage. In the middle section, there is a lovely, phrased section where Victor hums a tune that Perelman picks up and distorts – creating an adaptive, creative response. Lopez sets up furious rhythmic passages in the closing stages as Victor flows freely, allowing her impressive voice its full range.

The tracks follow much the same pattern, but there is never a sense of repetition or over-familiarity. Perelman is pushed by the vocals and introduces sounds he has not played for some time, such as on track I-Two, where he blasts and growls rhythmic patterns while Victor pushes out equally extreme vocalisations, creating a depth of intuitive sound, which feels like two musical titans leaning into each other at times, and slightly demonic at others.

There are some beautifully worked sections, like the swinging phrasing briefly held by the sax on track I-Three and the guitar phrases on that track. Familiar jazz elements ooze over trickling, intricate vocals. The opening on track I-Four sounds big-band with the vocals exuding emotion. The structure of this eighteen-plus minute track is exceptional, and the listener is never lost, yet somehow catapulted from one extreme effect to another. Many tracks make the most of the rhythmic potential and adaptability of the voice, with Victor offering her punctuation and percussive elements at times counteracting the rhythm section of Lopez and Morris. II-Three is an impressive blend of culturally diverse rhythms and vocalisations.

As ever, the numbering of the tracks is a mystery with the album being divided into two parts, but the tracks are also numbered in numerical order from 1 to 9 and vary in length from just over five and a half to over eighteen minutes.

Gathering his components around him Perelman, the constant gardener of music, plants elements to create colours, patterns, and striking contrasts, that work to create a glorious, colourful, emotionally packed musical landscape for the listener. Given Perelman’s kinaesthesia, it is no wonder he can weave intricate patterns of depth and warmth, using subtle hues and big, striking episodes of intensity.

Four stellar musicians, with Perelman as a guide but not leader in the ‘follow me’ sense, but more in the ‘let’s see what works if I do this’ sense and with heavy attention paid to the incredible instrument of Victor’s voice, this is simply beautiful.

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Mats Gustafsson / Liudas Mockūnas- Watching a dog. Smiling. (NoBusiness, 2024)

By Martin Schray

Reeds duos are complicated, and writing about them even more so. Musically, we actually have two solo instruments that are sound-wise close to each other, i.e. there are hardly any textures against which one of the instruments can stand out. When writing about it, it’s easy to fall into platitudes or obvious comparisons, e.g. that the duets sound like you’re listening to a dialog between songbirds (I’ve succumbed to this temptation, too). But on their first duo album Mats Gustafson and Liudas Mockūnas make it easy not to fall into this trap.

First of all, these two real warhorses of the NoBusiness label sound very different, which can be seen in the choice of their instruments. Here, Gustafsson is on the flute, the slide-flute, baritone sax and live electronics, while Mockūnas can be heard on several high saxophone types like sopranino, soprano, reedless soprano and overtone sax (but also on bass saxophone and contrabass clarinet). Excitement through stark contrasts is therefore guaranteed from the outset.

Of course, there are also the reeds duels, such as the title track, in which Gustafsson on the flute engages in a kind of race with Mockūnas’s high saxophones, or “Cold talk. From the side.“, in which the two musicians on baritone and bass sax yell at each other in an almost painful way. However, the most interesting tracks are “More sad than love. Is life.“ and “An urge. Of nothingness.“, because on these two pieces Gustafsson uses live electronics - and he does it in an almost ultra-brutal way. In the first track, he initially sounds like a sputtering engine making a cold start, while Mockūnas still plays around these sounds hesitantly and cautiously. Over time, Gustafsson increases the speed of the engine noises, only to then completely overdo it (in a positive sense) and finally reach a crassness that is best known from Aphex Twin recordings such as “Come to Daddy“. You feel like you’re standing in a tin hut with a hurricane raging around you. Mockūnas is the man screaming for help in this hut. In “An urge. Of nothingness.“ the live electronics are not audible at first, they lurk in the background and then provide the dark surface for an intense, gloomy saxophone solo. But while the sax then falls silent, the rumbling wall of noise remains and is what we hear at the very end.

Watching A Dog. Smiling is a raging hell ride that makes no attempt to conceal its darkness. But this is precisely where the album’s appeal lies.

Watching A Dog. Smiling is available on vinyl in a limited edition of 300 and as a download. You can listen to it here:

 

The vinyl version is sold out at bandcamp and NoBusiness, but there are some copies available on the internet, for example at Trost Records.

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Pandelis Karayorgis/ George Kokkinaris –Out from Athens (Driff Records, 2024)

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

Another important release from Karayorgis and Jorrit Dijkstra’s Driff Records and, especially, for the Athenian scene (if there’s such an existence…) as here, on this release, pianist Karayorgis collaborates with Greek double bassist George Kokkinaris.

Out from Athens is partly composed and partly improvised, favoriting a very common way, among Athenian improvisers, right now. Probably not only Athenian’s I guess. All thirteen tracks of the album reveal a pop sensibility with titles that are quite vocal about them and durations around the four minute mark.

But above all, it is the way they both approach their material that made me think like that. Maybe the “pop” element has to do with their struggle to share a common language on how to present their ideas. Sometimes, while trying to find resemblances, you rely on shared experiences, ideas and views.

