INTAKT RECORDS – CD-REVIEWS

CONRAD BAUER - JOHANNES BAUER - UWE KROPINSKI - JOE SACHSE. DOPPELMOPPEL. Outside This Area.
Intakt CD 136

 

Née en 1982, Doppelmoppel est une formation réunissant deux guitaristes (Uwe Kropinski et Joe Sachse) et deux trombonistes (Conny et Johannes Bauer), qui enregistraient en 2007 leur troisième disque seulement.
Caractéristiques rares, donc, comme celles de la musique improvisée à laquelle renvoie Outside This Area, faite de réminiscences éclatées : swing autant que déconstruction, rock bruitiste et sérénade carioca. Grâce à l’intensification des échanges et au choix de plus en plus affirmé d’abandonner peu à peu un lyrisme qui le rassure mais le perd aussi, Doppelmoppel parvient à édifier un mélange original et opérant.
Le Son de Grisli, Jazz, Musiques expérimenales et autres , lundi 10 mars 2008

 

 

Wenn einem so viel Schönes wird beschert, das ist schon mal einen Asbach Uralt wert. Wir erinnern uns an diesen längst verblichenen Spruch. Die Frage ist nicht zuletzt: Warum werden Free Jazzer so alt? Ok, lassen wir mal Albert Ayler beiseite … und Dolphy, na ja gut … aber ansonsten … und gerade diese Ostdeutschen! 1982 die erste Scheibe. Kann sich hier irgendjemand der hier Lesenden an diese Zeit erinnern? Die Mauer stand jedenfalls noch. Verrückt warn die ja eh: zwei Posaunen, zwei Gitarren - geht's noch? Man ließ sie machen, aber als einer bei einem Auftritt 1986 in München rübermachte und Republikflucht beging, war erstmal Schluss mit lustig. Heute ist dieser Schwachsinns-Spießer-Sozialismus-Staat Geschichte, die Band gibt's immer noch. Im Mai 2007 nahmen sie im Studio des deutschen Filmorchesters Babelsberg diese 11 wunderbaren Spaziergänge auf. Freigänger now. Outside this area. Ihr werdet diesen April keine besseren Freispieler hören, es sei denn, ihr macht es selbst. Danke dafür.
By Honker, Made my Day, TERZ StattZeitung, Deutschland, April 2008

 

 

tHo, Concerto, Wien, 2/2008

 

 

Det er ikke så veldig mye som har overlevd DDR. Den høyst spesielle jazzkvartetten Doppelmoppel er et unntak – et svært godt et også.
Erich Honecker og resten av ledelsen i Deutsche Demokratische Republik – DDR – løp neppe ned dørstokkene på jazzklubber uansett hvor de var i verden. Vanlig jazz blei sett på som vestlig dekadanse og ikke noe den oppvoksende slekt skulle bli influert av. Doppelmoppel blei likevel etablert på begynnelsen av 80-tallet med eksakt den samme besetninga bandet har i dag og siden de spilte svært så ”radikal” musikk, var det noe kulturledelsen kunne tolerere og faktisk også støtte økonomisk.
Hvor man enn snur seg rundt om på kloden er jeg overbevist om at man skal leite svært lenge før man finner et band der instrumenteringa består av to tromboner og to gitarer! Bakgrunnen var at brødrene Conny og Johannes Bauer – begge fantastiske trombonister – hadde lyst å etablere et band og de spurte hverandre om hvem de ønska å ha med seg. Den ene ville spørre Uwe Kropinski og den andre Joe Sachse – tilfeldigvis var begge gitarister og dermed blei det slik.
I 1982 kom kvartettens første CD og, til tross for murens fall og DDRs oppløsning i 1989, har Doppelmoppel holdt stand og spiller fortsatt like kompromissløs musikk. Siden de uttrykte seg uten ord på scena, kunne Doppelmoppel få spille på begge sider av det delte Tyskland før 1989 uten at den øst-tyske sensuren slo ned på dem. I øst fylte de store haller stort sett fordi kulturtilbudet var svært begrensa – i vest blei det mindre klubber der spesielt interesserte oppdaga det originale kollektivet. I 1986 måtte likevel Doppelmoppel ta ei pause fordi Uwe Kropinski hoppa av etter en konsert i München – han kunne da ikke komme tilbake til øst for å spille og de tre andre kunne ikke be om lov til å spille med han i vest.
Etter murens fall har Kropinski flytta tilbake til øst – som nå er vest og alle ”låtene” – ”Walk 1-11” – ”Outside This Area” kan lett oppfattes som en kommentar på hvordan det oppleves å bevege seg fritt i dette nygamle området.
Dette er så avgjort frijazz – det er samtaler mellom svært oppegående og søkende musikanter som er i besittelse av helt egne stemmer både individuelt og sjølsagt kollektivt. Til tross for at det er fritt, så er det masse melodiske elementer involvert – spesielt gitaristene gir musikken en til dels straight og nesten rockete base som gjør det spennende å bli med på disse spaserturene. Brødrene Bauer er trombonister av verdensklasse. De får instrumentene sine til å låte annerledes enn alle andre jeg kan tenke meg og til sammen er Doppelmoppel et både kulturhistorisk og musikalsk ensemble av stor viktighet.
Tor Hammerø, Side2, Norway,
1.4.2008

