The Sounds of Sonore
Mar.31, 2009
Only the Devil has no dreams
No one ever works alone
| Ken Vandermark – tenor/baritone sax, b-flat clarinet Mats Gustafson – tenor/baritone sax Peter Brötzmann – alto/tenor sax, a-clarinet/tarogato |
| Releases (click to view) No One Ever Works Alone Only the Devil Has No Dreams |
| Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, and Ken Vandermark are three of the leading voices in contemporary improvised music. Together they have formed SONORE, a reed trio organized to investigate the melodic, rhythmic, and textural possibilities of freely improvised music. Working together in the PETER BRÖTZMANN CHICAGO TENTET since 1998, these musicians first performed in a trio formation during the June, 2002 North American tour with the TENTET for a radio broadcast on CKUT in Montreal. It was clear from that first concert that this line-up was musically unique. They worked together again that fall, performing and recording during a festival organized by Gustafsson in Ystad, Sweden. Both of these initial encounters provided a fascinating starting ground for the trio’s instrumental combinations and communication, but it was during their first tour of Europe in October, 2003 that the group’s identity and approach fully developed. Two weeks of concerts that saw the three playing every night in cities ranging from Vienna to Istanbul, Ljubljana to Cologne, travelling by plane, train, and van with their equipment (alto, tenor, baritone saxophones; Eb, A, Bb, and bass clarinets; taragato and flageolet) enabled them to explore an open-ended range of improvisation on a daily basis and accelerated SONORE’s creative growth. Luckily, a number of these concerts were recorded, including the final performance of their tour which took place in Cologne. This document was released as “No One Ever Works Alone,” on Okka Disk in September, 2004 as the group’s first album. The trio organized a North American to coincide with the CD’s release to bring their music to audiences in the U.S. and Canada for the first time.
For more than three decades German multi-instrumentalist Peter Brötzmann has been a central figure for the European improvised music scene. Today he leads two of the most significant ensembles playing this music, the DIE LIKE A DOG TRIO and the CHICAGO TENTET. Mats Gustafsson is one of the most innovative improvisers of his generation, working on a regular basis with musicians like Joe McPhee, Barry Guy, and Thurston Moore, as well as leading the free jazz ensemble, THE THING. Since the mid-Nineties, Chicago has been one of the major international centers for improvised music and Ken Vandermark has been at the cutting edge of its development both as a musician and as a presenter and organizer. SONORE’s music integrates the varied musical backgrounds of these three musicians, blending common ground and building new directions in improvisation. Unlike the traditional jazz saxophone quartet, this group doesn’t attempt to replicate a classical string ensemble by placing the musicians in hierarchical roles (i.e. the lowest member of the band laying down a foundation through ostinatos, vamps, or other means of support for the higher pitched instruments to be featured over, either through the main melodic content or featured solos). In SONORE, solos, duos, and trios built from various reed combinations shift and develop through spontaneous musical requirements. The group explores sonic textures, melodies, integrated rhythmic statements, or whatever other musical techniques seem to inspire them and the music during their improvised performances. SONORE’s music is intense, beautiful, introspective, cutting-edge, and could be played by no one else.
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Swedish Azz
Mar.31, 2009
SWEDISH AZZ —– JAZZ PÅ SVENSKA
Mats Gustafsson — saxophones and live-electronics
Per-Åke Holmlander — tuba, cimbasso
Kjell Nordeson — vibraphone
dieb13 — turntables and electronics
Eric Carlsson — drums
New group by Mats Gustafsson and Per Åke Holmlander, consisting of five European improvisers loving, respecting, and playing the swedish jazz masterpieces from the 50´s and 60´s.
The Golden Age of Swedish Jazz happened in the mid 50´s, as we were told, and was represented by some very distinct and personal voices that were all taking their main inspiration from the American West Coast Jazz, but transforming it into a swedish colour and language, also including elements of traditional Swedish Folk Music.
Lars Gullin, Jan Johansson, Bernt Rosengren, Georg Riedel, Lars Werner, Berndt Egerbladh and later Per Henrik Wallin were all part of this movement and we just LOVE this music!