Leaving the troubled term “pop” behind, as Out of Athens can easily be described as a jazz duo, both musicians bring ideas on how to act and react. Recorded late last summer in Athens, as nowadays the Athenian summers have become extremely hot, Out of Athens is energetic and playful hosting a contact flow of ideas and interactions.

Karayorgis’ piano playing is quite playful as it is humble, leaving so much room for Kokkinaris to approach the double bass in an experimental fashion. If you ask me, on a personal level, what exactly this could be, I would say that he is exploring the numerous ways that the double bassist could be used as a sound source. Having seen him live I can assure you, the reader, that he tries to achieve this quite successfully.

Points of reference for Out of Athens are tracks, like the short one 'Bumpy,' where Karayorgis piano opens up in a frenetic mood, with fingers going up and down the keyboard in an energetic free jazz race. As much as a collaborator, Karayorgis can also lead, even though leading is not first on the agenda for this CD on all tracks.

Playing with moods, they playfully create a path of non-hierarchical interaction. They listen to each other, act, react, but, most of all, understand and leave room for one another. Returning to this notion of pop, maybe it is about that, this CD, apart from good music, it is a very enjoyably listen.

Listen here:

@koultouranafigo

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Kevin Miller – Ghost Tones (Ramble Records, 2024)

By Guido Montegrandi

On the bandcamp page dedicated to his last work (see below), Kevin Miller (guitar) gives notes and some explanation for every single track of his album so my observation here will be more about its general structure and about Miller’s attitude toward music.

Some of the tracks are composed, some are improvised, but in any case, each piece of music confronts itself with some self-imposed limitation or some external guideline reference - constraints can be very loose: ‘Moving Past’ is an improvisation with the pre-determined goal of playing for around twenty minutes.” (from Miller’s notes to the album); can involve precise cultural references ‘Proportions’, is essentially fully composed and uses various pitchsets inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen” (same source) or can entail technical alterations ‘Take 2 Steps Down’ is an improvisation using the telecaster tuned two whole steps down. (same source).

If you take a look to Kevin Miller’s site ( www.kevinmillerguitar.com ) in the section Compositions you will find pieces that clearly illustrate his approach - here it is just an example

In a sense a limit (of any kind) is something you play against in order to (try and) find your voice.

The last to pieces follow a different path, again Kevin Miller notes: The last two tracks on this recording are documents of a practice of mine which involves playing along with nature field recordings.

In the section Writings of his site we can read an interesting piece titled Some thoughts on the Role of Nature in My Creative Process in which the author focuses on the importance of being related to nature:

My goal, when striking a sound, is for it to contain the same type of energy that exists in nature, where complete stillness and unmitigated kinetic energy are one (…) There are certain images or image patterns that exist in nature which have been inspirational to me and have assisted in my forming a holistic practice model. For me, sound is everything. Sound is the core. Sound, when connected to nature as an energy source, can serve as a source of infinite possibilities.

And music sounds like the bare-bones of music itself and each note irradiates into sonic space for length of its existence. Again Miller gives us a clue talking about the last piece of this album; On ‘Twig’, I’m improvising in the way I usually approach this practice of playing along with field recordings; trying to disappear inside of the ecosystem and create a sonic space which effortlessly blends in while still being decipherable as myself playing the guitar.

A thoughtful solo guitar album that asks for dedicated attention and at the same time awakens in our mind the pleasure to roam about. Sounds like a case of wanderlust.

You can buy and download it on bandcamp:

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Albert Beger / Ziv Taubenfeld / Shay Hazan / Hamid Drake - Cosmic Waves (NoBusiness, 2024)

By Eyal Hareuveni 

Master drummer Hamid Drake is one of the most beloved musicians in Israel ever since he performed with Roy Campbell Pyramid Trio at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival in 2005, alongside double bass master hero William Parker. Drake and Parker recorded during this visit a double album with local tenor sax hero Albert Beger (Evolving Silence Vol. 1 & 2, EarSay, 2005, 2006). Drake continued to frequent the Tel Aviv club Levontin 7 (owned by another Israeli sax hero, Assif Tsahar) and in his last visit in July 2023 reconvened with Beger for another recording, Cosmic Waves. Beger brought to this recording session, captured live at Levontin 7 and at Kitcha Studios in Tel Aviv, his long-time double bass and guimbri player Shay Hazan (who plays in Beger Quartet and in a duo with Beger) and Hazan’s childhood friend, Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld (who has played with Hazan in the Bones trio and is known for the Kuhn Fu and Full Sun bands).

The title of the album, Cosmic Waves, captures beautifully the spiritual atmosphere of this free improvised meeting that has deep roots in the free jazz of the late sixties. Drake, naturally, drives the music forward, already on the opening piece, the 19-minute, live "A Question of Universality", but his cosmic polyrhythmics also open the music and inject a sense of infinity. You just wish that his seductive, celestial vibes will keep feeding you more and more. The propulsive bass and North African guimbri playing of Hazan intensify Drake’s pulse. Beger and Taubenfeld do not need more and simply soar and dance around each other, tell their invigorating stories and enjoy “the sounds of tears and laughter” and “the circle of unity and compassion”, as Taubenfeld wrote a poem for this album.

“Into The Horizon” is a mysterious ballad, introduced by Hazan’s guimbri, while Drake deepens its hypnotic, ritualist spirit, allowing Beger and Taubenfeld to develop a passionate and soulful conversation while singing the theme. Hazan also introduces the following piece, “The Streamer”, this time on his double bass, sketching the outlines of a fiery free improvisation that Beger, Taubenfeld Drake push to its explosive edges. The last, short piece “Astral Visit”, concludes this masterful cosmic journey with an introspective, lyrical note, but begs for more such stimulating and life-affirming journeys.

