INTAKT RECORDS – REVIEWS

SYLVIE COURVOISIER
CHIMAERA

Intakt CD 410 / 2023

Cover Web:SYLVIE COURVOISIER: CHIMAERA. Intakt CD 410

 

 


Sylvie Courvoisier (54) flytta til New York på slutten av 90-tallet. Der fant, eller rette sagt visste hun, at mye av kjernen til hennes musikkanskuelse og inspirasjon til videre utvikling befant seg. Gjennom en rekke utgivelser, konstellasjoner og konserter har hun siden fortalt oss at hun er en av de viktigste stemmene i moderne, gjerne avantgardistisk jazz.

Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen, Oct 23 2023 (NO)


Sylvie Courvoisier jest pianistką, kompozytorką oraz znakomitą improwizatorką.„Równie piękna jak tajemnicza” – tak o muzyce Courvoisier pisał „All Music Guide”. Urodzona w Lozannie w Szwajcarii, w 1998 roku przeprowadziła się do Nowego Jorku. Koncertowała i nagrywała z Johnem Zornem, Wadadą Leo Smithem, Joey’em Baronem, Ellery Eskelinem, Natem Wooley’em, Fredem Frithem, Yusefem Lateefem, Timem Berne, Joëlle Léandre, Erikiem Friedlanderem, Butchem Morrisem, Tony’m Oxley’em, Herbem Robertsonem, Tomaszem Stanko oraz z Ikue Mori i Susie Ibarra (w trio Mephista). Pianistka zrealizowała tuzin autorskich albumów, kilkadziesiąt jako artystka zapraszana do projektów innych muzyków. Jej nagrania znajdują się zarówno w katalogu ECM Records, Tzadik Records (Johna Zorna), jak i szwajcarskiej oficyny Intakt Records. Jest najciekawsze albumy to m.in. „Time Gone Out” – duet z Markiem Feldmanem, „D’Agala Sylvie Courvoisier Trio”, „Crop Circles”- duet z Mary Halvorson, „Miller’s Tale”- kolektywny kwartet z Evanem Parkerem, Ikue Mori i Markiem Feldmanem, „Salt Task” – trio z Chrisem Corsano i Natem Wooley’em.

Dionizy Piątkowski, ERA JAZZU, Oct 20 2023 (PL)


SYLVIE COURVOISIER hat sich für Chimaera (Intakt CD 410, 2xCD) durch Bilder von Odilon Redon (1840-1916) inspirieren lassen, vom roten Mohn auf 'Le pavot rouge', vom verdrehten Augapfel auf 'Partout des prunelles flamboient' [Flammende Augen überall], von der Chimäre mit den grünen Augen' (als weiterer Versuchung des HI. Antonius). 'La joubarbe aragnaineuse, der Spinnweb-Haus-wurz als ein surreales Gewächs, korrespondiert mit 'L'Araignée qui pleure und der Lithographie 'L'araignée, elle sourit, les yeux levés'.

Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy Newsletter, October 2023 (DE)


One way and another, Sylvie Courvoiser’s new album, Chimaera, contains the most sheerly beautiful music I’ve heard this year. Inspired by the paintings and drawings of Odilon Redon (1840-1916), these pieces recall the words of the French artist about his own work: “They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.” Without getting remotely literal about it, Courvoisier finds ways of creating a music parallel to such works as “Partout des prunelles flamboient (Everywhere eyeballs are ablaze)” and “Le pavout rouge (The red poppy)”, summoning dream-like textures that swirl and mingle, float and evaporate, creating pictures of their own.

Richard Williams, The blue moment, October 31 2023 (EN)


In case you want to be get STUNNED by a female MASTERPIECE in dark days, listen to this MUSIC coming from a deeper place in space. It is music that necessarily had to be created, had to come into existence and will enrichus immensely.

Henning Bolte, Europe Jazz Media Chart November 2023, Jazz'halo, November 2023 (EN)


Feature: 'Enfin la Mer' in two suites performed by Jouk Minor and his sextet (1978).

Other Aspects, WAYO Radio, October 01 2023 (EN)


Chimaera ist das neueste Projekt der Pianistin und Komponistin Sylvie Cour-voisier. Der Name ist Programm, vereint die Band doch mit Wadada Leo Smith, Nate Wooley, Drew Gress und Kenny Wollesen breites, schillerndes Klang-spektrum.

