Vorig jaar was het vijftig jaar geleden dat Eric Dolphy, onverwachts en veel te vroeg, overleed. Het inspireerde Aki Takase en Alexander von Schlippenbach om een eerbetoon te organiseren voor deze grootmeester. Een van de concerten van die serie verscheen eind vorig jaar bij Intakt onder de naam 'So Long, Eric!' op cd. Voor dit eerbetoon trommelden de beide pianisten een keur aan internationale artiesten bij elkaar, waarvan er twee ooit nog met Dolphy hebben samengewerkt, slagwerker Han Bennink en vibrafonist Karl Berger.

Het album bestaat, hoe kan het ook anders, volledig uit composities van Dolphy, in spannende arrangementen van Von Schlippenbach en Takase. Immers, Dolphy heeft nooit de beschikking gehad over een band met twee pianisten, twee drummers, twee bassisten en zes blazers!

Von Schlippenbach is beslist trouw gebleven aan de originele composities van Dolphy. Ze zijn allemaal duidelijk te onderscheiden, maar hij voegt zeker ook het een en ander toe. Zo start 'Out To Lunch!', de titeltrack van het enige officiële album dat Dolphy voor Blue Note maakte, met een slagwerkduet tussen Bennink en Heinrich Köbberling, waarna de rest van de band het thema inzet, maar dan natuurlijk veel zwaarder georkestreerd. Het origineel werd tenslotte uitgevoerd door een kwintet. Wat ook opvalt is dat Von Schlippenbach en de zijnen kiezen voor een minder strak arrangement. Zo zet Nils Wogram een trombonesolo neer die duidelijk eigentijds is. Ook de schrijnende, piepende en krakende trompetsolo van Axel Dörner gaat een paar stappen verder dan dat Freddie Hubbard ging in het origineel.

In 'Serene', een nummer uit de tijd dat Dolphy bij Prestige zat, kiest Von Schlippenbach voor een arrangement waarin alleen de blazers te horen zijn. Eerst horen we Wogram en vervolgens Henrik Walsdorff op altsax. Met de overige blazers erbij ontstaat er een subtiel en melodieus geblazen setting, een soort van serenade. Het arrangement geeft een bijzondere lading aan dit nummer.

De versie van 'Miss Ann', eveneens daterend van rond 1960, duurt ruim twee keer zo lang als het origineel. Takase kiest hier ook voor een wat lager tempo. Tevens is deze versie dramatischer, ruiger. Het is goed terug te horen in de schurende tenorsax solo van Tobias Delius. In 'Hat And Beard', eveneens afkomstig van 'Out To Lunch!', starten de beide pianisten met een duet waar het thema reeds vaag doorheen klinkt. Zodra de rest van de band zich erbij voegt, ontvouwt dit thema zich verder. Al is ook hier de structuur veel opener en losser, speelser bijna, dan in het origineel.

Als er één ding duidelijk wordt na beluisteren van deze cd is het dat Dolphy een uitstekende componist was. Hij heeft de wereld een aantal prachtige nummers nagelaten, die ook vijftig jaar na dato nog steeds zeer de moeite waard zijn. Waarvan akte!

https://draaiomjeoren.blogspot.com/2015/05/cd-aki-takase-alexander-von.html

When it comes to serious improvised music, tribute discs are as likely to be a bane as a boon. That’s because the artist involved faces a double challenge. Firstly can the player salute the honoree in such a way that the music will amplify rather than diminish that person’s reputation? Plus if that’s done properly will the resulting product be imaginative rather than an unoriginal run though of familiar tunes? Luckily the sessions here stay away from the overly familiar Miles-Louis-Duke-Trane team to honor less frequently venerated innovators. But while each session is enjoyable and while there are pleasurable and cultivated sounds on tap, none attains the level of creative freshness that the prototypes did.