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Daniel Rosenboom - Sunday Interview

Photo by Kathryn Nockles

1.    What is your greatest joy in improvised music?
   
   For me, the greatest joy in improvised music is The Unknown. The simple fact that you are in a situation that has no pre-planned trajectory, no road map, allows for total alertness. It’s almost like the thrill of surviving in the wild. All of one’s life experience, both as a musician and as a person, is brought to the table, and necessary to the pursuit. In its greatest moments, this alertness, immediacy, spontaneity, and dedication can lead to spiritual transcendence — moments where one is no longer aware of their corporeal constraints, and one feels a connection with the wider flow of universal energy. Those moments are often fleeting, but I think the pursuit of that experience, especially collectively with other musicians, is what keeps many of us going. It’s a meditation at the same time as being and active full body experience. It’s using everything in your being to bring something honest and expressive into the world.
   
   
2. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?
   
   I admire deep ears, broad stylistic reference, fearless intuition, and an ability to see the big musical picture and how to contribute in their role to the collective musical experience. That last point is maybe to most important. Any time you perform with other people, you are in essence playing chamber music, and in chamber music a give-and-take, shared accountability for the trajectory and texture of the music is paramount. So, knowing when to lay back is as important as knowing when to step forward. When to support versus when to lead. What does the music need right now? That’s the key.
   
   
3. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?
   
   That’s a difficult question, and it’s entirely dependent on context. I’ve spent a lot of time in a variety of musical fields, from free improvisation, to Black American Music, to commercial music, to classical chamber and orchestral music, to rock and roll, to Balkan music, to Latin music, and the list goes on. So, I have answers in each of those categories. However, one name that always jumps to mind is Frank Zappa, precisely because he too had deep interest in the breadth of musical experience and knowledge, and he was able to put all these interests into a creative, coherent, exciting, inspiring musical persona that not only produced a large amount of intelligent art, but connected with a large number of people.
   
   
4. If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?
   
   Wow, again, super difficult to answer. Maybe Elvin Jones? It’s really hard to know what it would be like performing with people from the past, because so much of performing is about personality, synergy, common experience, and instinct in addition to musical approach. But I think I would have a lot of fun playing with Elvin…I only hope he would have fun playing with me too!
   
   
5. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?
   
   Oh, so much! I’ve been getting into writing for larger ensembles, even thinking in symphonic terms — I would love to be able to write something worthy of performance by a major symphony orchestra. I would love to score films with directors/producers who are interested in taking musical risks. I would love to produce albums with artists who want to experiment with different approaches and sonic ideas. I would love to secure enough budget to tour extensively with my own band and see what consistent performing over a reasonably extended period of time could produce! So much of the time, we artists make the best thing we can with the resources available. I often wonder what I could do if resources allowed for the pursuit of any idea that contributed to the project. Who knows if it would yield better art, but I can’t help being curious!
   
   
6. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?
   
   I’m not particularly interested in pop music, and I’m definitely not aware of everything out there. But I’m always impressed by Kendrick Lamar, whenever I hear his music. In general, I admire the production aspect of pop music though. As I’ve gotten more into my own exploration of production, the intricacy and sometimes simplicity and clarity in the sonic landscape in a lot of pop music is really impressive. And I think the spectacle of “the show” is something we can all learn from. I don’t think improvised music needs to have pyrotechnics or laser light shows, although that could be really cool, but I think we can consider the setting and vibe created by ambience, lighting, etc can really enhance the musical experience for the audience. Even something as simple as bringing a few lamps for the stage, rather than just using the overhead lighting, can completely change the way an audience pays attention.
   
   
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
   
   I would try to improve my business sensibilities. As much as I’ve tried, I just can’t seem to think like a smart business man. Art and experience always comes first for me, and I’m not particularly good and lining up the resources to realize ideas the way I’d really like. Marketing eludes me completely. I’ve read a lot, gotten a lot of advice, and I just don’t seem to be able to put it into practice in a way that really turns artistic investment into income. Who knows…there’s still time, I suppose.
   
   
8. Which of your albums are you most proud of?
   
   That’s really hard to say. Each has been a unique process and challenge to overcome. I suppose it depends on what you mean by “proud of.” I’m really proud of my younger self for making the decision to write and record my own music, so I think in those terms, I’m really proud of “Fallen Angeles” (2011), which wasn’t my first release or my best album, but it was one where I fought through some personal difficulties to make it and it was the one where I feel like I started to land on “my sound,” whatever that means. In terms of milestones, I’m really proud of “Absurd In The Anthropocene” (2020), which featured many of my musical heroes in a really amazing cast of musicians, as well as some really exciting music and fantastic production. In terms of my own playing and ensemble playing, I’m really proud of my most recent release “Polarity” (2023), and in terms of my own compositions, I’m most proud of the one I’m working on now that hasn’t been released yet! Hahahaha!
   
   
9. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?
   
   Almost never. Usually by the time it’s released, I’ve heard it so many times through creation, mixing, and obsessing on details, I’m not really compelled to listen more. Also, I’m always trying to move on to something new and different, and if I listen to the previous project, I feel like I’m not moving forward.
   
