DAVE GISLER TRIO with Jaimie Branch and David Murray - See You Out There (March 18, 2022 Intakt Records)

Two years after the acclaimed live album Zurich Concert, which featured trumpeter Jamie Branch, the Dave Gisler trio adds another guest for a studio album – the giant of modern jazz – David Murray. Just as the trio immediately hit it off with Branch, Murray is furiously integrated into the band's punchy music, with the presence of both the trumpeter and tenor saxophonist opening up the group's sound. the resulting body of sound, propelled by punkish energy and the driving force of rock, the free-form aesthetics of the sixties and the cadences of modern jazz, navigates into open musical realms. "But there’s no doubt that as Branch’s final note resounds, Gisler and his collaborators will soldier on driven by a need to make music together," writes Peter Margasak in the liner notes.

1. Bastards on the Run

2. Can You Hear Me?

3. See You Out There

4. The Vision

5. Get it Done

6. Medical Emergency

7. What Goes Up...

8. High as a Kite

9. Get a Döner

10. Better Don't Fuck with the Drunken Sailor

Dave Gisler: Guitar

Raffaele Bossard: Bass

Lionel Friedli: Drums

Jaimie Branch: Trumpet

David Murray: Tenor Saxophone

All compositions by Dave Gisler (Suisa). Recorded November 1 and 2, 2021, at Rotfarb Studio, Uznach, Switzerland, by Lara Persia. Mixed by David Torn. Mastered at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli.

Cover art & graphic design: Fiona Ryan.

Liner notes: Peter Margasak.

Photo: Palma Fiacco.

Produced by Dave Gisler and Intakt Records.

Published by Intakt Records.

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PUNKT.VRT.PLASTIK Kaja Draklser / Petter Eldh / Christian Lillinger - Zurich Concert (March 11, 2022 Intakt Records)

“A supergroup” is what the German music magazine Jazzthetik calls Punkt.Vrt.Plastik. Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh and Christian Lillinger make up this trio – “Two musicians and one musician who are among the most exciting and active that the European avant-garde has to offer.” and Die Zeit writes: “They reinterpret an entire genre at once: the good old piano trio.” The trio convinces with a highly individual sound and a rarely heard clarity and precision, even where there is free improvisation and where rhythm, melody and metrics dissolve. now, a year after their celebrated album Somit, they present an impressive live statement that takes up the material from their eponymous first album and Somit and impressively demonstrates the live realizations of studio ideas. “It is a stunning reminder that whatever else it can be, music is a fundamentally communicative enterprise. It is our great fortune that the microphones were up on this night so that Punkt.Vrt.Plastik can again tell us what they said”, writes Alexander Hawkins in the liner notes.

1. Nuremberg Amok (Live)

2. Axon (Live)

3. Trboje (Live)

4. Vrvica I (Live)

5. Amnion (Live)

6. Body Decline - Natt Raum (Live)

7. Morgon Morfin (Live)

8. Vrvica II (Live)

9. Membran (Live)

10. Traces of Veins (Live)

11. Veins (Live)

12. Zug (Live)

13. Azan (Live)

Kaja Draksler: Piano

Petter Eldh: Bass

Christian Lillinger: Drums, Percussion

Music by Kaja Draksler (Buma), Petter Eldh (STIM), Christian Lillinger (GEMa). Recorded live May 14, 2021, at unerhört!-Festival at Rote Fabrik in Zurich by Michael Brändli. Mixed at Hardstudios in Winterthur by Christian Lillinger and Michael Brändli. Mastered at Hardstudios by Michael Brändli. Midi quarter- tone keyboard programmed by Gianluca Elia. Cover photo: Kaja Draksler. Graphic design: Paul Bieri. Liner notes: Alexander Hawkins. Band photo: Palma Fiacco. Produced by Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh, Christian Lillinger and Intakt Records. Published by Intakt Records.

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BRANDON LOPEZ / INGRID LAUBROCK / TOM RAINEY - No es la Playa (February 18, 2022 Intakt Records)

Dreamlike experiences. Sparks fly and a musical interaction works without arrangement or plan. An organic musical process develops out of intuition alone. The same magic happens every time.

When Brandon Lopez, a New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots, joined the duo of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey, this wasn’t simply about adding a plus one to the Laubrock – Rainey duo. Thanks to the young bassist (born 1988), already collaborating with musicians from Dave Liebman via Zeena Parkins to John Zorn, a new dynamic has formed involving all three. In this triangular constellation a different balance is achieved and an altered play of energies. They are clearly on the same wavelength, with a similar sense and understanding of overarching form, inner structure, timing, feeling, energy, density, transparency and volume.

