INTAKT
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SCHLIPPENBACH TRIO
FEATURES
Intakt CD 250 / 2015
Das SCHLIPPENBACH TRIO ist ein seltenes Exempel von Männer- & Künstlerfreundschaft. Selbst nach 45 gemeinsamen Jahren ging Paul Lovens, Evan Parker & Alexander von Schlippenbach auf ihren rituellen 'Winterreisen' nie das gewisse Prickeln verloren, die spitzbübische Lust am Rock'n'Rollen. Altersweisheit hin und Abgeklärtheit her, den Abgleich von Essenz und Fluktuation, "zwischen Furor und Elegie", wie Bert Noglik es nennt, der in seinen Linernotes auch treffend von einem komplexen "Beziehungsgefüge von Synchronizität und Asynchronizität" spricht, konnten die drei alten Hasen in ihrem Spiel immer wieder so gestalten, dass der Funke über die Routine hinweg springt. Im Dezember 2013 machten sie Station im Radiostudio Zürich, heraus kam Features (Intakt CD 250). Wenn Kammermusik vor der Schönberg-Schwelle heute abgestanden oder dieseits von Boulez krampfhaft klingt, dann auch im Hinblick auf die zeitgemäßere Denk- und die selbstverständlichere, quasi 'natürlichere' Spielweise dieser Graubärte, die die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten mit Piano, Tenorsaxophon und Percussion dem Ende der Geschichte entgegen trieben. Ich meine immer noch, dass Parker am Soprano spezieller und sensationeller, am Tenor aber reflektierter klingt. Nicht dass man da Leuten beim Denken zuhört, die Sache ist komplexer. Ich höre da eine intelligente Vitalität, die 40 Jahre und mehr rückwärts und einige Sekunden Zukunft im Augenblick vereint - rumorend, lyrisch, ja, lyrisch, flirrend und kantig, auch dringlich und konfliktreich, wobei die Knoten immer wieder spielerisch geknüpft und gelöst werden. Delikates Mikado wechselt mit Tagträumerischem oder klar Konturiertem. Man könnte Bände schreiben über den fragilen Krawall, den Lovens schlägt, über Schlippenbachs Mäßigung, über Parkers Neptunistik. [BA 85 rbd]
Even in the absolute absence of a songbook, the Schlippenbach Trio still works within what could arguably be called a semi-repertory framework. With countless gigs behind them, sea-changing surprises are now relative and the joy comes instead from hearing exactly how the three members rearrange their customary personalities and interactions in real time to create a chapter both part and apart of what’s come before. Circular breathing by saxophonist Evan Parker is all but certain to be part of the performance package at some point. Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach will likely reference Monk in some fashion, however obliquely, in his rhapsodic improvisations and an array of gravity-negating rhythmic suspensions and ablations will factor into Paul Lovens activity from behind his specialized kit. Even the band photo with an obligingly glowering Parker that customarily graces accompanying notes feels like an old reliable. For Features, the trio’s latest studio offering (and Intakt’s 250th release!), the focus strays from long-form free improvisation in favor of a series of fifteen cleanly-parceled mostly-miniatures. “Feature 10” is the exception, stretching to eight minutes and change and folding in some the trio’s most heated exchanges. The others range from just over two-minutes on the opening piece in which Parker and Lovens sit out and Schlippenbach works through a succession of held notes laced with decay to around five-and-half with “Feature 4” and “Feature 13” where Parker’s jazz leanings are most prominent with a dry tone and fluttering articulation that almost sounds like the free improv descendant of classic West Coast Cool. Each of the pieces possesses an array of spontaneously-rendered attributes to recommend it despite the generic numerical sequence used to differentiate them. As has been Parker’s penchant for the last couple years in this context, he plies only tenor. Schlippenbach regularly dampens notes with pedals and Lovens is prone to clashingly abrupt exclamations, the terse silences between exaggerated as a result. Parker’s aerated articulations on “Feature 5” bring to mind Jimmy Giuffre before hardening and souring against Schlippenbach’s dark keyboard ministrations. Similarly, there’s a bit of Paul Bley in the pianist’s pedal-weighted patterns on “Feature 6”, a piece that Parker abstains from until nearly the midway point where he expels another extended stream of swirling tenor steam. The compressed, overtone-saturated torrent at the center of “Feature 11” presents yet another variant on one of his signature maneuvers and while the industrious repartee throughout the set is rife with familiarity and even precedence in the lexicon of their long tenure together, the music still ends up feeling the furthest thing from rote or recondite.