   
10. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?
    
    Oh man, it’s gotta be a tossup between Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Soundgarden’s “Superunknown.” Those two records were among the first CDs I bought with my own money, and I still love them!
    
    
11. What are you listening to at the moment?
    
    At the moment, I’m not listening to anything particularly closely - I go through phases of listening and working on my own compositions, and when I’m working on my own music I tend not to listen to a lot of other stuff. However, over the last few years I’ve been mostly paying attention to the music my friends and colleagues make, as well as others I haven’t met but greatly admire from our wider community. So, when I see them release or share music, I try to listen to that right away. A few shoutouts to some musicians whose releases I always try to check out: Peter Evans, Steph Richards, John Escreet, Billy Mohler, Steve Lehman, Ambrose Akinmusire, Tyshawn Sorey, Mark Shim, James Brandon Lewis, Jeff Parker, and many many others.
    
    
12. What artist outside music inspires you?
    
    So so many. But right now, I’m particularly interested in film directors who have distinctive vision. I really like the individuality and grand scale directors like Denis Villeneuve, Alejandro Iñaritu, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and many others bring to the screen. Each of them have a totally unique style, and don’t feel like anyone else. And I think what I find really inspiring about their work is how much detail and care permeates every aspect of their projects. I’ve always been a film fan, and I feel like they represent some of the modern vanguard of cinema. And thinking cinematically helps me to imagine creating worlds with sound and music. 

 

Daniel Rosenboom on the Free Jazz Blog:

• Vinny Golia - Even to This Day​… Movement Two: Syncretism: For the Draw… Music for Orchestra and Soloists (Nine Winds, 2023)
• Secret People - Secret People (Out of Your Head Records, 2022)
• Soul and Fire
• Jazz em Agosto, Day 3
• Quoan - Fine Dining (Orenda, 2018) ****
• Burning Ghosts - Reclamation (Tzadik, 2017) ****
• Orenda Records: 3 Years and Counting - In the Studio
• Orenda Records: 3 Years and Counting - Live at Blue Whale
• Daniel Rosenboom Quintet - Fire Keeper (Orenda, 2014) ****
• Vinny Golia Sextet - Abstractions and Retrocausalities (NineWinds, 2011)****½
• The Vinny Golia Octet - Low And Inside - Music For Baritone Saxophone (Nine Winds, 2011) ****

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ØKSE - ØKSE (backwoodz Records, 2024)

By Martin Schray

Free Jazz, which in the 1960s and 70s was a music of rebellion and driven by the desire to reflect social conditions, has almost completely lost this ambition today. In the USA in particular, this task has been taken over by hip-hop and R’n’B. As a result, it’s necessary not to romanticize Free Jazz, but to view it as a contemporary music, which must ultimately offer room for cross-over experiments. ØKSE is such an experiment. The band seems to have recognized where the revolutionary momentum of the music has drifted and improvises on beats that are relevant to a younger generation. The consequence is a new music that demands new standards. The band itself cab almost be called a Free Jazzsuper group: New York based drummer Savannah Harris, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen (who has played with actually everyone who has a name in today’s Free Jazz), Haitian electronic musician Val Jeanty, and Swedish bassist Petter Eldh (Koma Saxo), who is also on synths and sampler. Deciding to break relatively new ground, they have chosen four rappers for this collaboration, including the two Brooklyn superstars of conscious Rap - ELUCID and billy woods (a.k.a. Armand Hammer), plus Maassai and Cavalier, both also from the same New York borough. Their collaboration ultimately hopes that Gunter Hampel’s assertion that “you only get mature jazz listeners through genuine enthusiasm, just like in football” is true. You have to create a new awareness and you have to take care of the next generation. Not just among musicians. And this is exactly where ØKSE (the word means “axe“ in Danish) comes in.

Their debut consists of eight tracks, four instrumental ones and four with the rappers. “Skopje”, the opening track, is based on Val Jeanty’s and Petter Eldh’s brutally deep bass grooves, over which Elucid lays his dark, highly enigmatic lyrics (The vision is shared, but first, it's my own/Within the walls is the womb/Doom gospel/A hearkening tool/True apostle to whom?/First of my own, a harvesting eye/Take what I give/It’s never enough). Rasmussen's sax is more in the background, like a commentary on the gloomy description of reality, it wails, hisses, howls and screams. Savannah Harris doesn’t deliver hip-hop beats in the classic sense, she spins rather freely. Even heavier than “Skopje” is “Amager” with billy woods on the mic, ranting over an alienated beat reminiscent of Gil Scott-Heron’s version of “Me and the Devil”. Again, a dark street reality is described: I been a nigga too long/I know the dance, I know the damn song/I know those clammy hands going from the crack of my ass to the weight of my balls). The completely sick electro beat pushes forward more strongly, Eldh’s bass adds a classic jazz run, Harris provides a complex beat, which allows Rasmussen to lay a very free solo over the structure. Perhaps the best piece on the album. “The Dive”, on which Maassai raps, is mellower, which is partly due to her soulful vocals as well as the fact that Rasmussen acts rather reluctant here. Finally, “Kdance92” presents Cavalier, whose lyrics are fully supported by the band. It’s the most hip-hop-like track on the album and also the catchiest.