"Right from the first note the chemistry between them was right. The interplay between the three worked so effortlessly and naturally it bordered on telepathy. The three want to keep up the momentum and capture the magic moment," writes Christoph Wagner in the liner notes.

1. No es la Playa

2. When the Island is a Shipwreck

3. Saturnian Staring

4. Camposanto Chachacha

5. Little Distance Before

6. The Black Bag of Want

Ingrid Laubrock: Saxophones

Brandon Lopez: Bass

Tom Rainey: Drums

All music by Brandon Lopez (BMI), Ingrid Laubrock (PRS/MCPS) and Tom Rainey (BMI). Recorded April 25, 2021, at GSI studios, New York, by Jason Rostkowski. Mixed at Casa Papí, Malmö, by Jon Lipscomb. Mastered at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli. Cover Photo: Ingrid Laubrock. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Christoph Wagner. Photo: Cecilia Lopez.

Produced by Lopez/Laubrock/Rainey and Intakt Records. Published by Intakt Records, P. O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland.

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OMRI ZIEGELE WHERE'S AFRICA with Yves Theiler and Dario Sisera -That Hat (February 18, 2022 Intakt Records)

Under the band title Where's Africa Omri Ziegele has long played with Irène Schweizer. Now he presents That Hat, his second album in the trio formation with keyboarder Yves Theiler and drummer Dario Sisera. The three are interested in an Africa seen through the eyepiece of Central European musicians who know everything from jazz to rock. “There are certain jazz recordings that have great appeal even for people who don’t consider themselves jazz aficionados: Memphis Underground by Herbie Mann, African Marketplace by Abdullah Ibrahim, Swiss Movement by Les McCann and Eddie Harris, Carla Bley’s Dinner Music. That Hat, the new album by Omri Ziegele’s trio Where’s Africa, may well find a place in this tradition”, writes Manfred Papst in the liner notes.

1. Back Home

2. That Hat

3. Mother Is Always in Time

4. Carpathian Folk Song

5. Dying with the Wind

6. Woke Up on the Other Side of My Heart

7. You Know, I Don't Know, Nobody Knows

8. Sunflowerpower

Omri Ziegele: Alto Saxophone, Nai, Vocals

Yves Theiler: Keyboards

Daro Sisera: Drums, Percussion

Recorded April 2, 3, 2021, at Hardstudios Winterthur by Andy Neresheimer. Mixed and mastered by Andy Neresheimer.

Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Photo: Heinz Unger.

Liner notes: Manfred Papst. Produced by Omri Ziegele and Intakt Records. Published by Intakt Records, P. O. Box, 8024 Zurich, Switzerland.

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Alexander Hawkins Mirror Canon - Break A Vase (January 21, 2022 Intakt Records)

After the album "Togetherness Music", british pianist and composer Alexander Hawkins presents another musical panorama: An ensemble in which his trio with bassist Neil Charles and drummer Stephen Davis meets saxophonist and clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings, guitarist Otto Fischer, and drummer Richard Olátúndé baker. For anybody who has followed Hawkins' work since his emergence on the british improvised music scene in the mid 2000’s this is a fresh band full of familiar musicians with whom Hawkins has played in a wide variety of formations. The new pieces that "break a vase" presents emerge from Hawkins' own imagination, but they also capture the thrust of energy in collaborating with these outstanding musicians.

“Hawkins gives one of his most complete performances to date,” writes kevin Le Gendre in the liner notes. “Nothing is perhaps more majestic than the title track, which comes from Derek walcott’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. ‘Break a vase, and the love that re - assembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole.’ Enjoy then all these wily bits and pieces that come together in the kind of daring, courageous construction that is made to last.”

1. The Perfect Sound Would Like to Be Unique

2. Stamped Down, or Shovelled

3. Sun Rugged Billions

4. Generous Souls

5. Faint Making Stones

6. Break a Vase

7. Chaplin in Slow Motion

8. Domingada Open Air

9. Stride Rhyme Gospel

10. Even the Birds Stop to Listen

Richard Olátúndé Baker: Adamo (Talking Drum), Percussion

Neil Charles: Acoustic Bass Guitar, Double Bass

Stephen Davis: Drums

Otto Fischer: Electric Guitar

Alexander Hawkins: Grand Piano, Upright Piano, Sampler

Shabaka Hutchings: Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute

All compositions by Alexander Hawkins (PRS). Recorded July 27/28, 2021, at Challow Park Studios, Oxfordshire, UK, by Will Biggs. Mixed and mastered August/September 2021, London, UK, by Alex Bonney. Intakt Records, P. O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland.

Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder

Inspired by Karl Gerstner (1930 – 2017)

Liner notes: Kevin Le Gendre

Photo: Onur Pinar

Disc and packaging by Adon Production AG

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Tim Berne / Gregg Belisle-Chi - Mars (January 21, 2022 Intakt Records)

With his extensive artistic biography, Tim Berne is one of the most outstanding figures in American jazz. Rising star Gregg Belisle-Chi, a connoisseur of Berne's music, has this year released the acclaimed album Koi, featuring interpretations of Tim Berne's compositions on solo acoustic guitar.

With his extensive skills and immense sonic potential, he is earning a central place in the landscape of contemporary acoustic guitar. With Mars, these two exceptional musicians present their first duo album. All songs are penned by Tim Berne and enchant the listener with an intense interplay that is playful, poetic and sonically stunning.

David Torn, who is responsible for the grandiose sound, writes in the liner notes: "Space Music? no, nope: Earth Music? well, yeah. Folk Music? well… i dunno, could be, but these songs on Mars are written by Tim & reimagined in-real-time by he & Gregg: them 2 being edified by, appreciative & respectful of those who’ve come before, & especially those ones who stayed lit and busted their own asses & spirits in order to continue initiating the kinds of flames that push us all to strive to express & to feel things of life & lives that may otherwise be functionally inexplicable, and may even be ineffable, somehow."

1. Rose Bowl Charade

2. Purdy

3. Gastrophobia

4. Microtuna

5. Frosty

6. Big Belly

7. Rabbit Girl

8. Palm Sweat

9. Dark Shadows

10. Not What You Think They Are

11. Middle Seat Blues

12. Giant Squids

Tim Berne: Alto Saxophone

Gregg Belisle-Chi: Guitar

All songs by Tim Berne (Party Music BMI). Arranged by Tim Berne and Gregg Belisle-Chi. Recorded May 15 by Chris Bittner at Applehead Studio in Woodstock. Mixed and mastered by David Torn. Intakt Records, P.O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland.

Cover art and design: Stephen Byram

Liner notes: David Torn

Photos: Tim Berne

Booklet design: Fiona Ryan

Disc and packaging by Adon Production AG

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James Brandon Lewis Quartet with Aruán Ortiz, Brad Jones and Chad Taylor - Code of Being (October 15, 2021 Intakt Records)

The charismatic saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis is the musician of the moment in the broad field of contemporary jazz. With Code of Being, James Brandon Lewis now presents his second album. The debut CD Molecular, which Lewis recorded with his quartet in 2020 just a few months before Lockdown, was roundly acclaimed as one of the most exciting releases in 2020 (Intakt CD 350). Code of Being is a powerful work consisting of eight compositions by James Brandon Lewis. Beautiful melodies are responsible for the magic of the songs. 

The four exceptional musicians, each with personalities of their own, create an urgent ensem ble sound, moving through a broad palette of sound-colours, rhythms and moods, charged with energy. With a profound sense for lyrical melodies, tonal concision and dynamics, the quartet develop a spirited interplay, reacting to the tiniest atmospheric oscillations on the sound and groove level. “This is captivating music which it is hard to resist, especially the melodies with their thematic beauty.," writes Florian Keller in the liner notes.

1. Resonance

2. Archimedean

3. Every Atom Glows

4. Per 4

5. Code of Being

6. Where is Hella

7. Per 5

8. Tessera

James Brandon Lewis: Tenor Saxophone

Aruán Ortiz: Piano

Brad Jones: Bass

Chad Taylor: Drums

All compositions by James Brandon Lewis (James Brandon Lewis Music/ascap).

Recorded on May 16 and 17 2021 by Michael Brändli at Hardstudios Winterthur. Mixed and mastered in July 2021 by Michael Brändli at Hardstudios Winterthur, Switzerland.

Cover art and graphic design: Paul Bieri, Berlin.

Photo: Palma Fiacco, unerhört!-Festival Special Edition, Rote Fabrik, Zürich, May 15, 2021.

Liner notes: Florian Keller.

Produced and published by Intakt Records.

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Fred Frith Trio with Lotte Anker and Susana Santos Silva - Road (October 15, 2021 Intakt Records)

Fred Frith is a multi-instrumentalist and a shrewd outsider who walks the line between rock and jazz, improvisation and composition, and hereby presents a breathtaking live double CD with his long-time Bay Area trio. CD1 documents an inspiring trio concert by these extraordinarily creative musicians at Stadthalle Köln as part of Week- End Fest 2019. CD2 features the trio with guests Lotte Anker and Susana Santos Silva. Both musicians have a long history with the trio – Lotte Anker has played with the trio in San Francisco and New York, and Susana Santos Silva joined them for performances in Brazil in 2018, while both have joined the trio to tour the U.S. East Coast and Europe in 2019. Lotte Anker and Susana Santos Silva fire up the trio. And in turn the trio’s inspiration has an effect on Lotte and Susana which feeds back into the group. This creates a unique collective sound that delivers an infectious live energy.