Trying to avoid the curse of emulation, alto saxophonist Kathrin Lemke and her eight-piece Heliocentric Counterblast ensemble, perform her original compositions along with classics first recorded by Saturian-American honoree Sun Ra (1914-1993) and his Arkestra. Some, such as “NepTune”, which are borne on waves of hand-claps, harmonized horns and a walking bass line, engender genuine excitement. However all sound so close to the Ra oeuvre, that even if they’re not pastiches of other Ra compositions – which is what “Sat-ancient-Urn-Aiethopia” is literally – they could be mistaken for them.

Taken as a whole the recreations are professional enough and often move with unabashed swing. Plus just as long as the group pitches its variants on Ra’s simpler music so that it resembles so-called Jungle band music which the Arkestra intuited from earlier classics by Fletcher Henderson, Heliocentric Counterblast is on solid ground – or perhaps more appropriately operating in the correct part of outer space. However a tune such as “Outro” with its combination of yelping trombone and spacey synthesizer runs sounds more like Earth, Wind & Fire than “We Are Not of This Earth”. What is a bit unsettling though are the chants. Try as they may the players’ harmonies can’t equal those of June Tyson, Michael Ray et. al and the sharp ear can note several non-English inflections as band members vocalize.

With the negatives out of the way, though, Planetary Tunes can be enjoyed for what it is. Consisting of some of the most accomplished Berlin-based improvisers, not only does the group integrate contrapuntal pulses and straightforward energy, but there are many outstanding solos. With Andreas Dormann’s jumping baritone saxophone blats and Mike Majkowski`s tough double bass lines holding down the bottom, everyone is granted freedom, often in surprising ways. For instance, among the screeches, scrimps and electronic wiggles on “Saturn” Lemke creates a sweet Pete Brown-styled solo whose subversive old-timey-ness would have appealed to Ra. “Sat-ancient-Urn-Aiethopia” is one of the tracks that showcases the firm, hard trumpet work of Nikolaus Neuser, abetted by the convinced Tranesque – not John Gilmoresque, though – tenor saxophone of Dirk Steglich. Plus on “Fate in a Pleasant Mood”, Niko Meinhold is able to use his keyboard to emulate slick guitar runs and space harp whizzes, while with the same facility his piano playing moves from night-club moderation to pseudo-ragtime. Overall; though, there are few instances where the band reaches true Arkestra transcendence. Playing up Sun Ra’s party-time eccentricity and futurism at the expense of his commitment to Black music in many forms may be the one fashion a European band can honor Ra’s music. If that foreshortened goal is a measure of success, then Lemke and Heliocentric Counterblast score on their own terms.

Sun Ra’s musical longevity may have overcome his Jazz obscurity, which wasn’t the case with South African alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana (1938-1990). Part of the Apartheid-era Diaspora that led many of his fellow musicians to leave home, Pukwana’s mix of Freebop plus Africanized rhythms and compositions were featured in bands such as The Blue Notes, Brotherhood of Breath and his own units. But knowledge of his distinctive soloing was limited to a select few. Organized by drummer Andrew Scott, Duduvudu seeks to change that perception. Featuring a dozen tracks played by a total of 29 musicians, sessions took place in London in 2009 and San Francisco at a later date.

Sincere in his fandom, Scott has even managed to round up a half-dozen players who worked with Pukwana in his heyday to join the band. As expressive as some of the arrangements and solo work are however, the drummer’s focus on Pukwana’s blues-dance-gospel side risks reducing the alto saxophonist to the status of a Fun-Jazz progenitator. The South African’s equivalent involvement with and influence by such British avant-improvisers as Evan Parker, John Stevens and Paul Rutherford is left out. As a matter of fact, the only true free-form improv on the disc is “Duet for Dudu”, a spindly session of arrhythmic trombone flutters and pinched flute lines by Annie Whitehead and Chloe Scott respectively.

With a total of se...