The instrumental pieces, on the other hand, are weirder but demonstrate an awareness of history. “Fragrance”, for example, quotes Roscoe Mitchell’s “Nonaah“, before switching out of nowhere into a hip-hop loop that spins seemingly endlessly before dropping back into the quote. At the same time, world music elements flow into the music - as on “Amar Økse” and “Onwards (keep going)”, a programmatic title for the project. In addition, samples provide structure in these pieces; they are laid over the beats, which are present here, like a kind of solo. The only exception is “Three Headed Økse”, a modern, typical free jazz piece.

When you go to free jazz concerts these days (with the exception of festivals), you often encounter a clientele that tends to be male, white and also over-aged (to be honest). If Free Jazz wants to attract a younger and more diverse audience, if it wants to regain relevance, projects like ØKSE are certainly a way forward. It’s definitely an interesting album for fans of Irreversible Entanglements or Sons of Kemet. I'm really looking forward to where they go from here.

ØKSE is available on vinyl (in a limited edition of 1000) and as a download. You can listen to it and order it here.

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Gonçalo Almeida, Susana Santos Silva & Gustavo Costa - States of Restraint (Clean Feed, 2024) *****

 

By Stef Gijssels

Some albums have a sound that catches your attention, then sucks you in, and you cannot let go until you get to the very end, paralysed by the experience, stupefied by the experience, ecstatic by the experience. The original intention of our "Happy New Ears Award", was not to select the best album, but rather the one that gave a totally new and unexpected listening experience, offering some new creative ways to use sound to tell something unheard of, with a totally new voice, presenting new feelings and concepts and possibilities. 

The trio her is led by Gonçalo Almeida who penned all the compositions, and playing double bass and electronics, with Susana Santos Silva on trumpet and Gustavo Costa on percussion. 

All the tracks are called "restraint" and numbered in sequence. The sound is full, with bass, trumpet and percussion moving together through the minimalist compositions. The "restraint" is that the tree instruments work around a core sound, without moving too far its center, resulting in a shimmering universe that is intense, dark, ominous, unexpected yet also compelling and appealing. 

On the first track, the sounds of the bowed bass and trumpet are stretched, extended, like an endless wave, with Costa's percussion on bells gives a steady and hypnotic rhythm. The wave stops are regular intervals into absolute silence, only to start again. 

The second track gives a different context, as a collage of sonic bits coming from the three instruments, desparately seeking to find a common voice and interaction. The trialogue remains one of hesitation, quiet approaches, like three people speaking in sentences that never finish, again and again, full of surprise and willingness but failing. Yet the "Restraint III" brings release, continuing the end sound of the second piece to give single tone linearity, with again limitless extended notes from trumpet and bass. The pitch increases, and a kind of minimal melody emerges, slow and gentle, with rumbling drums and incredibly controlled bass and trumpet, the latter creating deep moans, and ending with the bowed bass drawing everything to a deep and dark closing. 

The final piece recuperates the sound of the first track, the full sound of bowed bass and trumpet, the hypnotic and mesmerising little bells providing a maddening rhythm, now duplicated by the electronics giving a circular fast wave movement to the sound. It's also a finale in the sense that many other aspects of the other tracks also seem integrated. It is spellbinding, moving, impressive. 

This is Gonçalo Almeida's success, his ideas, his creativity, his compositions, his musicianship, yet the end result of course could not have been possible by the brilliant contributions of Susana Santos Silva and Gustavo Costa. All three are excelllent, and the restraint, the control and the discipline and the mastery they have over the sounds they produce is fabulous. 

Even if the drone-like and minimalist music sound dark in essence, I have been full of joy each of the zillion times I listened to it, just of its incredible power. 

Don't miss it! 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Listen to "Restraint V". 

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Luís Vicente Trio - Come Down Here (Clean Feed, 2024) Trumpet Trio Series

By Stef Gijssels

This is the sophomore album of the Luis Vicente Trio, after their 2021 release "Chanting In The Name Of", with Luís Vicente on trumpet, bells, whistle and mbira, Gonçalo Almeida on double bass, and Pedro Melo Alves drums, percussion and objects. 

It's again a treat from beginning to end, music with deep roots in jazz tradition and even much older folk music, but with a totally modern openness to the world, full of brightness, joy and heartfelt emotion. 

All compositions are penned by Vicente, with the exception of the Brazilian traditional "Mandei Caiar O Meu Sobrado", a song that exemplifies the communal power of not only connecting the musicians to each other, but including the audience as well. It strikes a direct emotional bond, reaching out to what we all feel, the sadness, the comfort, the joy of being part of something bigger. 

And then there's the beauty of the musical freedom: the intensity of three musicians who interact with solid experience of when to emphasise, when to change, when to take a step back ... it all comes so natural and organic, fascinating in its technical quality and openness. 

The title track is a wonderful uptempo and powerful song full of rhythmic dynamics supporting a jubilatory mood, and with a superb role for the drums. On "Why No Is No" they unleash their demons in a very Ornette Coleman type structure, with an anchor theme allowing for some wild and powerful group dynamics. "Nascente" is more gentle, led by Almeida's deep bass sounds, reinforced by the precise percussion of Melo Alves, and the melancholy trumpet joins for closure. 

The most amazing track is the long "Penumbra" that ends the album, and which navigates between an expressive trumpet against a background of an ominous marching rhythm: it expresses pain, anger, distress, sadness and the subtle nuances in between for which no words exist, offering us a song of pure beauty.

This album by the trio is again a winner. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp.