1. Lost Weekend 1

2. Lost Weekend 2

3. Lost Weekend 3

4. Lost Weekend 4

5. Lost Weekend 5

6. Lost Weekend 6

7. Lost Weekend 7

8. Color of Heat

9. The Trees Speak

10. Sinking In

11. Color of Heart

CD 1 (Tracks 1-7)

Fred Frith: Electric Guitar, Voice

Jason Hoopes: Electric Bass

Jordan Glenn: Drums

CD 2 (Tracks 8-11)

Fred Frith: Electric Guitar, Voice

Jason Hoopes: Electric Bass

Jordan Glenn: Drums

Lotte Anker: Saxophones (Tracks 9+10)

Susana Santos Silva: Trumpet (Tracks 8+11)

All music by Fred Frith Trio (CD 1); Fred Frith Trio, Susana Santos Silva, Intakt Records

Lotte Anker (CD 2).

Mixed and compiled at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, CA, on May 12, 2021. Mastered at Headless Buddha, Oakland, CA, on July 23, 2021. Creative engineer: Myles Boisen.

Cover art and photo: Heike Liss.

Graphic design: Fiona Ryan.

Produced by Fred Frith and Intakt Records.

Published by Intakt Records.

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Ohad Talmor Trio with Dan Weiss and Miles Okazaki - Mise En Place (October 15, 2021 Intakt Records)

Saxophonist and composer Ohad Talmor follows up his album Long Forms with the Ohad Talmor Newsreel Sextet (Intakt CD 341) – a trio recording with his closest musical friends in Brooklyn: guitarist Miles Okazaki and drummer Dan Weiss. Ohad Talmor is the very definition of a cosmopolitan artist, holding three passports – American, Swiss and Israeli – while being based in the polyglot borough of Brooklyn, New York. Although mentored by the late, great altoist Lee Konitz, Talmor has musical obsessions that range far and wide. From iconic tenor saxophonists like Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter to such disparate European composers as Bruckner and Ligeti to theintricacies of Hindustani classical music. 

Talmor has taken this album’s title, Mise en Place, from a French phrase often used to refer to the preparation and organization of all ingredients and implements ahead of cooking although, more pertinently, it’s also a colloquial French term for rhythmic accuracy in jazz. A fluent, precise “time feel” is a prime trait of his trio with Okazaki and Weiss. The trio plays as one, lithe and muscular. “Despite the technical demands of these pieces,” Talmor says, “our goal is to eschew stock licks, to really listen, to really improvise – to always be in the moment with the music.”

1. Kamali

2. Mixo Mode 19

3. Shymal Bose Chakradar

4. Pairs

5. Theme and Variations

6. Wise One

7. Rupak Tukra

8. Back of the Plane

9. After the Rain

Ohad Talmor: Tenor Sax

Miles Okazaki: Guitar

Dan Weiss: Drums

Compositions by Ohad Talmor (SUISA) except “Wise One” and “After the Rain” by John Coltrane (Jowcol BMI).

Recorded January 8, 2020, at SEEDS, Brooklyn, NY. Mixed and

mastered by Katsuhiko Naito, Brooklyn, August 2021.

Cover art: AvikArt Design.

Graphic design: Jonas Schoder.

Liner notes: Bradley Bambarger.

Produced by Ohad Talmor and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller.

Published by Intakt Records.

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Vera Kappeler / Peter Conradin Zumthor - Herd (September 17, 2021 INTAKT RECORDS)

With Herd, pianist Vera Kappeler and percussionist Peter Conradin Zumthor present on Intakt Records their long-awaited second duo album after their acclaimed 2014 debut Babylon-Suite.

Kappeler/Zumthor is an exceptionally innovative duo. They are bubbling over with ideas, yet take their time to develop new programs, working with the utmost care. They are oriented towards international innovation in the crossover area of jazz and new music and have a huge artistic potential, which the two of them exploit brilliantly on Herd. Their common sound cosmos surprises with playfulness and a peculiarity that reaches into the bizarre. With exceptional musical and technical skills, they have, over the years developed their very own musical language and are masters at telling stories with their music.

Author Reto Hänny writes in the literary liner notes "What else is there to say except that I like this music and to repeat it endlessly; it sings, it sings, again and again, touching, stirring, heartbreakingly beautiful."

1. Poor Tony

2. Calanda

3. Orthopedia Avantgarde

4. Stube

5. Diluvi

6. Trabant

7. Bontempi No.2

8. Örf

9. Three Toypianos

10. Umland

11. Anna

Vera Kappeler: Piano, Toy Piano

Peter Conradin Zumthor: Drums, Toy Piano

All music by Vera Kappeler und Peter Conradin Zumthor.