Kay Friedrichs, Klenkes Magazine (Aachener Zeitung), October 2023 Germany, (DE)


Sylvie Courvoisier gehört zu jenen Musikerinnen und Musikern, für die das Adjektiv ganzheitlich persönlich geschaffen scheint. Die Schweizerin denkt, empfindet und spielt ganzheitlich. Sie komponiert und sie improvisiert ganzheitlich. Sie lässt sich weder von Stilen, erst recht nicht von Moden leiten. Was sie musikalisch unternimmt, das ist zu aller erst individuell. Sie spielt ihre eigene Sprache. Auch wenn sie für ihr neues Projekt „Chimaera“ einige bedeutende Instrumentalisten der New Yorker Szene mit ins Studio genommen hat – das Ergebnis bleibt letztendlich Sylvies Musik.

Jörg Konrad, KultKomplott, November 22 2023 (DE)


Pianist and composer Sylvie Courvoisier has assembled a pretty amazing band for her latest release: Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley on trumpets, Christian Fennesz on guitar and electronics, Drew Gress on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums and vibraphone. The music they make on this six-track, nearly 90-minute double CD is expansive like iridescent mist slowly expanding to cover the landscape as far as you can see.

Phil Freeman, Stereogum, November 21 2023 (EN)


Toen de Franse pianiste Sylvie Courvoisier een compositieopdracht kreeg van het Sons d’Hiver Festival (2021) greep ze haar kans om een dreamteam samen te stellen. Het werd een internationale cast met trompettisten Wadada Leo Smith en Nate Wooley, bassist Drew Gress, drummer Kenny Wollesen (tevens op vibrafoon) en niemand minder dan Christian Fennez (gitaar, electronics).

Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz'halo, November 2023 (DE)


With a steady supply of fantastic music, 2023 offered an abundance of riches to fans of creative jazz. With groups spanning the gamut from small combos to large ensembles, there is a good deal of diversity on offer here, but what these artists all have in common is an uncompromising commitment to making music that transcends stylistic boundaries. Whether it is James Brandon Lewis' inspired dedication to gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, or Ava Mendoza's punk-meets-jazz aggression, or Steve Lehman's unique exploration of human/computer compositional possibilities, each of these outstanding releases exemplifies jazz's maverick tendencies.

Troy Dostert, All About Jazz, December 05 2023 (EN)


Chimaera draws inspiration from the paintings of French Symbolist artist Odilon Redon, often viewed as a forefather of Surrealism. His works are often dreamlike and find a great parallel in this recording by Sylvie Courvosier’s new sextet. The firepower behind this album – Courvoisier with Wadada Leo Smith, Nate Wooley, Christian Fennesz, Drew Gress, and Kenny Wolleson – is by itself notable. But it is the delicate construction of compositions in which shadowy mysteries emerge. Fennesz’s electronics are particularly critical as they disrupt any status quo that may develop.

Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Albums Of 2023, PostGenre Media, December 07 2023 (EN)


Pianisten Sylvie Courvoisiers nye epos er noe av det mest unike jeg har hort i ar. Men samtidig kan man ane ekko av bade Wadada Leo Smith (for ovrig en av to trom-petister som bidrar her) og sein Talk Talk. Her er vidstrakte, drommeliknende landskap og duvende, droneliknende rytmer.

Klassekampen Magazine, December 2023 (NO)


Best of 2023, The New York City Jazz Record, December 2023 USA (EN)

Best of 2023, The New York City Jazz Record, December 2023 USA (EN)


Recommended New Releases, The New York City Jazz Record, USA, January 2024 (EN)

Recommended New Releases, The New York City Jazz Record USA, January 2024 (EN)


Ispirato ai dipinti del pittore simbolista Odilon Redon, Chimaera è il nuovo ensemble della pianista svizzera, un sestetto con Wadada Leo Smith e Nate Wooley alle trombe, Christian Fennesz a chitarra ed elettronica, Drew Gress al contrabbasso e Kenny Wollesen a batteria e percussioni. La lunga, iniziale Le pavot rouge apre suadente e fragile come un fiore che si schiude prima dell'alba, con Fennesz a dare avvisaglie di pioggia elettrica in uno scenario incantato e sospeso. Ogni traccia sui due cd ha il titolo di un dipinto dell'artista francese: La joubarbe aragnaineuse procede per sprazzi, impressioni di colore quasi am-bient nell'intenzione , lasciandoci avvolti in un vapore di stupore. Si alza un po' di vento con Partout des prunelles flamboient, con l'elet-tronica, il piano e la batteria a muovere acque sino ad allora pla-cide, ma sono solo brevi lampi: il mood ritorna rarefatto, distante, tendente al silenzio. Sottili fino quasi a sparire La Chimère aux yeux vertes e la finale Le Sabot De Venus, anche loro benedette da infiniti grammi di grazia, da un passo bradicardico e da respiri lun-ghi. Batte lento e a basso volume il cuore di questo lavoro gravido di poesia, una lunga elegia da ascoltare di notte, in cuffia, mentre il mondo svanisce.