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Silvan Schmid, Tom Wheatley, Eddie Prévost - The Wandering One (Matchless, 2024) Trumpet Trio Series

By Stef Gijssels

Eddie Prévost no longer needs any introduction. As one of the founding members of AMM he has shaped and participated in the long development of free improvisation, with impact on music and musicians worldwide. He is here in the company of Tom Wheatley on bass and Silvan Schmid on trumpet. 

Wheatley has been active in Tennota, a band that explores the boundaries and possibilities of old and new forms, of acoustic and electronic music, of physical and digital sounds, and with which Swiss trumpeter Silvan Schmid also at some time participated in. Schmid only has three albums released so far, including this one, so his name did not immediately ring a bell, but he was the curator of the Taktlos Festival last year. 

As can be expected, this is in-the-moment music, at any time full of future possibilities, full of intensity, openness and unexpected next moves, like chess-players who decided to smartly engage for the fun of moving without any ambition to win. Schmid has a natural deep and warm tone in his playing, relatively accessible in his phrasing (relatively!), and Prévost at all times colours the total sound by incredible sophisticated drumming. Wheatley is often the one holding the sound together with his deep bowed bass sounds. The title tracks of the three pieces are almost programmatic: "Clearing The Detritus Of Time", "The Parsing Of Sounds" and "Remembering To Forget". Creativity requires a freshness that cannot be burdened by concepts of the past. Every note and its relationship to any other sound is thus fresh, full of surprise and potential. 

The album was recorded at All Hallows Church, High Laver, Essex, on 3rd April 2023, and the sound quality is absolutely excellent, as if you were sitting next to them. 

Sixty-five minutes of musical joy and creative craftmanship. 

The albums is available from the label. 

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Thomas Heberer, Joe Fonda & Joe Hertenstein - Remedy II (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2023) Trumpet Trio Series

By Stef Gijssels

We praised "Remedy", an album by Thomas Heberer on trumpet, Joe Fonda on bass and Joe Hertenstein on drums for its wonderful combination of deep-rooted jazz genes and modern day abstract freedom. The album got a lot of positive response, not only by us, which led to a grant from the German Music Fund to create and publish their sophomore album, which was recorded in 2022. 

As a band of equals, all three musicians penned two or three pieces, spread in alternation across the album.   The compositions - structural and thematic agreements - are of cours the backbone for the groups improvisations, solos and common interaction. Like on the fist album, this is an album of enjoyment, for the players as well as for the listeners. A tribute is made to Mark Whitecage, the former saxophonist of the Nu Band. 

The nature of the music is the same as the debut album, and even if the boppish nature of the music is still very present, the explorative nature is even stronger than on their first one, even with their very straight approach of keeping the basic sounds of their instruments unaltered. 

I'm not sure what the title actually stands for, but I can imagine that 'remedy' could be interpreted as a kind of mental boost or musical encouragement during the lockdown of the Covid years. Even if the pandemic is over now, the quality of the music, the joy of the performance, the wonderful example of what people can achieve when creating together, are still a strong 'remedy' to stay positive in life. And of course the big part of the joy is the incredible musicianship of the three artists, their listening skills and the  deep emotional power that their music radiates.

I hope the German music fund has some money left for a third installment. 

In the meantime, I'm sure you will enjoy this one. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Watch "Variant", a composition by Joe Hertenstein, and performed by the trio at the Bop Shop, Rochester, New York.

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Søren Nørbo, Wadada Leo Smith, Kresten Osgood - Dét, Som Ikke Kan Kaldes Tilbage (ILK, 2024) Trumpet Trio Series

By Stef Gijssels

We don't have that many trumpet-piano-percussion trios in our archives, just a handful in the 17 years that we've been active, and actually it's a fine format, here with Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, Søren Nørbo on piano, and Kresten Osgood on drums. The Danish pianist has only some ten albums in his own name, and is possibly less known outside of his home country. He is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Kresten Osgood we know well from the many albums on the ILK label that he features on. 

As the composer, Nørbo is the driving force behind the music, setting the scene and the context for Smith and Osgood to improvise on, often with sketchy and implicit structures and harmonies, and letting the creative and listening skills of the musicians do the rest. The music is quiet, intimate and subdued, notwithstanding the occasional jubilant horn or dynamic drumming. The performance was recorded in Nørbo's living room, already more than ten years ago. Your guess is as good as mine why it took so long for this album to be released. 

The title means "that which cannot be recalled", signifying the unique oppurtinity to have one man writing  compositions in one evening, and then performing it in one go. It's not a boundary-breaking album, in the sense that there is not much risk-taking or sonic explorations, yet its gentle nature and the quality of the playing make this worth a listen. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp.

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John Hughes - Sunday Interview

Photo by Cristina Marx/Photomusix

1.  What is your greatest joy in improvised music?
   
   Joy is subjective. I hope to experience joy in life, on a daily basis. The idea of feeling any emotion in the present tense is contradictory to what I hope to share and experience in a free improvised musical setting. If I were to name one attribute of music-making which I find particularly rewarding, it would be the shared experience. That hopefully transcends any singular perception of joy, any emotion, or triggered reaction. It is that myriad of thought and feeling balling together and unraveling, not from any singular person or source, but from everyone present who is engaged in the moment, (audience members included!) which seems to be most palpable in free improvised concerts and events.
   
   
2. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?
   