Recorded in December 2020 at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli for Radio SRF 2 Kultur and Intakt Records. Mixed and mastered in June 2021 at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli.

Cover photo: Karl Heini / Fotostiftung Graubünden.

Graphic design: Fiona Ryan.

Liner notes: Reto Hänny.

Produced by Vera Kappeler, Peter Conradin Zumthor and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller.

Published by Intakt Records.

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Borderlands Trio with Stephan Crump, Kris Davis, Eric McPherson - Wandersphere (September 17, 2021 INTAKT RECORDS)

Following the stunning debut album "Asteroida", the New York trio Borderlands with Stephan Crump, Kris Davis and Eric McPherson release a double CD with four improvisations which range in length from just under twenty to over forty minutes. Recorded during the coronavirus pandemic in New York in 2020, the music contrasts the New York mood of isolation with an uncommon passion for playing, intensity and musical intimacy.

Chicago/Berlin jazz critic Peter Margasak writes in the liner notes: “The works float, roil, swing, breathe, rush, and sparkle without every revealing any sort of hesitation or falling into a rut. The musicians don’t follow one another and they eschew glib reaction. Instead, they sit with the flowing ideas, thinking ahead about where the music could go. They play a long game with their spontaneity. These four amazing explorations reflect a kind of total music.” He writes full of enthusiasm: “The Borderlands Trio engage in four mind-boggling explorations here – patiently, generously, and almost telepathically building a unified sonic architecture that celebrates the act of collective improvisation as profoundly, as beautifully, and as completely as anything I’ve ever heard.” McPherson turned 50 on the day of the session, and calls the experience “the ultimate birthday gift.”

1. Super-Organism

2. An Invitation to Disappear

3. Old-Growth

4. Possible Futures

Stephan Crump: Acoustic Bass

Kris Davis: Piano

Eric McPherson: Drums

Music by Eric McPherson, Kris Davis, and Stephan Crump.

Recorded December 11, 2020, at The Samurai Hotel, Queens, NY,

by David Stoller. Mixed by Stephan Crump at The Butler Plaza, Brooklyn, NY. Mastered by Liberty Ellman at 4D Studios, San Francisco, CA.

Cover art and design: Jonas Schoder

Liner notes: Peter Margasak

Photos: Patrick Lambin, Jazzdor, Strasbourg, 2019

Produced by Kris Davis, Stephan Crump, Eric McPherson and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller

Published by Intakt Records

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Sarah Buechi Contradiction of Happiness & Jena Philharmonic - The Paintress (August 20, 2021 INTAKT RECORDS)

They’ve taken to the skies – the chamber orchestra and the septet of Sarah Buechi – masterfully beyond all categorisation. The singer’s septet Contradiction of Happiness with piano, bass, drums and three string players is in itself already something of a polyphonic and liberated orchestra. Sarah Buechi has expanded this ensemble with the chamber orchestra of the Jena Philharmonic. The success of the first performance was overwhelming and the recordings on this album, which also took place in Jena, enable one to experience and relive the playful ease with which this ambitious project was accomplished. Classical intonation, Jazz vocalisations, chanting, microtones reminiscent of Indian music and Konnakol, rhythmic vocalisation – all these elements exist companionably in the compositions. "A music full of the joy of understanding," writes German jazz journalist Bert Noglik in the liner notes, "of the flapping of the wings of the poetic in the joint flight of the septet and the orchestra."

1. Creation

2. Lullaby (for Conan)

3. C-Void 91

4. Lion Heart

5. Precious Stone

6. Stets i Truure

7. Hungry Crocodiles

8. T.A.S. Mani

9. Nobody Knows (the future I`ve seen)

Sarah Buechi: Voice, Composition

Vincent Membrez: Piano

Wolfgang Zwiauer: E-Bass

Lionel Friedli: Drums

Estelle Beiner: Violin

Isabelle Gottraux: Viola

Sara Oswald: Cello

+

JENA PHILHARMONIC: Simon Gaudenz, Conductor

Lyrics and compositions by Sarah Buechi (except “Stets i Truure”, trad./arr. S. Buechi). Recorded September 28 – 30, 2020 at Volkshaus Jena, Germany. Recording engineer: Moritz Wetter. Mixed by Moritz Wetter at Hardstudios Winterthur 2021. Mastered by Michael Brändli at Hardstudios Winterthur 2021. Cover art: Conor Flynn O’Donnell. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Bert Noglik. Produced by Sarah Buechi and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller. Published by Intakt Records.