IDELIDAD AL ESPÍRITU DE DOLPHY
1964 es "uno de esos años". Recién cumplido el medio siglo desde entonces, a lo largo del año pasado se han dado numerosos aniversarios en el pequeño y doméstico mundo del jazz. Entre ellos, tres particularmente importantes para quien esto escribe: el cincuentenario de la grabación de dos obras maestras, A Love Supreme de John Coltrane y Spiritual Unity de Albert Ayler, y de la muerte de uno de los más grandes solistas del jazz en la segunda mitad del siglo pasado, el saxofonista, clarinetista y flautista Eric Dolphy.

Su importancia ha quedado ligeramente atenuada por lo personal de su estilo, un inimitable y visionario rupturismo que, aún hoy, sigue sonando tan fresco y original como entonces. De hecho, la perspectiva juega a su favor y le mantiene vigente frente a otros revolucionarios de la época, algunos de ellos mucho más populares, cuya obra ha envejecido más, o peor.

La música de Dolphy poseía una belleza extraña, difícil de atrapar, y tal vez por eso el cincuenta aniversario de su muerte no ha hecho el ruido que merece. Pero ahí está Aki Takase para homenajearle, y esta vez a lo grande. No le quito mérito al gran Alexander Von Schlippenbach, pero la japonesa ha cultivado la obra de Dolphy desde diferentes ópticas, respetando siempre dos preceptos básicos: la fidelidad al espíritu de Dolphy y la propia personalidad de Takase, nunca supeditada a la música del maestro, sino complementada por ésta.

En el fabuloso So Long Eric!, el binomio Takase-Von Schlippenbach se eleva a la máxima potencia, construyendo sobre su muy trabajada compenetración un grupo y unos arreglos que dibujan un perfecto retrato de Eric Dolphy a partir de la inequívoca personalidad de los líderes y sus excepcionales músicos (un auténtico quién es quién de la vanguardia europea). Alternando formaciones y jugando, sin deformar, con composiciones emblemáticas de Dolphy, este fabuloso homenaje se caracteriza precisamente por una de las señas de identidad de su protagonista: sonar moderno sea cual sea el contexto de la pieza.
Personalidad por encima de todo, sí. Y libertad, swing y solos estupendos. Todo ello.

http://www.cuadernosdejazz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3248:aki-takase-alexander-von-schlippenbach-&catid=4:discos&Itemid=7

A pair of pianists give a tribute to an avant garde reed player? Hey, it
works! Aki Takase and Alexander Von Schlippenbach (from her on
referred to as "AT" and "AVS") put together a simpatico team that
captures the sonic vision and passion of Eric Dolphy during a pair of June
concert performances in Berlin. The size of the band is as flexible as a
Dolphy solo, ranging from a duet to a full meghilla twelve member team
with even a doubling of drummers (Heinrich Kobberling/Han Bennink) and
bassists (Antonio Borghini /Wilbert De Joode) at times. The reed
section of Rudi Mahall/cl, bcl, Tobias Delius/ts, Henrik
Walsdorff/as, Axel Dorner/tp and Nils Wogram/tb is augmented
by vibist Karl Berger, and the players move in
and out like an Agatha Christie novel.
As for the music itself? Thes guys mix the tunes of Dolphy's
solo career with the swagger and energy of his stint with Charles
Mingus' band. Tunes such as "Les" and "Out There" have an incessant
bop pulse that is dipped in blues, while Walsdorff's alto is sharp and
poignant throughout. A wonderfully traffic jammed feel veers in and out
of the assertive "Miss Ann" which as ATs piano searching for something
just out of reach, and gloriously ragged "The Prophet" which in
cludes Wograms languidly sliding trombone.
A duet betweek AT and Rudi Mahall's bass clarinet has some exciting
interplay with each guy pushing each other in a way reminiscent between
Mingus and Dolphy, while the closing "Pout to Lunch" thunders with
Bennink's drums and finishes up like a three legged race on an incline.
Exciting music here, reflected of an era and attitude of experimentation
that is sorely missing these days.