Andrey Henkin, The New York City Jazz Record, April 2015
11 best jazz albums of 2015 This CD must be in the running for the Least Appealing Title for a Jazz Album prize, but fortunately the contents are livelier than the packaging. The ponderous liner notes tell us the album is a summary of how far the trio has come in 45 years playing together, which is evidently a very long way indeed. The three players – pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens – are veterans of the ‘free jazz’ scene. Some devotees of free jazz make a fetish of holding any echoes of ‘normal’ jazz at arm’s length. These three have been around too long to be dogmatic, and much of the pleasure of this album lies in savouring the little hints of blues and vamping stride patterns and old-fashioned ‘licks’ that flit across the music’s surface. The opening meditation from von Schlippenbach sounds like his take on 1950s classical modernism, but lurking inside the star-like points of sound is the ghost of a 'jazzy' seventh chord. Each of the following fourteen 'Features' is like a little character study, launching off with an idea – a repeated note, a whirling figure on the sax or cymbals – and allowing it to wander where it will. Several times a number ends with a descent down into the bass, so neatly contrived it might have been arranged in advance. The most haunting Feature is the eleventh, where Parker's long multiphonic sound, like a bird that never needs to breathe, is framed in delicate piano and percussive commentaries. Free jazz can never be 'easy listening', but the witty, relaxed interplay on this album comes close to it.
A intervalles plus ou moins réguliers, ce vieux trio (voir ci-dessous) revient hanter nos étagères. Les vieux copains, on les connaît, on les écoute, on connait leurs mécanismes et l'on sait aussi qu'aujourd'hui ils ne vont pas fissurer la routine. Mais les vieux copains ne sont pas de vieux copains pour rien. Ils ont étoilé de noires nuits, sauvé de mornes journées. Et ils sont toujours dans la cité. Les figures cassantes d'Evan Parker s'oublient parfois, les fusées de son vieux ténor ne possèdent plus la dureté d'antan. Mais le phrasé est toujours aussi intense, soutenu. Paul Lovens s'arrime de résonances, roule sur la peau, fusionne les métaux. Alex von Schlippenbach soutient l'espace, lui chante louanges et dithyrambes. Et si la tension du début s'est domestiquée au profit de l'attente et de la résonance, restent toujours la présence, les duos inspirés (souffle continu contre quincaillerie percussive, ténor rugueux contre frappe hirsute). Et quoi de mieux que les vieux copains pour réinventer le monde Luc Bouquet © Le son du grisli, Avril 2015
Jürg Solothurnmann, Jazz'n'More, Mai 2015
Evan Parker es uno de los músicos más versátiles entre sus contemporáneos, como lo demuestra su incursión en diversos estilos que van desde el free jazz y la música contemporánea hasta la electrónica y el rock experimental. Ha colaborado con músicos de talla mundial: Michael Nyman en lo docto; Squarepusher en la electrónica de vanguardia y hasta con bandas consagradas del rock alternativo como Spiritualized. Una nueva mixtura de estilos se lleva a cabo en este disco compuesto por quince composiciones, todas llamadas 'Feature' con su respectiva numeración. En ellas, el saxofonista británico hace gala de su exquisita técnica en el saxo tenor, atravesando el álbum con ejecuciones que van desde el free-jazz más desenfrenado hasta aquellas piezas dotadas de cierta elegancia y distinción, que lo emparentan con el jazz de álbumes imprescindibles del género: "Kind of Blue" de Miles Davis o el suave sonido de composiciones como 'Naima' de John Coltrane. Es claro que no solo Parker es la estrella de este Schlippenbach Trio, sino que también los demás integrantes: los alemanes Alexander Von Schlippenbach en el piano y Paul Lovens en batería, quienes conforman una de las bandas más antiguas que se encuentran vigentes dentro de la esfera de la libre improvisación. Vienen tocando juntos desde hace más de 40 años, lo cual fue corroborado con el lanzamiento de "First Recordings" (2014) de Trost Records, edición que da cuenta de grabaciones realizadas en 1971. Musicalmente, el registro se puede