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Angelika Niesicer & Alexander Hawkins - Soul in Plain Sight (August 20, 2021 INTAKT RECORDS)

When Alexander Hawkins played at the Jazzfest Berlin in a duo with the american trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, he met the saxophonist Angelika Niescier. Niescier was playing at the festival with her New York Trio with bassist Christopher Tordini and drummer Tyshawn Sorey ("The Berlin Concert", Intakt CD 305). Niescier has also been honored in Berlin with the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize, Germany's most prestigious jazz award. Hawkins is fascinated by Niescier's saxophone playing, and Niescier in turn is ardent about Hawkins' music. They stand on the same ground – both have their roots in jazz, and both love the jazz avant-garde of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Two technically skilled instrumentalists with sparkling temperament, drive and joy in experimentation.

After several duo concerts, the studio album by Niescier and Hawkins, recorded at the loft in Cologne, is now available. The american jazz critic Stephanie Jones writes in the liner notes: “Soul in Plain Sight reveals layers of mutual navigation. Angelika Niescier and Alexander Hawkins court similarities and delight in differences …Buoying and challenging each other’s inclinations, the artists navigate shared sound with compassion and nuance.”

1. Brawls And Squabbles

2. Arhythm Songy

3. Why Didn’t You

4. Un_Tamed

5. Shipwrecked Words

6. Scops

7. Weft

8. Nexus

9. Metamorphose einer Karelle

10. Loom

11. As Hemispheres at Home

12. Limnetic Zone

13. Tar’ai

14. Scope

Angelika Niesicer: Alto Saxophone

Alexander Hawkins: Piano

All music by Hawkins/Niescier except “Arhythm Songy” by Muhal

Richard Abrams,“Un:Tamed”, “Nexus” and “Tar’ai” by Angelika Niescier , “Scops” and “as Hemispheres at Home” by Alexander Hawkins. Recorded in September 2020 at loft köln by Christian Heck. Mixed in March 2021 at Tonart Studio by Christian Heck. Mastered in April 2021 at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli. Cover photo: Anja Illmaier. Graphic design: Paul Bieri. Liner notes: Stephanie Jones. Photo: Viktoria Sophie Conzelmann. Produced by Angelika Niescier, Alexander Hawkins and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller. Published by Intakt Records

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Chris Speed - Light Line (June 18, 2021 Intakt Records)

Chris Speed, a driving force of modern jazz for decades, presents Light Line, an impressive solo statement on the clarinet. The repertoire of this musical legacy includes his own pieces and short improvisations, as well as compositions by inspiring luminaries such as John Coltrane, Julius Hemphill, Eric Dolphy and Paul Motian. In addition, there are compositions by friends and long-time musical companions such as Andrew D'Angelo, Skúli Sverrisson and Hilmar Jensson.

There is "an implicit guiding light through the whole project: the commitment to reduction, to finding the power in taking things away, the power in trusting that there is still a lot there once you do take the surface layers away, and above all an undying commitment to melody in some elemental sense as the primary element in music", writes Anthony Burr in the liner notes.

1. Light Line 04:09

2. Drifting

3. Sphasos Triem

4. Tassos

5. Miss Ann

6. Rites

7. Cat Heaven

8. Sparkle Pants

9. Retrogression

10. Shields Up

11. A Week from Now

12. Enfant

13. La Rosita Arribeña

14. Sun Ship

15. It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago

Chris Speed - solo clarinet

Recorded, mixed in San Diego, October 2020, by Anthony Burr.

Mastered in Seattle, December 2020, by Mell Dettmer.

Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder.

Liner notes: Anthony Burr. Photo: David Haskell

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Silke Eberhard Trio with Jan Roder and Kay Lübke - Being the Up and Down (May 21, 2021 Intakt Records)

"Being the Up And Down", Silke Eberhard’s new CD with her trio with Jan Roder on bass and Kay Lübke on drums was recorded both in the studio as well as at a live concert at the A-Trane in Berlin. This was the result of her winning the prestigious Berlin Jazz Prize, which affords the winner the honor of playing a concert and getting some recording days by Radio Berlin Brandenburg. Thus on this disc you hear a seamless blend of studio and live performances. The artwork on the cover, as on her previous Intakt release The Being Inn, is by Roman Signer, one of the most prestigious Swiss artists of today.

The American jazz critic Lynn René Bayley writes in the liner notes: "Yet whether being sensual or being edgy and experimental, there is so much to like and so much to hear in Silke Eberhard’s playing both solo and when interacting with this trio that one is held spellbound from first note to last. Small wonder that she has such a high reputation in the German jazz world!"