Swedish Azz wants to explore the possibities to use these wonderful and strongly lyrical melodies and put them in a contemporary structure and soundscape. We want to find out, or at least try out, what will happen when you put these melodic lines in connection with a.o. live electronics and experimentation in form, using the freedom of improvising freely.
Contact and info: mats@matsgus.com
Biographies
Mats Gustafsson - born 1964 in Västerbotten
Saxophones and live electronics
favourite swedish jazz composer: Per Henrik Wallin
favourite swedish jazz player: Lars Gullin
favourite swedish jazz film: Sven Klangs Kvintett
favourite swedish jazz record: Bengt Nordström ”Natural Music”
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Per-Åke Holmlander – born 1957 in Västerbotten
Tuba and Cimbasso
favourite swedish jazz composer: Georg Riedel
favourite swedish jazz suite: “Arktisk Svit” / Berndt Egerbladh
favourite swedish jazz tune: Theme from – “Sagan Om Karl-Bertil Jonssons
Julafton” / Gunnar Svensson
favourita swedish jazz bassist: Gunnar Johnson
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Kjell Nordeson – born 1964 in Jämtland, in the swedish mountains on the border to Norway
Favourite Swedish jazz musician: Per-Henrik Wallin
Favourite Swedish jazz composer: Lars Färnlöf
Favourite Swedish jazz tune: Att angöra en brygga
Favourite Swedish jazz drummer: Janne “Loffe” Carlsson
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Erik Carlsson born 1976 Lerum in the westcoast of sweden
Drums
favourite swedish jazz player: Bengt Nordström
favorite swedish jazz drummer; Sven Åke johansson
favourite swedish jazzband; Hansson & Karlsson
favourite swedish ”other” band; Träd Gräs och Stenar
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dieb13 – born 1973 as dieter kova?i? south of sweden
turntables and electronics
Danny’s dream
peter brötzmann chicago tentet
Mar.30, 2009
| Band Members •Current Peter Brötzmann/Germany: reeds •Past Magnus Broo/Sweden: trumpet |
| Releases (click to view) SIGNS IMAGES Short Visit to Nowhere Broken English Stone/Water The Chicago Octet/Tentet Be Music, Night American Landscapes 1 American Landscapes 2 Chicago Tentet at Molde 2007 |
| The Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
Peter Brötzmann has led a number of internationally renowned, large group improvising ensembles since the late 1960s. The latest, called the “Chicago Tentet,” is one of his best. First organized in that city during January of 1997, the band has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe in the last decade, and has released nine albums containing a huge variety of music. In 2007, the ensemble celebrates its ten years of work together with a tour in Europe during June, a festival performance in Molde, Norway, in July and an engagement (their only North American appearance) in Chicago, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Chicago Tentet is a veritable “Who’s Who” of contemporary improvised music and includes many of the most significant members from that scene’s cutting edge. Since its inception, the group has had a rotating line-up and past versions of the band have included William Parker (bass), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet/electronics), Roy Campbell (trumpet), and Mike Pearson (a renowned actor, who participated in a special project integrating Brötzmann’s music and the texts of Kenneth Patchen for the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2004). All of the musicians connected to the ensemble, past and present, have contributed their distinctive voices to the group, making each concert appearance of the Tentet a truly exceptional experience. For the concert schedule in 2007, the group’s size will be expanded to include both Johannes Bauer and Jeb Bishop on trombone. Though the Tentet is clearly directed by Brötzmann and guided by his aesthetics, since the band’s outset he has been committed to utilizing the ideas of everyone involved. Initially, this meant allowing the other musicians to contribute their compositions; since 2005, however, the ensemble has been a total improvisation unit, foregoing scores in order to explore their music with complete spontaneity. This shift in approach has allowed the group to explore an outstanding range of material, and the Tentet employs almost every organizational strategy available to an improvising ensemble while developing their music for each concert. The scope of conception, plus the diversity in each individual’s approach to playing, has helped the band to cultivate an extremely multifaceted performance style. As the Tentet improvises from moment to moment, it can explore musical intensities that move from spare introspection to raging walls of sound, using open-ended rhythms or those of a hard-hitting groove. Since the late 1990’s, the main work of the band has been done in concerts on the road. Though the economics of sustaining a large ensemble are a struggle, the Chicago Tentet has continued to find innovative ways to keep performing their music for audiences around the world. Through this ongoing effort they’ve been able to advance a sound and depth of communication impossible to find in any other contemporary music group, no matter what size or style. Discography (all available on Okka Disk) Tours/Festivals
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the thing
Mar.29, 2009
Mats Gustafsson – alto, tenor, baritone and slide saxophone. Live electronics
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – bass and live electronics
Paal Nilssen-Love – drums
contact booking : danielle.oosterop@xs4all.nl
- cell +31 6 2662 0845 – Amsterdam
The Thing was established in the spring of February 2000 when the three musicians met do play several concerts and to record the first CD on Crazy Wisdom, a sub label of Swedish Universal. In 2001, they also recorded another CD on the same label as a quartet with Joe McPhee. Both CD´s are out of print.