http://www.cadencejazzmagazine.com/membersonly/admin/assets/aki%20dolphy.pdf

Wo wäre der grosse Multiinstrumentalist Eric Dolphy wohl mit seiner Musik gelandet, hätte ihn nicht 1964 in Berlin der unnötige Tod erst 36-jährig aus dem Leben gerissen? Statt seine Diabetes rechtzeitig zu diagnostizieren, war man im Spital nach seimem Zusammenbruch von Drogenexzess ausgegangen. Erst mit dreissig und als Solist der Band Chico Hamiltons war die Szene auf ihn aufmerksam geworden, dann allerdings spielte er mit Parker, Mingus, Colman, Coltrane und Ron Carter und nahm Dutzende Alben unter eigenem Namen auf. Dolphy experimentierte mit Vierteltönen und unterschiedlichsten Geräuschen, überraschenden Intervallen und verschrobenen Linien, seine Solos waren häufig von ekstatischer Intensität. Obwohl er 1960 beim Doppelquartett-Album "Free Jazz" Colmans mit Don Cherry und Charlie Haden dabei war, hat Dolphy den Schritt in den Free Jazz nicht ganz vollzogen. Nach Berlin hatte ihn der junge Vibraphonist Karl Berger geholt. Die beiden Freunde lebten seit Kurzem in Paris. Dolphy sollte in Bergers Trio meh- rere Abende zur Eröffnung des Berliner Jazzclubs Tangente zu spielen.

Nach der überzeugenden Einspielung sämtlicher 70 Monk-Kompositionen hat sich Schlippenbach zusammen mit Aki Takase und zehn hochkarätigen Musikern des Werks Eric Dolphys angenommen. Han Bennink, Antonio Borghini, Tobias Delius, Axel Dörner, Wilbert de Joode, Heinrich Köbberling. Rudi Mahall, Henrik Walsdorff, Nils Wogram und jener Karl Berger an den Vibes, der 1964 Dolphy in sein Trio nach Berlin geholt hatte. Das Resultat überzeugt auf der ganzen Linie: rhythmisch heisser Jazz, ungemein dicht und intensiv, virtuos und kräftig wahrlich eine gelungene Hommage.

Een project met een aanmerkelijke Nederlandse injectie. De pianisten Aki Takase en Alexander von Schlippenbach gaven op 19 en 20 juni 2014 vorm aan hun tribute aan Eric Dolphy, toen vijftig jaar geleden overleden, voor een livepubliek in Berlijn. Von Schlippenbach (1938) vond meer dan een halve eeuw geleden in Dolphy een belangrijk rolmodel, vandaar. Ook Aki Takase (1948, echtgenote ván) wijdde in het verleden enkele projecten aan de betreurde jazzgrootheid. Ze zochten musici uit die over eenzelfde muzikale mentaliteit beschikten; daarbij ook enkelen die nog met Dolphy hadden samengewerkt, zoals Han Bennink en de Duits/ Amerikaanse vibrafonist Karl Berger. Nederlandse namen waren verder saxofonist Tobias Delius en bassist Wilbert de Joode. De laatste kreeg flink wat ruimte in Hat And Beard. Negen stukken koos het echtpaar Von Schlippenbach uit, die ze om-en-om arrangeerden. Niet alles werd met het hele gezelschap gespeeld; 17 West kreeg een duo-uitvoering van Takase en klarinettist Rudi Mahall. Het album wordt besloten met twee 'out' stukken, Out There en Out To Lunch.
Allebei met aanstekelijke frisheid uitgevoerd - de laatste fraaie solo is van Tobias Delius.