1. U11

2. Strudel

3. Von A Nach B

4. Laika’s Descent

5. Hymne

6. Zeitlupenbossa

7. Damenschrank

8. Stray Around

9. Yuki Neko

Silke Eberhard: Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet

Jan Roder: Bass

Kay Lübke: Drums

All compositions by Silke Eberhard (GEMA). Recorded August 13, 14, 2020, at Jazzclub A-Trane Berlin, Germany. Radio producer: Ulf Drechsel. Sound supervisor: Ralf-Peter Brinkmann. Recording engineer: Manuel Rieger. Digital cut and mastering: Benjamin Ihnow.

Cover art: Roman Signer, Installation. Kitfox Experimental, 2014. KINDL – Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin.

Graphic design: Paul Bieri.

Liner notes: Lynn René Bayley.

Produced by Silke Eberhard and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller. Published by Intakt Records.

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Tom Rainey Obbligato with Ingrid Laubrock, Ralph Alessi, Jacob Sacks and Drew Gress - Untucked in Hannover (April 16, 2021 Intakt Records)

With Untucked in Hannover, Tom Rainey's top-notch quintet Obbligato presents a third album of a collection of jazz standards – with Jacob Sacks on piano replacing regular pianist Kris Davis for this live recording. Wonderful jazz tunes like Stella by Starlight or I Fall in Love Too Easily are interpreted in an open dialogue with stunning joy of playing and improvisation. And though standards are the modus operandi of Obbligato, their approach is intended to be less conventional, less reverential and certainly less solo-centric than many other bands that tackles with Standards. Obbligato sometimes plays with the essences of famous jazz standards in an implied way, sometimes in a teasing and mysterious way, but always in a tantalizing way.

"Close your eyes, imagine sitting in the front row of your favorite jazz club, sit back and enjoy Obbligato playing pieces from the Great American Songbook in a way you've never heard them before: and by one of the most inventive and inspiring live bands of the last decade," writes Laurence Donohue-Greene in the liner notes.

1. If I should Lose You

2. Stella by Starlight

3. What's New – There is No Greater Love

4. I Fall in Love to Easily

5. Just in Time – In Your Own Sweet Way

6. Long Ago and Far Away

Ralph Alessi: Trumpet

Ingrid Laubrock: Saxophones

Jacob Sacks: Piano

Drew Gress: Bass

Tom Rainey: drums

Recorded October 15th, 2018 by NDR, Jens Kunze, at Jazz Club Hannover. Live sound engineer, Raphael Becker-Foss. Recording producer NDR, Felix Behrendt. Recording executive producers NDR, Axel Dürr, Stefan Gerdes. Mastered October 2020 by Michael Brändli, Hardstudios, Winterthur. Cover art: Christine Reifenberger, Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Laurence donohue-Greene, Photo: Jan-Gerrit Schäfer, Jazzclub Hannover. Produced by Tom Rainey, NDR and Intakt Records.

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Irène Schweizer / Hamid Drake - Celebration (April 16, 2021 Intakt Records)

Piano-Drums Duos are the preferred playing arrangement of pianist Irène Schweizer. Her mastery of duets with important drummers of contemporary jazz are documented on numerous Intakt CDs. Han Bennink, Pierre Favre, Louis Moholo, Günter Baby Sommer, Andrew Cyrille and Joey Baron among them.

The Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, born in 1955, and Irène Schweizer, born in 1941, have performed together on numerous occasions both in Europe and Chicago. Together they have appeared on the Intakt CD "Irène Schweizer-Fred Anderson-Hamid Drake". At the 40th anniversary festival "Kontrontationen in Nickelsdorf" (Austria), Schweizer and Drake were the highlight of the event. A celebration of the moment and a declaration of love to South African songs along with their thrilling energy and rhythmic lightness produced a firework of improvisation. A parade of successful interplay.

The CD Celebration is released on the occasion of Irène Schweizer's 80th birthday (2. Juni), accompanied by a catalo- gue of the pianist's works on Intakt Records.

1. A Former Dialogue

2. Hot Sunflowers

3. The Good Life

4. Twister

5. Stringfever

6. Blues for Crelier

7. Nickelsdorf Glow

8. Celebration

9. Song for Johnny – In memory of Johnny Dyani

Irène Schweizer: Piano

Hamid Drake: Drums

Compositions by Irène Schweizer except “a Former dialog” by Schweizer/Drake. Recorded June 26, 2019 at Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf, 40th Festival for Free and Improvised Music, Jazzgallery Nickelsdorf, Austria. Recorded by ORF (Radio Österreich 1). Soundengineer: Gerhard Wald. Recording manager: Jens Jamin. Recording producer: Klaudia Zeininger. Festival organised by Hans Falb and team. Mastered by Michael Brändli at Hardstudios Winterthur, 2020. Cover art: Rosina kuhn. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Christian Broecking. Photos: Dawid Laskowski. Produced and published by Intakt Records.

