Solid Fun: Gunter Hampel & Christian Weidner

I started listening to Christian Weidner shortly before meeting him in Greece during my 2009 travels. As I picked up his albums over the years since, I ran into a mention of Solid Fun - a duo with vibraphonist/bass clarinetist Gunter Hampel. I added it a few watch lists and kept an eye out for it in record stores (when I remembered). I finally ran across it (along with a couple more Lacy albums) in early June while browsing the Jazz Record Center. I was particularly curious about this release as it was recorded when he was about 19 years old, with 7 of the 8 tracks coming from a single concert in 1995 and the last piece is from a live performance the following year. There's almost ten years between this recording and his first date as a leader, the 2004 trio album Choral. 

Early Bird, Coltrane in the navy, Konitz with Claude Thornhill, Warne with the Canteen Kids etc....it's always fascinating hearing recordings of players earlier on in their development. What's similar, what's different, and would I pick them if I didn't know?

Although I consider myself pretty familiar with Weidner's recordings and quite confident in picking his playing, Solid Fun would have had me stumped. The tone is full but brighter, more conventional with a buoyant touch. The playing is busier - put it down to youthful energy - without the sense of space and pacing that I enjoy in his playing. There's an exuberant blues element that maybe somewhat overdone and I don't really hear in his playing these days.

There are a couple of spots that hint at his more mature sound - the way that he plays some notes, the phrasing and with that the tone I associate with him became more present (if just for a fleeting moment) - but even with repeated listening it is pretty well buried.

And I almost forgot to mention that in addition to alto, he plays tenor on a couple of tracks. It's not a horn I associate with him and although I had seen some live videos of Weidner on tenor with Kurt Rosenwinkel (I think), I do not remember them well enough to make any comparisons. I'm not sure if it's because I'm used to him on alto, but I feel that the smaller horn is a more natural voice for him.

While I don't place Solid Fun up there with his more mature works as a leader (or sideman), its been an enjoyable and fascinating listen. If there are other recordings between this and Choral I would be keen to give them a listen too.

cough cough

The last couple of days have been spent recovering from a cold/bug/whatever. While it's not the best timing (I have a busy week planned), it has given me the chance to listen to some music.

After trying (and failing) to work my way through the 2-disc sampler, "Critic's Choices & Other Voices," that came with Jazziz magazine, I listened to a selection of artists from the 1920s and 30s - Jabbo Smith, Tiny Parham, Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Lovie Austin, Mezz Mezzrow, Eddie South and Jimmy Lunceford among others. I've just wrapped up reading Allen Lowe's That Devilin' Tune which no doubt helped nudge me to revisit the 1920s and 30s. As I've made my way through the book I've been listening to some of the tracks mentioned and on Monday I created a few random playlists and hit play. A few years ago I spent a lot of time listening to jazz from the first 20 years of its recorded history but since then it has been a sporadic effort at best and it made for a refreshing change.

And while the 20s and 30s are on my mind....Charley Patton also has been getting some airtime. I picked up a 3-disc set a short while ago and I'm finally getting around to giving it a listen. The focus was on the first disc but I will make sure I get to the other two before the year is out. There will more acoustic blues added to my listening in the near future. Patton made a nice contrast to Evan Parker's As the Wind (which I'll write more on that later but I'm liking what I hear so far).

Christian Weidner's Every Hour of the Light and Dark arrived in the mail yesterday so I gave it a cursory listen this morning and again this afternoon. I'm not sure if brooding is an apt description, reflective maybe, but not overly introspective.

No blowing the horn, but I have been tapping out of various 8th notes and triplets groupings from Ed Saindon's Exploration in Rhythm. 

Lambic Jazz Vol.11

Here we are again. Tonight was the final class of the semester, so I'm celebrating with a beer and a couple of albums of been listening to this past week.

Wayne Shorter: Odyssey of Iska (Blue Note)
Shorter (ss/ts) Dave Friedman (vibes/marimba) Gene Bertoncini (g) Ron Carter, Cecil McBee (b) Billy Hart, Al Mouton (d) Frank Cuomo (d/prec.) .... is it just me or but I think I hear some harmonica in there too?
I've enjoyed making my way through Wayne Shorter's Blue Note albums this year. This was one of the albums that was new to me and I'll post more on it soon. But for now I'll keep things brief - I enjoy Shorter's sense of economy and the way he can float over dense accompaniment yet still be rhythmically interesting.