Nazim Comunale, Blow Up Magazine, Italy, January 2024 (IT)


Mit ”Chimaera” schlägt Sylvie Courvoisier einen völlig neuen Weg ein. Zwar sind mit Bassist Drew Gress und Schlagzeuger Kenny Wollesen ihre treuen Trio-Partner weiter mit von der Partie, doch die Pianistin aus Lausanne hat für dieses Projekt ihre Basis-Formation zu einem illustren Sextett erweitert. Gemeinsam mit den Trompetern Nate Wooley und Wadada Leo Smith und dem österreichischen Elektroniker und Gitarristen Christian Fennesz begibt sich das Trio auf eine gleichsam wundersame wie spannende Klangreise. Auf den insgesamt sechs Stücken geht es Courvoisier vor allem um die Vermittlung von Stimmung und Atmosphäre.

Rudolf Amstutz, Jazz N'More Magazine, Switzerland, January 2024 (DE)


We're back with a bang! First up, Sylvie Courvoisier presents her new group Chimaera in a dark setting of abstract pieces inspired by French artist, Odilon Redon. Meanwhile, the young upstarting pianist Henrique Gomide delivers a wonderful selection of compositions and improvisations inspired by the music of Brazil on Portais. Myele Manzanza expertly leads his trio in the fourth instalment of his Crisis & Opportunity series, entitled Meditations, and Jakob Bro features in a recording of Strands — Live at the Danish Radio Concert Hall along with the help of Palle Mikkelborg and Marilyn Mazur. Last but not least, we take a listen to the final album from Tony Oxley, the individualistic drummer who passed away on Boxing Day.

Barney Whittaker, Presto Music, January 12 2024 (EN)


Es beginnt mit einem geruhsamen Bass-Solo von Drew Gress. In der Folge wird der neue Doppelsilberling der New Yorker Pianistin mit Schweizer Wurzeln ein wenig undurchsichtig. Der ersten Track, Le pavot rouge (Roter Mohn), man findet ihn im Netz auch als geschlossenes Sushi-Restaurant in Lyon, immerhin gute 20 Minuten lang, klingt zu Beginn fast wie gepflegter Loungejazz. Das hat zweifellos auch mit den beschaulichen Klangflächen des Christian Fennesz zu tun, ein schon außergewöhnlicher Musizierpartner der Courvoisier.

Felix Hauptmann, freiStil Magazin, January 2024 (AT)


With a steady supply of fantastic music, 2023 offered an abundance of riches to fans of creative jazz. With groups spanning the gamut from small combos to large ensembles, there is a good deal of diversity on offer here, but what these artists all have in common is an uncompromising commitment to making music that transcends stylistic boundaries. Whether it is James Brandon Lewis' inspired dedication to gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, or Ava Mendoza's punk-meets-jazz aggression, or Steve Lehman's unique exploration of human/computer compositional possibilities, each of these outstanding releases exemplifies jazz's maverick tendencies. While Courvoisier routinely offers surprises and wonders with each release, the always-unpredictable pianist has surpassed even her own inimitable standards with Chimaera, a beguiling and transfixing musical statement. The two-trumpet tandem of Nate Wooley and Wadada Leo Smith is essential, but so too are the electronics and guitar textures provided by Christian Fennesz. And with the sinuous grooves maintained by Courvoisier's regular partners, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen, the album is genuinely addictive, revealing more of its marvels with each encounter.

Troy Dostert's Best Releases Of 2023, All About Jazz, December 05 2023 (EN)


A star sextet: the pianist is accompanied by Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley on trumpet, Christian Fennesz on guitar and electronics, Drew Gress on bass and Kenny Wolleson on bass and vibes. Inspired by the Symbolist paintings of Odilon Redon, the music on Chimaera shimmers expansively, full of dreamlike ambience and luminous textures.

Kevin Whitlock, Jazzwise Magazine UK, February 2024 (EN)


Duration can be a double-edged sword. When it’s handled wrong, longer-form music can just feel long. And in an age when a preponderance of music is served up in three or four minute-long bites, a tune doesn’t need to be too long to feel like a bit of a chew. But duration can justify itself by allowing a listener to untether the listening experience from recognizing structural elements and marking their repetitions. That’s certainly the case with the music on Chimaera, the debut album by a combo led by Sylvie Courvoisier that bears the same name.