dividir en improvisaciones en que el sonido pertenece a la música docta, tal como la pieza 'Feature 1', en que el piano es un oscuro y único protagonista; o en otras como en las creaciones '5, 11 y 13', en que existe un abstracto diálogo entre el piano y la batería. También se puede percibir el alma del jazz clásico en 'Feature 7' y en la siguiente, 'Feature 8'. Existen otras de carácter intermedio como 'Feature 4', en que pareciera que el espíritu de la Segunda Escuela de Viena y sus evoluciones se llevara adelante, pero mezclado con free jazz. Así también ocurre con la breve pieza número 9 o con 'Feature 14', en la cuales claramente se puede percibir la atonalidad del piano, acompañado de las escalas precisas de Parker. Por otra parte, hay creaciones cercanas al free jazz, tal como en 'Feature 2 y 3', en que se manifiestan los postulados que ha explotado Parker, de más de 70 años de edad, durante muchas décadas, y que se demuestran no solo en su radical sonido, sino también en sus palabras: "Espero -si es que hay un significado cultural más amplio- que las personas se encuentren como individuos, que tengan la fuerza para vivir sus propias vidas, que puedan decir lo que piensan y hablar en voz alta. Actualmente las corporaciones globales le dicen a la gente qué pensar; en lugar de eso, necesitamos que la gente piense por sí misma. Eso sería, espero, el mensaje de esta música". Vehemencia intelectual llevada al disco y que se encuentra también en el solo de saxo de 'Feature 6, 10, 12' (la cual cuenta con percusiones impresionantes) y '15'. Probablemente no se trate de los trabajos más arriesgados de Parker, sino de un álbum reposado. Sin embargo, la importancia de "Features" radica principalmente, en la perdurable continuidad histórica de Schlippenbach Trio y, sobre todo, en la persistencia del radicalismo y el ejercicio de la libertad creativa. Pocos son los que llevan con orgullo la anarquía intelectual durante tantas décadas. Se trata, pues, de un ejemplo de hidalguía y valentía totales. Escucha fragmentos de todos los tracks, en www.intaktrec.ch/250-a.htm Carlos Navarro Acosta, rockaxis.com
Christian Broecking, Berliner Zeitung, 2-3. Mai 2015
In a change of pace from their previous outing—the superb long form concert recording Bauhaus Dessau (Intakt, 2010) -the longstanding Schlippenbach Trio has created a program of 15 concise improvisations, captured during a two day stopover in Zurich during their customary winter tour schedule. Such practice stands as far from unprecedented in the unit's 43 year history. Inevitably they have mellowed since their early days (after all both pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and saxophonist Evan Parker are over 70 now) and the palette they choose to work from appears more limited compared to say Pakistani Pomade (FMP, 1973). But that's because they have developed a collective language which allows them to say what they need and not a jot more. Brevity precludes neither intensity or diversity. The energy hasn't gone, but it has been largely replaced by penetrating conversation. On some cuts ("Feature 3," "Feature 4") they touch on no less a number of moods than might be encountered in a more protracted performance. Of course they may not be sustained to the same degree, but there is the same level of alchemy on display via individual virtuosity placed entirely at the service of near telepathic democratic interchange. Conversely sometimes they do sustain a feeling as on the dreamy "Feature 7." Even though Schlippenbach often leads, the ensuing pieces advance as a group discussion through a variety of approaches. At over eight minutes "Feature 10" is the longest track, and also the one which has the most distinctive structure. A squally beginning gives way to a rambunctious tenor saxophone/ drum duet which proceeds in synchronous eruptions, as Paul Lovens pushes Parker with a rumbling tattoo. Schlippenbach rejoins, then continues in percussive dialogue, with Lovens drumming now more sparse and tappy, before a fiery close in which Parker spits staccato gobbets. As a package the disc provides the opportunity to put the threesome's workings under the microscope and may particularly appeal to those who prefer to digest their improv in short elegant bursts rather than dig in for an extended session. JOHN SHARPE, All About Jazz, May 4, 2015