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Michael Formanek - Imperfect Measures (March 19, 2021 Intakt Records)

With his extensive artistic biography, Michael Formanek is one of the most outstanding figures in American jazz – As a composer, as a bassist in ensembles, and as a soloist. Although the bass often plays in the background, bassists write jazz history. So does Michael Formanek, who makes an impressive solo statement with Imperfect Measures (24 years after his first solo album).

About the creative process, Formanek writes: "I came to realize that for me, playing solo bass is much closer to a compositional process than a performance practice … Any structure inherent in a piece evolves in the moment, the product of the improvisation itself – as if one were building and traveling along a road simultaneously. The road only extends as far as we are in the moment, so there must be a total commitment to what is being created and constructed in real time, lest things quickly fall apart.“

The inspiring music is embedded in works by artist and illustrator Warren Linn, who created sketches during the recording process, developed them into collages/paintings, some of which are now featured in the CD package designed by Stephen Byram. A complete work of art!

1. Quickdraw

2. On the Skin

3. A Maze

4. Full Frontal

5. Airborne

6. Loop Back

7. Notice Moments

8. Wisp

9. The Stand

Michael Formanek: Bass

All compositions by Michael Formanek (Formtone Music BMI)

Recorded on September 10, 2017 at Heartwood Sound Studio, Baltimore, MD by Ben Frock

Mixed in August 2020 by Jake K. Leckie, Los Angeles, CA. Mastered in November 2020 by Nick Lloyd at Firehouse 12 New Haven, CT. Liner notes: Michael Formanek.

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PUNKT.VRT.PLASTIK Kaja Draklser / Petter Eldh / Christian Lillinger - Somit (March 19, 2021 Intakt Records)

Following their acclaimed 2018 debut album, the band Punkt.Vrt.Plastik, which brings together Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh and Christian Lillinger, three of the most exciting, profound and versatile musicians on the European jazz scene, presents another stroke of genius. With Somit they take their urgent ensemble playing to new heights, creating a highly individual sound aesthetic with unusual instrumentation (Kaja Draksler plays two different upright pianos) and sophisticated post-production, culminating in a deceptive puzzle of acoustic and manipulated sounds.

"Punkt.Vrt.Plastik have an amazing sound and a unique vision," writes Alexander Hawkins in the liner notes.

1. Helix GA

2. If Asked

3. Membran

4. Natt Raum

5. Amnion

6. Morgon Morfin

7. Fraustadt

8. Somit 

9. Axon

10. Enbert Amok

11. Trboje

12. Ribosome

13. Vrvica

Kaja Draksler: Piano

Petter Eldh: Bass

Christian Lillinger: Drums

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Mark Feldman - Sounding Point (Intakt Records 2021)

The New York violin virtuoso Mark Feldman presents a new solo album, a portrait of the artist now, some twenty-six years after his first solo CD. Sounding Point contains six of his own compositions as well as one piece each by Sylvie Courvoisier and Ornette Coleman. Coleman’s 1987 Peace Warriors is one of three pieces in which Feldman skillfully employs overdubs. The American jazz critic Kevin Whitehead writes in the liner notes: “In my 30+ years following violinist Mark Feldman, no record I know shows him off better than Sounding Point. He’s made much great music in groups, but solo play gives him maximum elbow room, fully exposing the richness of his sound, his distinct personal voice, and his sensitivity to sonic texture and pacing, all at the service of musical storytelling.

Take for example the shortest piece here, the improvised “Rebound.” He starts with a simple gesture, the bow’s horsehairs bouncing lightly on the strings, a gesture he periodically returns to (and ends with), between scenic flights: high notes and trills, bracing close-interval wailing on adjacent strings, a burst of percussive pizzicato, falling glissandi, whispered notes barely bowed… Fancy stuff. Yet those expansions and contractions, and the contrasting dynamics, sound natural as breathing.”

1. As We Are 04:31

2. Sounding Point 04:10

3. Peace Warriors 07:27

4. Unbound 04:30

5. Viciously 09:25

6. Rebound 04:01

7. Maniac 05:00

8. New Normal 04:14

Mark Feldman: Violin

Compositions by Mark Feldman (SUISA, ASCAP), except “As We Are” by Sylvie Courvoisier (SUISA, ASCAP) and “Peace Warriors” by Ornette Coleman (Phrase Text Music, ASCAP). Recorded at Studio Lulu, Brooklyn, April 2020, by Owen Mulholland. Mixed by Ryan Streber. Mastered July 2020 by Scott Hull, Masterdisk Studios, NY.

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