The trio was a long wanted constellation where several musical styles meet in a very high energetic outlet. All members are influenced by different traditions of free music derived from Germany, England and America, and these influences are to be felt and not necessary heard.
When the trio started out, the book contained mainly of tunes by Don Cherry, hence the group’s name. Since Joe McPhee`s participation, the group’s reportuar has included other free jazz standards by David Murray, Frank Lowe and Norman Howard. Also, the groups enthusiasm towards rock music, is heard when they play “To Bring You My Love” by PJ Harvey on the second CD. Today the book has expanded to include tunes by The White Stripes, The Sonics and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This is just an example that explains how close musical styles are today, how similar the energy is and can be, and how much today`s audience is melted together, devoted to creative music. The Thing is now signed on the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound.
Mats Gustafsson is today Sweden’s and one of Europe’s biggest names on the free music scene. Through groups like Gush, AALY trio and Peter Brötzmann`s Chicago Tentet, he has established himself as a very powerful saxophonist, and has somewhat reinvented the way of playing the saxophone.
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love has become known as Norway`s heaviest rhythm-section. Since they`re long time collaboration started in 1992, they have been working in several groups, amongst them are School Days with Ken Vandermark, Scorch trio with Raoul Björkenheim, and the Swedish/Norwegian jazz-group Atomic.
The Thing also performs with Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O`Rourke, Thurston Moore and Cato Salsa Experience.
“Tapping into rock’s most primal forces with the fire and fury that’s something to behold” Mojo
“The Thing convert nouveau punk and vintage garage-rock into a roaring scream-up, but the sheer energy and love of the music keep gimmickery at bay” Uncut
“The sheer power they generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning” BBC
“Absurdly cool” DJ Magazine
Discography The Thing:
Gustafsson/Flaten/Nilssen-Love, “The Thing”, Crazy Wisdom/Universal 001/159 073-2.
The Thing with Joe McPhee, “She Knows…” Crazy Wisdom/Universal 006/014756-2
The Thing and School Days, “Plays the music of Norman Howard”, Anagram, ANA LP 001
The Thing, “Garage”, Smalltown Supersound, STS078CD
The Thing, “Have Love Will Travel/Art Star” Smalltown Superjazzz, STS071 7″ EP
Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing with Joe McPhee, “Sounds Like A Sandwich” STSJ103CD
The Thing, “Live At Blå”, Smalltown Superjazzz, STSJ099CD
Two Bands And A Legend, “TBAL”, Smalltown Superjazzz, STSJ….
The Thing, “Action Jazz”, Smalltown Superjazzz STSJ123CD
Two Bands And a Legend ” I SEE YOU BABY”, smalltown superjazzz
The Thing + Ken Vandermark ” Immediate Sound”, Smalltown Superjazzz
The Thing “NOW AND FOREVER”, 4 CD BOX, Smalltown Superjazzz
The Thing “BAG IT!”, Smalltown Superjazzz
NEW!!! The Thing w Otomo Yoshihide “Shinjuku Crawl”, Smalltown Superjazz
Coming soon… The Thing “BAG IT! on 2 LP, Smalltown Superjazzz
GARAGE
Art Star
Aluminium
photos: KRZYSZTOF PENARSKI
contact : booking : danielle@oosterop.com
- cell +31 6 2662 0845 – Amsterdam