Reiner Kobe, Jazzpodium, Mai 2015
Auch Irrwege führen zu einem Ziel Schlippenbach Trio (Alexander von Schlippenbach, Klavier, Evan Parker, Tenorsaxophon, Paul Lovens, Schlagwerk): Features. Intakt Records/Harmonia Mundi Hans-Jürgen Linke, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11. Mai 2015
François-René Simon, Jazzmagazine, Paris, Mai 2015
Chris Joris, Jazzmozaiek, Belgium, 2/2015
he fact that the Schlippenbach Trio (Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano, Evan Parker on saxes and Paul Lovens on drums) has released a new album on the Swiss label Intakt just now is very delicate since Trost Records has just recently put out their first recordings from 1972 (read the review here). However, this gives listeners the possibility to gain insight in the musical universe of free jazz's longest existing band (they have been playing together regularly for almost 45 years now). Of course they do not sound like they did in their beginnings - and there are many reasons for this. In an interview he gave for a documentary on the trio Evan Parker was talking about one of them, something he calls bio-feedback. Parker says: What they have to offer their audience instead today is a fully evolved set/arsenal of notes and sounds, of rhythmic forms, which have been continually developed over the years in an improvisational process. But for the musicians there is also the danger of repeating yourself, of becoming your own cliché, that everything becomes ritualized. On the other hand the fact that you cannot avoid certain rituals after playing together for so many years also "produces a tension, a climate of focus, of concentration, between us, that we wouldn't arrive at if we didn't have that ritualized expectation," as Parker put it. Features, a programmatic title for this album,is a collection of 15 serially numbered sketches, presenting all the features which are characteristic for the sound this outstanding trio has created – the Monk allusions (Feature 1, 6 and 8), their jazz impetus (Schlippenbach clearly distinguishes free jazz from improvised music), the aspects of new classical music (Feature 3 and 7), Parker's circular breathing (Feature 3), his ability to listen and to step on board at the right moment, Schlippenbach's banging, his clusters and his heavy 12-tone-chords (Feature 5), the bumpy twists and turns (Feature 10), Lovens' extended techniques, his unique drum sound in general. But there are also surprising elements: Parker seems to have discovered his love for melodies on this album, the meditative approach is mainly due to his playing. More than ever Features is a submersion in sound, especially in silence, maybe due to the fact that the album was recorded in a studio. And, as Bert Noglik, the author of the excellent lines notes, puts it: "The band has developed a quality which emerges spontaneously but arises not least thanks to the years of accumulated experience; nothing is stated, noted, planned in advance; the studio atmosphere makes things transparent, things that are obscured in the hectic live atmosphere are brought to the surface here." After all these years the Schlippenbach Trio is interpreting its own history. They have become self-aware, aware of the world they have created and now play in. More and more they have become aware of their own mythology, their notion of the magic Schlippenbach Trio. Martin Schray, freejazzblog, USA, Monday, April 20, 2015
Edwin Pouncey, Jazzwise, August 2015