   There is no single quality or characteristic which every musician I work with shares. I'm extremely grateful to have met very distinct individuals, each of whom seems to be saying something in a unique voice. All of the musicians, who I make a concerted effort to continue working with, are extremely dedicated to what they are doing.
   
   
3. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?
   
   Sun Ra
   
   
4. If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?
   
   Rolf Pifnitzka. Rolf was one of the first musicians I met after moving to Hamburg, and we played together - sometimes on a regular basis, other times sporadically - over many years. Rolf was unpredictable, full of energy, and could be extremely provocative - in the truest sense of the word. Our last band together was Piho Hupo, with Jörg Hochapfel and Chad Popple. I would love to play one last, very long, concert together with Piho Hupo.
   
   
5. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?
   
   Thankfully, I don't feel the need to get "better" at being myself. I'm fortunate enough to work with so many musicians that I don't ever feel like I stop learning. I'd like to be able to pay my bills, debts, still have the liberty of having a day off now and then, and even be able to take the odd trip back home every other year. I'm grateful for time to practice the double bass, so that's definitely a benefit of not having too many "gigs". The downside is the precariousness of my financial situation, which can be a bit taxing.
   
   
6. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?
   
   For some reason, most popular music I gravitate to is either from another time or another place. I have a few students who keep me engaged in the search; sometimes they need to learn some song, and I'd prefer to give them something I don't know yet, so we can share the learning experience. I had the great pleasure of working in Hamburg with musicians from Brazil and Syria, also playing popular music. I have been enjoying internet radio from around the world, but I don't search for any particular artist, more for different countries or regions. The radio in the kitchen here is on in the morning, but nine times out of ten, I couldn't tell you who is singing.
   
   
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
   
   I'd like to own a German driver's license. A driver’s license costs more than 3000 Euros here. Truly, a privilege reserved for the wealthy. I got my NY driver's license in... I think 1988, for 30$.
   
   
8. Which of your albums are you most proud of?
   
   I'm happy the new Gravelshard CD has been released. It was a lot of work and a huge collective investment on the part of my bandmates! I still like the duo with Alberto Braida on Broken Research, which is quite old in terms of free music (2004). There have been more releases in the last few years that I'm also grateful to have been a part of, and I even started a Bandcamp page in hopes of reaching more listeners.
   
   
9. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?
   
   If it's an album I've released myself, I've probably heard it many, many times in order to get the sound right. I'm grateful to work with an excellent and opened-minded engineer here. Once an album is finally released, I back away from it for some time, maybe even years. If a friend is staying the night here, I may play them something current; or maybe we'll just trade CDs and I'll add theirs to my stockpile.
   
   
10. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?
    
    There are a few albums, tapes, and CDs which have had a hypnotizing effect on me. "Reign in Blood" by Slayer; "Double Nickels on the Dime" by the Minutemen, "The Complete Genius of Modern Music" the Blue Note 4 CD box set of Thelonious Monk. I once spent an entire summer listening to "The Trance of Seven Colors" (Maleem Mahmoud Ghania & Pharoah Sanders) every day, after work, on my balcony in Baltimore. It's hard to say which album I've heard most, but I'd guess the double album release of "Angels and Demons at Play / The Nubians of Plutonia" by Sun Ra & His Myth Science Arkestra. It was one of those rereleases that came out on Evidence in the early 90's featuring two of the original Saturn LPs on a single CD format. That was the first one I found and I was mesmerized by what I heard.
    
    
11. What are you listening to at the moment?
    
    The birds in our garden. Last night, I just listened to Mars Williams and Vasco Trilla's excellent duo CD "Critical Mass". One from the stockpile. It's always tragic to find out about a crucial artist after they've left this plane of existence. Such is it with Mars! His playing on Critical Mass is intense, and he's moving from instrument to instrument in a completely natural manner. The level of communication and flow with Vasco is transcendent.
    
    
12. What artist outside music inspires you?
    
    Any artist who continues to make art, despite the hardships of life, and isn't hateful or hurtful is inspirational. Nature is inspiration. The wind. The sea. Trees. Unfortunately, I haven't been to a museum in a while, but have spent time recently visiting my friend Rüdiger Tillmann's exhibitions; whose illustrations of forests inspired the cover art of the Gravelshard release. Rüdiger's meticulous attention to detail is remarkable.
    
    

 John Hughes on the Free Jazz Blog:

• Frank Paul Schubert, Olaf Rupp, Lothar Ohlmeier - Entropy Hug (Not Applicable, 2024)
• Lina Allemano - Canons (Lumo Records, 2023)
• Ove Volquartz, Gianni Mimmo, Peer Schlechta & John Hughes - Cadenza Del Crepuscolo (Amirani, 2023)
• Andrew Raffo Dewar, John Hughes, and Chad Popple - Reflejos IV-VII (Waveform Alphabet, 2023)
• Two new releases by guitarist Olaf Rupp
• Piho Hupo - Foump (Indigo, 2014) ****

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Ivo Perelman and Gabby Fluke-Mogul – Joy (Ibeji, 2024)

By Sammy Stein

Ivo Perelman, who needs little introduction to readers of this column, has teamed up with stellar violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul, an improviser, composer, educator, and organizer based in New York City with deep roots in experimental music. She has collaborated with Joanna Mattrey, Lester St Louis, William Parker, and many other musicians.