Christian Weidner: Dream Boogie (Pirouet) 2012
Weidner (as) Achim Kaufmann (p) Henning Sieverts (b) Samuel Rohrer (d)
Back in Vol. 6 I mentioned that I was planning on picking up his last couple of quartet albums. Well, the first of those has arrived and the other is on the way. Although I've give it a couple of spins this week I'm yet to really give it a solid listen. As is the case with many European (or non-American) musicians, I don't hear Christian mentioned much here in the U.S. Like Choral, the tracks are concise with 10 of 11 tunes between 3-5 minutes and even the "long" track (the opener "Windchoral") is a reasonable 7 and half minutes. It keeps things moving - moods, feeling, tempos and textures shift at a nice rate of change while maintaining unity across the album. All involved make strong contributions. Kaufmann replacing Colin Vallon is the only change in personnel from The Inward Song and I feel it had a positive effect. This album will be in for many more listens and I'm looking forward to spinning it back to back with Every Hour of the Light and Dark when it arrives.

Tonight's music was accompanied by Lambickx (Wambeek, De Troch). And now it must be about time to tune in to the fourth test - India vs England. India are up 2-0 in the series (of 5) and it looks like England won the toss and will bat.

The Lambic Jazz Series: Vol.10 - Vol.9 - Vol.8 - Vol.7 - Vol.6 - Vol.5 - Vol.4 - Vol.3 - Vol.2 - Vol.1

Lambic Jazz Vol. 6

Tonight's listening was Christian Weidner's Choral (Pirouet). Alongside Weidner's alto sax are Antonio Palesano (p) and Daniel Schroteler (d). This album dates back to 2004 but it didn't land in my ears until a few years later (I guess it was sometime between 2008 & 2009 I think) - it escapes me now, but I may have been introduced to his playing by James Wylie. I was fortunate to spend some time with Christian (and James!) back in 2009 at Music Village. Not only was it fantastic to hear him in person but he also was very helpful and encouraging. I remember being blown away by how good his ears were.

Christian's alto tone is one of my favorites and it is melded with a wonderful melodic and lyrical conception which yields a very distinctive sound. Notes aren't thrown away - they all count. Weidner's improvisations make great use of the song's melody, why this approach isn't more widespread baffles me (you gotta play your chord scales and hip licks..... so killing!).

The album is very spacious and open, yet the individual pieces are no longer than 5 and half minutes and over half of the tracks clocking in at under 3 minutes. There is a flow and continuity throughout that feels almost suite-like. Even when the density increases the overall focus of the album remains. As I listen tonight a word that comes to mind is clarity. The clarity of the three individual's roles/lines/accompaniment and how it fits into the group and album overall. It is a recording I can return to again and again. Highly recommended.

Considering how much I enjoy his music I have been slack in not getting the last two quartet albums (it's on the cards!).

Accompanying the music tonight was Gueuze Girardin and up next is Sam Newsome's interview from the October 2016 issue of the NYC Jazz Record. Usually I read the online edition but I picked up the print version from Constellation last week.

I'll be back with more next week, here are the previous editions if you're interested: Vol.1 - Vol.2 - Vol.3 - Vol.4 - Vol.5 

Jazz April: week 3 listening

Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia)
It was hard to go wrong kicking off week 3 with a classic. Throughout the week I made my way through all four discs. Armstrong's breaks, stop time passages, phrasing, elasticity and tone worked their magic like they always do. Essential listening.

Jimmy Giuffre: Free Fall (Columbia)
Giuffre's trio with Steve Swallow and Paul Bley is a favorite of mine and I can still remember hearing my introduction to the trio via 1961 (the ECM reissue of Fusion and Thesis). This led to Free Fall and while it didn't grab me the way the earlier work did, I stuck with it. This week I put it on for the first time in about a year, and I was reminded again just how different this group was in the 60s avant-garde crowd. Be sure to check out the live recordings from this trio released on HatOLOGY.

Yusef Lateef: Jazz Moods (Savoy)
Recorded in 1957, this was Lateef's first release as a leader (although his second album was from a slightly earlier session). The opening notes from the argol - a double-tubed reed instrument with a drone pipe and a melody pipe - grab your attention and it is maintained throughout the album with each of the five tunes hitting a different flavor - there's blues, modal, 7/4, pedal tones and the pairing of flute and Curtis Fuller's trombone is a color you don't hear too often. This was Lateef's working band at the time and its focussed sound is an important contributing factor to the album overall.

Steve Lacy/Steve Potts: Tips (Corbett vs Dempsey)
I wrote a little about my sole Record Store Day purchase here. 

Christian Weidner: The Inward Song (Pirouet)
Seeing that Christian has a new album (along with another as a sideman) due out on Pirouet, had me reaching for this quartet album from 2010. He has a superb alto tone and melodic sensibility with the bonus that he never overplays his hand - check him out! The drumming of Samuel Rohrer really popped out to me this week. There's a bunch of music on Pirouet that I want to check out including albums by Anna Webber and Joris Roelofs in addition to the two mentioned above.