Laten we een keer de regels overtreden en deze goede wijn voor de verandering eens wel een krans geven, dat mag wel na 45 jaar! Daarmee doel ik op 'Features', de nieuwe cd van het Schlippenbach Trio. De titel is niet toevallig gekozen, zo schetst het cd-boekje. Dit album is een soort van staalkaart van 45 jaar samenspel van pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, drummer Paul Lovens en saxofonist Evan Parker. Niet dat de heren van plan zijn te stoppen, gelukkig niet, maar 45 jaar samenspelen verdient natuurlijk wel een feestje, of een krans. De grote kracht van dit trio ligt in die lange ervaring met elkaar. De heren, alle drie grootmeesters in de vrije improvisatie, zijn - en dat is vanaf de eerst noot duidelijk - volledig toegewijd aan hun gezamenlijke missie: "Nicht stillstehen, weiter an der Musik feilen, an ihren feinen Details arbeiten, an ihrem Fluss, ihrer inneren Kraft, auf dass sich grösste Begeisterung und grösste Klahrheit einstellen." Aldus Bert Noglik in datzelfde cd-boekje. Wat deze heren kunnen, is dingen laten gebeuren. in 'Feature 7' zit ongeveer evenveel muziek als stilte. De klaterende loopjes van Von Schlippenbach die hij uitgebreid laat na-ijlen. De weinige, maar gerichte slagen van Lovens. En dan Parker, die op tenorsax er bijna voorzichtig bijkomt. Pure poëzie wat hier gebeurt. Ook 'Feature 11' is zo'n wonder van subtiliteit. De ijle, mistige klanken van Parker en het ritselende spel van Lovens op de bekkens vormen een boeiend geheel, waar Von Schlippenbach zijn noten tussen strooit. En natuurlijk laat Parker op gezette tijden horen waar hij met zijn circular breathing-techniek toe in staat is, bijvoorbeeld in 'Feature 3'. Ook dit album is dus weer een waardige schijf in wat gerust een eindeloze reeks mag worden. Ga zo door heren! Ben Taffijn, Jazz en meer - Weblog, 6 Augustus 2015
Schlippenbach Trio: Features review – improvised by master crafstmen The trio of Alex von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens are nowadays that enemy of free-improv purity: an institution (the three have played together for 45 years). But if they can almost unerringly read each other's minds, their methods have never hardened into habit, and their work over the decades has immense variety. There are 15 numbered Features here, and they are tautly concise, and often defined by improvised openings by one or other participant that shape their developing character. Feature 1 begins very melodically, developing with logical rigour and ends on a haunting multiphonic sustained tone. Some pieces weave Parker's nimble mid-range tenor sax lines through percussive backdrops of banging chords and Lovens' light, scuttling patterns; some are soft and ballad-like. Feature 6 highlights Schlippenbach as a brusque romantic; Feature 8 sounds like jazzy call-and-response; Feature 11 is a tone poem for Parker's remarkable textural palette. It's unpremeditated music executed by master craftsmen.
Reinventarsi, aggiungendo tale onere e sforzo estetico a quanto già espresso in termini (re)inventivi da parte di un trio "da battaglia", non è impresa improba e nemmeno improbabile se tornano in gioco tre campioni del talento istantaneo: già positivamente toccati dalla precedente prova Bauhaus Dessau, riconduciamo attenzioni e ascolto verso i prodigi del trio Schlippenbach-Parker-Lovens (in questo caso intitolato al primo ma senza che ciò scalfisca l'egualitaria, intima natura di collettivo creativo).
Les disques qui vous ont (peut-être) échappé durant l'année passée Le Schlippenbach Trio est un groupe de briscards de la free music, le pianiste et ses compères Evan Parker (ténor sax) et Paul Lovens (batterie) jouent ensemble depuis 45 ans ! Mais les uns comme les autres ont évolué et pris du recul ; ce n'est plus le free dévastateur des années 70, et leurs quinze pièces directement improvisées sont à la fois très différentes et parfaitement cohérentes. On appréciera particulièrement le jeu lyrique et "coltranien" de Parker. Trois géants : « Features » (Intakt 250). Déjà auteur de deux disques en trio (avec Niggli et Michel Godard), l'accordéoniste italien Luciano Biondini se présente cette fois en solo et réinterprète – il compose également – une série de belles mélodies populaires italiennes, en jouant sur la tradition folklorique méditerranéenne et l'improvisation jazz ; toute la nostalgie poétique que véhicule cet instrument quand il est si bien joué se retrouve dans « Senza fine » (Intakt 255) (OUI, on aime !) Enfin, nous sommes toujours heureux de retrouver ce beau duo de vingt ans, Marilyn Crispell (piano) et Gerry Hemingway (batterie, percussion, vibraphone), qui ne s'attache qu'à l'essentiel : une musique totale, remarquable et passionnante : « Table of Changes » (Intakt 246). …
Guido Festinese, Il Manifesto, Jan 2016
Rosarita Crisaft, July 18, 2017 All About Jazz Italia |