Bill Meyer, dusted, January 24 2024 (EN)


Auf ihrem neuen Album spielen Drew Gress und Kenny Wolle-sen - also Courvoisiers Triobe-setzung -, aber auch Größen der New Yorker Jazzszene wie Wadada Leo Smith und Nate Wooley. Die Supergroup wird ergänzt durch den österreichischen Musiker Christian Fennesz, der einen komplett neuen Aspekt in die Kompositionen von Courvoisier eingebracht hat: wohlige, wabernde

Sophie Emilie Beha, Jazzthetik Magazine, February 2024 (DE)


Met Chimaera neemt pianist Sylvie Courvoisier ons mee naar de droomwereld van de symbolistische kunstenaar Odilon Redon. Twee trompettisten zijn van de partij, Wadada Leo Smith en Nate Wooley, beiden bekend om hun verfijnde gevoel voor dynamiek. Bassist Drew Gress en slagwerker Kenny Wollesen kennen we van hun vermogen grenzen te overschrij-den tussen rock, impro en jazz. Courvoi-sier schreef uitgesponnen stukken waarin plotseling uit het niets beelden opduiken en versmelten, terwijl de tijd er nauwelijks toe doet.

Ken Vos, Jazzism Magazine, 2024 (DE)


Am Donnerstagabend spielte die in New York lebende Schweizer Pianistin Sylvie Courvoisier in der Kammgarn ein Solokonzert reich an pianistischer Virtuosität und polaren Gefühlslagen.

Lukas Baumann, Schaffhauser Nachrichten, 24 Februar 2024 (DE)


This is the first time, to my knowledge, that US-based Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier has led a sextet and offered music spanning two CDs. Originally composed in response to a commission from the French festival Sons d’hiver, Chimaera‘s music is both highly written and open to improvisation. The pianist’s six themes, with titles inspired by works by the painter Odilon Redon, range in length from 8 minutes to over 20 minutes, making them sound tableaux where the creation of an atmosphere is the main concern. This atmosphere is essentially based on an unusual instrumentation where the two trumpets of Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley shine, and where Christian Fennesz’s guitar and electronic effects play a major role. In this context, the pianist’s usual trio doesn’t function as a traditional rhythm section, but participates in the elaboration of the group sound, with drummer Kenny Wollesen occasionally swapping his kit for a vibraphone.

Thierry QUÉNUM, Couleurs Jazz, April 24 2024 (EN)


New York-based pianist Sylvie Courvoisier is an omni-present voice, whether playing solo, working with her long-standing trio along with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen, in collaboration with regular partners like Mary Halvorson, Ikue Mori, Cory Smythe, Nate Wooley, and Ned Rothenberg, or forging new partnerships with musicians like Wadada Leo Smith, many of which have been documented on the Intakt label. Add the new ensemble Chimaera to that list, which brings together Gress and Wollesen, the duo trumpets of Wooley and Smith, and the Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz. The project was originally commissioned for the 2021 Sons d’Hiver Festival in Paris, and was inspired by the work of the late 19th/early 20th century French Symbolist painter Odilon Redon whose work moved from post-impressionism toward abstraction.

Michael Rosenstein, Point Of Departure, June 2024 (EN)


L’inizio è morbido, dondolante, con un riff di contrabbasso e pianoforte che coinvolge in maniera sottile col suo sapore afrocubano e con il vibrafono che crea atmosfera; le due trombe, sia in momenti solistici, sia in altri in cui si intrecciano l’una con l’altra, sono misurate, minimali, ma libere, consistenti e indagatrici; anche la batteria è attentissima; la chitarra e l’elettronica introducono qua e là delle dissonanze, degli spiazzamenti, che però sono sempre molto controllati: il flusso del primo brano, chiuso tornando al riff iniziale, dura mezz’ora d’orologio, che passa senza neanche accorgersene. Con Chimaera, da cui ha preso il titolo uno dei migliori album di jazz del 2023 (Cd doppio pubblicato nell’ottobre scorso dalla elvetica Intakt), l’idea di Sylvie Courvoisier è quella di fermarsi più a lungo di quel che le è consueto su delle idee musicali, in brani piuttosto lunghi, in cui – dice la pianista – c’è uno sviluppo che è come quello di un sogno: il progetto – originato da una commissione dell’edizione 2021 del festival parigino Sons d’hiver – è ispirato a Odilon Redon, pittore francese che si distinse per la sua inclinazione simbolista e il suo interesse per la dimensione appunto del sogno.

Marcello Lorrai, il manifesto, July 19 2024 (IT)


 

 

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