European jazz as we know it now was born from a commingling of folk traditions, classical foundations and martial ensembles. All it took to liberate Europeans from slavish aping of American jazz was a group of players one generation removed from WWII (setting aside old political and ethnic animosities in lieu of collaboration) and an extended visit from an American himself breaking away from blues-based forms towards something more through-composed. That was alto saxophonist/bass clarinetist/flutist Eric Dolphy and, shortly after recording Out to Lunch!, he went to Europe, first as part of the Charles Mingus Quintet throughout April 1964 and then a number of concerts with various 'pickup' bands until his tragic death on Jun. 29th in Berlin (little did Mingus know that "So Long Eric", named in anticipation of Dolphy leaving the group, would become his requiem). European musicians should thank Dolphy for what he helped wrought and now some, based in the city of his death, have: husband- wife pianist pairing of Alexander von Schlippenbach/ Aki Takase and saxophonist Silke Eberhard.

While Takase and von Schlippenbach have explored Dolphy separately (though in both cases utilizing bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall, who also appears on So Long, Eric!), this is their first time doing so together. This live disc is also notable for the first time since 1966 that Schlippenbach has recorded with vibraphonist Karl Berger and only the second time since the mid '70s with drummer Han Bennink. The rest of the duodectet is filled out by younger players from the European freeish scene like saxophonist Tobias Delius and Henrik Walsdorff, trumpeter Axel Dörner and trombonist Nils Wogram and the material covers Dolphy's compositions from 1960's Outward Bound to Out to Lunch!. Even though pieces were written for quartets/quintets, the pliant swing is kept intact by the large group, no surprise with Bennink in tow. What is surprising is how most of the tunes are presented in renditions comparable in length or shorter than Dolphy's album versions, the exceptions being "Hat and Beard" and "Miss Ann". Of all the recent Dolphy tributes, this one comes closest to capturing his restless spirit.

Along with five of her own romantically dense and knotty pieces, alto saxophonist/bass clarinetist Eberhard and her band Potsa Lotsa, a sextet of horns with key contributions from Antonis Anissegos on electronics and keyboards, perform two Dolphy obscurities: the never-completed three-part "Love Suite" and "Song for the Ram's Horn", a piece Dolphy played with a quintet in November 1962 and inspired by a poem read at the same concert by Ree Dragonette. "Love Suite" was being written by Dolphy at the time of his death, to be performed at his upcoming wedding by a brass quintet and rhythm section with himself as the soloist. At that point, electronics in music were still in their formative stages so one wonders what the composer would have thought of their inclusion here; to modern ears it breaks up the texture of the horns nicely, puncturing a bit the stuffiness in the suite, born of some of Out To Lunch!'s more classically-inspired moments, while adding a mid '60s sci-fi element. "Song for the Ram's Horn" impressionism works better within the context of this stately ensemble.