Released on Ibeji label on 15 ^th August 2024, Joy comprises nine tracks, each a dialogue between two musicians who blend well tonally (and atonally) but also demonstrate the art of keen listening.

Track one is a conversation pure and simple, the sax and violin interacting, checking and responding to each other, with sections where each gives a monologue of impressive form before the other picks up on a small phrase and teases it into longer interludes as if in response and arguing a point.

Track two is dynamic with short, sharpened interchanges between the two musicians, each at times taking the lead before deftly passing it over to the other. Perelman introduces long, sustained sighs that almost sound like yawns, reiterated on the violin before both players meander like companionable associates before the final frenetic section.

The album continues in this format with tracks where Perelman uses his instrument to set the tonality and melodic lines and others with Fluke-Mogul countering Perelman and taking the lead for the violin, at times suddenly relinquishing it as if seeing what the response will be, or taking a moment to consider her response to a new pattern subtly set by Perelman.

Perelman is creative on this recording, working the registers of his saxophone to fit the range of the violin, which means regular pitching between registers for him, which poses no problem. There are some interesting changes on tracks three and seven which work to play on the ears in a surreptitious manner and on some phrasing Perelman’s love for classical form is evident in several places, while Fluke-Mogul is having none of it and returns to the improvised free playing she executes o well, with Perelman following in delight. Track six, with its scrunches, blasts, and short melodic reposts from the saxophone is a short delight, and track seven is a glorious exploration of both well-phrased melodic and improvisation from both players.

It is intriguing to hear the range of techniques employed on the violin with Fluke-Mogul using both the strings and body with gentle percussive motifs and plucked, rasped, and bowed delivery. The dynamism is interesting too with both musicians using the forte and pianissimo, with just about everything in between as they react, respond, and lead. The release has the perfect subtitle – Duologues 2 and it is just that. A conversation of interest both to the musicians and the listener.

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The STOP OVER Series

By Paul Acquaro

The Berlin House of Jazz - Center for Jazz and Improvised Music is a work in progress. The effort between the Deutsche Jazz Union, the Berlin government's IG Jazz Berlin group, and renowned jazz trumpeter Till Brönner, is to establish a place in Berlin, arguably the center of improvisational music in Europe, for supporting and fostering improvisational music. The Berlin House of Jazz, now in its 8th year of development is, however, currently homeless.

Hopes were high that Berlin's Alte Münze, a historical space in the middle of the city, would be that home. In fact, a series of events called STOP OVER were developed by successful curator Tina Heine, who has worked to develop the Elb Jazz Festival, Jazz & the City in Salzburg, and the Monheim Triennale, to test drive the space and negotiate the issue of space in artistic and urban planning aspects. This first set of events in February of this year, were a success for the organization in showcasing what it could foster. Fast forward a few months, however, and it seems plans from the city changed and the group is back on the search for a new place to continue their work.

After the first set of concerts concentrating on how to use the former space, STOP OVER series #2 is taking place as a sequence of performances negotiating the concert format itself. It is currently underway over multiple weeks at the Radial System, a performance space on the banks of the Spree River, a kilometer or two east from the Alte Münze. Comprised of projects curated by the artists involved in the first event, STOP OVER 2 is meant to provide a sense of continuity as well as a sense of new discovery. 

Representative from the Deutsche Jazz Union and renowned jazz trumpter, Nikolaus Neuser, explained: "The idea of STOP OVER was to produce a series of events that represent the functions of the institution." He stressed that the center does not impose styles or conditions on the artists, which is such a foundational concept for it that they "hired Heine, a curator from from outside, who is always thinking a lot about space, urban spaces and communities" to help develop the events.

While the hope is to find a permanent home, current plans involve further STOP OVER events, the next being the most ambitious so far: a residency with an focus on international cooperation, in which some artists will spend a few weeks in Berlin developing and presenting new projects. 

While the first concerts were more locally focused, first on the city and artists from Germany, the view of the center is much broader. As Neuser said, "the next STOP OVER is a kind of residency program that concentrates on international cooperation, because a big problem is that even though Berlin is very international, if you want to cooperate with people from anywhere in the world, it's really impossible due to a lack of resources." He continued, "the institution we have in mind should should produce connective effects within the city, within the country and internationally."

The residency program is slated tentatively to happen during January of 2025. Participating artists, selected through a committee, will be provided travel, accommodations and a space to develop their projects. Applications can be submitted online for one month beginning in mid August 2024.

Following the residency version of STOP OVER, Neuser said that a further instance will likely be a publication, and he says there is even more to come: "it will continue, we now have two more STOP OVERs in mind, but what happens next also depends on the overall situation - in any case, we are continuing to work on our vision of such a place for the scene and society as a whole."

To learn more, visit: https://www.zentrum-under-construction.berlin

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Images from the most recent STOP OVER #2, June 23, 2024, at the Radial System
by Berlin music photographer Cristina Marx (all photos © Cristina Marx/Photomusix)

Marvin the Destroyer - Kofie da Vibe (v), Els Vandeweyer (vibes), Daniel Erdmann (sax), Vincent von Schlippenbach aka DJ Illvibe (DJ) 

 

 

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20.000 Hour Band - Silke Eberhard (sax), Richard Koch (t), Gerhard Gschlößl (tb), Rieko Okuda (p), Johannes Fink (c), Antti Virtaranta (b), Taiko Saito (vibe), Florian Fischer (d)

 

 

 

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