Ran Blake: Ghost Tones (A-side Records)
Released last year, this album features different line-ups - ranging from solo piano to sextet - tackling material by or associated with George Russell (plus a couple of songs by Blake). While, I gave it one spin last week and three more this week, I haven't been able to get into it just yet. I'm not afraid of letting an album grow on me though, and I have a feeling this one might sneak up on me.

Listening: Early May

Evan Parker - Chicago Solo

Evan Parker: Chicago Solo (Okka Disc 1995)
Parker's first solo disc devoted to the tenor saxophone (20 years after his first album of soprano solos). Glad I picked this disc up. 14 solos ranging from less than two - eight minutes in length. I gave this a couple of listens last week - Initial thoughts... quite different from his solo soprano tracks (even if only in the shortness of tracks). Some of it quite intimate sounding. Plenty of similarities too.... 'illusions of polyphony' a plenty. I have kept it out for more listening.

Kaum Quartet: At St. Audeon's Church (Plush 2008)
Fantastic alto saxophone quartet with Sean Mac Erlaine, Hayden Chisholm, Frank Gratkowski & Christian Weidner. I have been enjoying a few alto only groups of late - a post is in its infancy..stay tuned (or should that be detuned?).

Various Billie Holiday (Columbia box set) & Lester Young (30's-early 40's).
All Of Me, A Sailboat In The Moonlight, Sun Showers, You Go To My Head, Shoe Shine Boy, Pound Cake, Laughing At Life, Me Myself & I, Texas Shuffle, etc etc.

Billie & Pres could pretty much be a default entry for the listening lists!  In the not so distant future they will be the subject for an 'Impact Records' entry.

John Coltrane was revisited. A few select tracks ... "One Down, One Up", "Brazilia" and some others plus these albums:
Live At The Village Vanguard (1961) I listened to this quite a bit when I started getting into Eric Dolphy during my music school days.
Expressions (1967)
Ascension (1965) I first heard this shortly after hearing Ornette's "Free Jazz" and thinking... 'damm' - I had no idea what to expect.
Interstellar Space (1967....released 1974)
One of the things I am enjoying about the 'Friends of Jazz Free Jazz Project' is that I am revisiting a lot of music I haven't listened to in quite a while - as was the case with the 4 discs above..... I hadn't listened to them in years.

The next email will be #5 - subjects so far have included Lennie Tristano, Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman. Coltrane is up next.

Albert Ayler: Spiritual Unity (ESP 1965) also got a revisit as part of the project. I also re-watched the Swedish film "My Name is Albert Ayler." Recommended. Though I wouldn't mind hearing what the Swedes were saying.....I watched it online without subtitles.

Djivan Gasparyan: Heavenly Duduk (Network 1999)
An excellent release from all the free jazz :-)

Spring Listening

Sam Newsome: "Blue Soliloquy" (self release)
Newsome's solo soprano sax outing released in 2009.
Throughout The album Newsome incorporates techniques such as Multiphonics, Microtones, Slap tongue, and the Doppler effect.

I feel that the pieces are very arranged and perhaps a little more spontaneity would loosen things up a little. However, this highly organized manner of playing presets these techniques in a very approachable way for the uninitiated. The track lengths also helps -  of the 14 originals and a Monk tune, the majority fall in the 2 - 4 minute range ( with only two over 5 mins)
This is his second (of three) solo soprano albums - in time I will check out the others.

Trance Formation: "In Concert" (New Artists Records)
Connie Crothers (p) Ken Filiano (b) Andrea Wolper (v)  Don't expect your run-of-the-mill vocalist out front of a rhythm section here - Tranceformation are a collaborative trio performing eight free improvisations taken from two live performances in 2009/10 (a souvenir for me as I was at The Stone concert in 09... perhaps there's another post - live albums from gigs you attended?). Risks are taken, but never at the expense of the music or group sound - the three blend so well together resulting in pieces and an album that have wonderful continuity. I'm looking forward to hearing more from this exciting trio.  Recommended for those looking for more adventurous vocal recordings.

"Fo[u]r Alto: 4 Compositions by Frank Gratkowski" (Leo Records)

Saxophone quartet Four Alto playing Four Compositions For Four Alto Saxophones... oh, and the Anthony Braxton reference too. I think that covers the title.  The group is led by Frank Gratkowski and is rounded out with fellow German's Florian Bergmann, Benjamin Weidekamp & Christian Weidner.
I first heard this group in 2009 (fairly early in its life) during Hayden Chisholm's annual workshop in Greece. It took a little time but their first album was released at the end of 2012 (two other discs from Gratkowski were released at the same time). Microtonality looms large - you have been warned. I will post a bit more on this one later.


Miles Davis: "Kind of Blue" (Columbia) - see this entry.