 

 

DOPPELMOPPEL ist neben Zentralquartett das ‚andere‘ alte Quartett von Bauer & Bauer und in der Besetzung mit 2 Posaunen und 2 Gitarren eines der ungewöhnlichsten überhaupt. Dass mit Outside This Area (Intakt CD 136) dennoch seit dem Debut Round About Mittweida (1982) erst zum zweiten Mal der Zusammenklang der Bauer-Brüder Conny & Johannes mit den Gitarristen Joe Sachse & Uwe Kropinski eingefangen wird, hat freilich seine deutsch-deutschen Gründe. Kropinski hatte sich Ende 1986 bei einem BRD-Gastspiel der DDR-Jatzer als 'Republikflüchtling‘ verabsentiert und die musikalische Wiedervereinigung brauchte ihre Zeit, wurde aber durch Kropinskis Umzug nach Berlin 1998 begünstigt. Typisch deutsch? Die Musik ist mehr als das. Sie schlägt eine Brücke von Mittweida - Sachse stammt dort her - und anliegende Zonen über Djangos Paris - Kropinski zupft akustisch - bis nach New Orleans. Neben den beiden blasmusikalischen Standbeinen gibt es einen kammermusikalischen, eigentlich erzdemokratischen Konsens, jeder spielt Melodie, jeder Rhythmus und meistens keins von beiden. Conny B.s Zirkulargeblubber und unerschütterlicher 'Gesang‘ (links) kontrastieren mit dem Schnarren, Kirren, Fauchen und gutturalen Treppauftreppab seines Bruders (rechts) ebenso wie Sachses verstärkte Twangs, Flattersounds und dunkle Tüpfelmuster (links) mit dem hellem Saitenspiel oder den geklopften Beats der anderen Gitarre (rechts). Je einmal bei insgesamt 11 'Spaziergängen‘ bleiben die Posaunen und die Gitarren unter sich und bringen dabei ihre unterschiedlichen ‚Handschriften‘ zur Geltung. Conny B. als der Sonore, Hannes als elefantöser Schmetterling, Kropinski als virtuoser Fingerpick-Gypsy, Sachse als Schrammel-‘Rocker‘, mit angedeutetem Rollentausch. 'Outside‘ vereint ist eben fast Alles möglich.
Rigobert Dittman, Bad Alchemy, 58, 2008

 

 

Rainer Kobe, Jazz'n'More, Mai/Juni 2008

 

 

The German free-improvisation quartet Doppelmoppel has completely bizarre instrumentation for any genre: two trombones, one acoustic guitar, one electric guitar. It has survived for more than 25 years, very intermittently, because all four members have the sort of working lives that free improvisers do, with one far-flung project after another. But on “Outside This Area” (Intakt), its new record, Doppelmoppel sounds in easy, familiar agreement. The trombone-playing Bauer brothers, Conny and Johannes, set up opposing long tones and melodic figures or fill in each other’s spaces while the two guitarists play games of opposites: Uwe Kropinski uses swing rhythm and graceful chords, whereas Joe Sachse loves the rumble and clank of electric noise. They all take turns making up for the lack of a rhythm section. It’s an unorthodox, funny and coordinated record, free from a unified genre language.
Ben Ratliff, New York Times, April 13, 2008

 

Rolf Thomas, Jazzthetik, Deutschland, April 2008

 