Husband-and-wife pianists Schlippenbach and Takase salute Eric Dolphy

Last week I wrote about the recently issued First Recordings by the Schlippenbach Trio, the peerless free-improvising trio that features drummer Paul Lovens and Evan Parker and is nominally led by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. Although he was one of the key figures in the development of a bona fide European jazz aesthetic, that doesn't cancel out Schlippenbach's fluency in the American tradition. Back in 2002 he launched his brilliant Monk's Casino project—joined by the four members of the superb Die Enttäuschung, he performed and recorded every extant tune composed by Thelonious Monk.
Last fall Schlippenbach and his wife and fellow pianist Aki Takase released a recording by another project paying tribute to a great American jazz musician: reedist Eric Dolphy. For So Long, Eric! Homage to Eric Dolphy (Intakt) the couple assembled a fantastic 12-strong band—deployed in numerous configurations ranging from duo to the full complement of musicians—and interpreted nine tunes by Dolphy, who died tragically in 1964 at the age of 36 from undiagnosed diabetes. Most of the personnel is drawn from Berlin's strong jazz- and improvised-music community—including trumpeter Axel Dörner and bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall, who is arguably the greatest practitioner of an instrument most commonly associated in the jazz world with Dolphy—but Schlippenbach's called on a pair of veterans with personal connections to the late reedist: Han Bennink and Karl Berger. Dutch drummer Bennink played with Dolphy just a few months before his death—the drummer appears on the classic Last Date, along with pianist Misha Mengelberg. Vibist Karl Berger was leading a trio at a Berlin nightclub in June of 1964, and on opening night Dolphy appeared as a special guest, but with his deteriorated heath he could barely play, let alone stand; he was hospitalized that night and died two days later.
The music on the CD is celebratory, with dynamic, contrapuntal-rich arrangements and fantastic improvisation; the shifting lineups and sharp arrangements add to the flavor. Takase's arrangement of "Serene," for example, is strictly for the horns of Dörner, Mahall, alto saxophonist Henrik Walsdorff, and tenor saxophonist Tobias Delius—they balance a chamber-like intimacy and buoyant swing that are voiced with a lovely, gauzy timbre that conveys a touch of west-coast cool (Dolphy got his start in LA, after all, working in Chico Hamilton's band). Schlippenbach's arrangement of "Out There" opens with a lengthy solo piano passage fueled by a kind of off-kilter, boogie-woogie drive that soon leaps into a fleet postbop quartet, highlighted by some excellent blowing by Walsdorff that's embedded with some of Dolphy's trademark intervallic leaps. The collection concludes with an epic version of "Out to Lunch," with Bennink going head-to-head with drummer Heinrich Köbberling before the full ensemble jumps in, exaggerating the already herky-jerky theme, with a barrage of horns improvising simultaneously in Dolphy's characteristically jagged fashion before pulling back for a string of inspired solos. The rest of the top-flight band includes trombonist Nils Wogram, and bassists Wilbert de Joode and Antonio Borghini.

https://chicagoreader.com/blogs/husband-and-wife-pianists-schlippenbach-and-takase-salute-eric-dolphy/

A pair of pianists give a tribute to an avant garde reed player? Hey, it works! Aki Takaswe and Alexander Von Schlippenbach (from her on referred to as “AT” and “AVS”) put together a simpatico team that captures the sonic vision and passion of Eric Dolphy during a pair of June concert performances in Berlin. The size of the band is as flexible as a Dolphy solo, ranging from a duet to a full meghilla twelve member team with even a doubling of drummers (Heinrich Kobberling/Han Bennink) and bassists (Antonio Borghini/Wilbert De Joode) at times. The reed section of Rudi Mahall/cl-bcl, Tobias Delius/ts, Henrik Walsdorff/as, Axel Dorner/tp and Nils Wogram/tb is augmented by vibist Karl Berger, and the players move in and out like an Agatha Christie novel.

As for the music itself? Thes guys mix the tunes of Dolphy’s solo career with the swagger and energy of his stint with Charles Mingus’ band. Tunes such as “Les” and “Out There” have an incessant bop pulse that is dipped in blues, while Walsdorff’s alto is sharp and poignant throughout. A wonderfully traffic jammed feel veers in and out of the assertive “Miss Ann” which as AKs piano searching for something just out of reach, and gloriously ragged “The Prophet” which includes Wograms languidly sliding trombone. A duet betweek AK and Rudi Mahall’s bass clarinet has some exciting interplay with each guy pushing each other in a way reminiscent between Mingus and Dolphy, while the closing “Pout to Lunch” thunders with Bennink’s drums and finishes up like a three legged race on an incline. Exciting music here, reflected of an era and attitude of experimentation that is sorely missing these days.

https://www.jazzweekly.com/2015/02/aki-takase-alexander-von-schlippenbach-so-long-eric-homage-to-eric-dolphy/

EIGENSTÄNDIG

Der US-Holzbläser Eric Dolphy war ein Jahrhundertereignis für den Jazz. Eine Tragödie war, dass er mit 36 Jahren starb. Die Berliner Pianisten Aki Takase und Alexander von Schlippenbach gedenken 50 Jahre später des Meisters. Sie beten nicht etwa seine Kunst nach, sondern denken weiter. Das ergibt eine Musik, die zuweilen zart, manchmal ziemlich ruppig und freier klingt als bei Dolphy. Sie ist eigenständig und dennoch stets respektvoll.