Reiner Kobe, Jazzpodium, Deutschland, Juni 2008

 

Julian Cowley, The Wire, July 2008

 

Clifford Allen, Signal to Noise, USA / Canada, Summer 2008

 

Jean Buzelin, Jazzman, France, Juin 2008

 

Marek Romanski, Jazzforum, Poland, June 2008

 

Outside This Area features the brothers Bauers’ trombones with the guitar duo of Uwe Kropinski and Joe Sachse. Within this pared down instrumentation, the four musicians conjure a wealth of sounds. The trombonists and guitarists both draw on the varied traditions of their instruments. On “Walk 10” one of the guitars (there’s no indication of who’s in which channel) plays lute-like melody. Elsewhere they slip in bits of Blues and Swing. The trombones,
especially the one in the right channel, evoke melodies from the underworld so often the province of trombone in orchestral music. But they can also—especially the other trombone—slip and slither and wah-wah like tailgaters. To this they add a palette of extended techniques. They shape this all into 11 intriguing improvisations
full of felicities. In the middle of “Walk 5” the trombone on the left lets loose with a broad, soaring melody while the other trombone groans like a restlessly sleeping troll. Though he seems to be having a bad dream, the track resolves peacefully. “Walk 2” is a ballad with the horns voiced far apart. This includes a folk-like interlude. “Walk 10” has exchanges between boisterous trombones and a charming lute-like figure. “Walk 6” evolves into an Afro-beat groove. Here as elsewhere one of the guitarists drums on the body of his instrument as the other rattles off a rapid-fire minor toned melody. Without the trombones on “Walk 9” they show a penchant for free-spirited, high-energy swing.
David Dupont, Cadence, USA, Fall/Winter 2008

 

Unconventional instrumentation is nothing new for Free Music, with classic formations left to the more tradition-minded so-called classical and jazz ensembles. But who else beside Berlin’s formidable Bauer Brothers would be able to create enough textures from just two guitars and their own twinned trombones to satisfy every sonic requirement?
That may be a moot question. But the truth is that since 1982 this East German quarter of made up of guitarists Uwe Kropinski and Joe Sachse plus Conrad Bauer and his younger brother Johannes Bauer on trombones has maintained a high standard of improvised music, despite – or perhaps because of – Doppelmoppel’s unique instrumentation. Over and over again the four have proved that cerebral ideas and advanced techniques are more necessary for the creation of memorable music than the combination of instruments upon which those sounds are played.
Simple division of labor – or is it layering of parts – demonstrates this situation on Outside this Area. During the 11 instant compositions that make up this CD, each Doppelmoppel member has a specific, polyphonic or contrapuntal role. One trombonist, for instance, will output aviary-style screeching that appears to owe more to reeds than valves, while the other busies himself with pedal-point excavations. At the same time one guitarist involves himself in intricate almost-flamenco-like strokes, or finger-style, folk-blues picking, while the other powerfully smacks and scrapes his strings and the guitar body so that the instrument becomes a percussion source.
Other instrumental arrangements are showcased as well. On “Walk 6”, for example, both trombones initially play straight-ahead and legato in sequence, pumping braying chromatic tones so that they become near-palindromes of one another. The guitarists’ licks on the other hand are completely individual. One plectrumist exposes tremolo treble tones and the other more linear lower pitches. Eventually, the continuous sound spray is distorted into single-string stopping from one guitarist as the other uses roughened strokes and heel-of-hand smacks to create a bongo-like effect. This division influences the brass men as well, so by the piece’s final variation, roaring trombone slurs make common cause with flat-picking strums.
Sharp, reverberating contrapuntal cries from one trombone-playing brother mix with plunger tones from the other on “Walk 10”, as one guitarist plays near-madrigals on acoustic guitar. Indisputably electrified, the other guitarist’s instrument permits him to try out ragged and buzzing vibrations. With dirge-like drones the Bauers unite at the same time as Kropinski and Sachse work their way to a crescendo of complementary, rasgueado rhythms.
Further interactions that include tail-gate slurs or rubato brays from the brass, and a solid mass of strummed chords or rhythmic comping from the strings enliven other tracks. Although each musician here is involved in other bands, the individualistic program fashioned by Doppelmoppel continues to impress.
Ken Waxman, Jazz World, Canada, 28. October 2008


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