Matthias Lindermayr Trio - Triptych (November 2021 Squama Recordings)

Known for his soothing trumpet work in German jazz group Fazer, Matthias Lindermayr is back on Squama with an all-new trio and his third album ‘Triptych’.

With Philipp Schiepek on acoustic guitar and Simon Popp on percussion, the Munich-based musician created a forward-thinking record between jazz and contemporary classical, conceptually bold and utterly beautiful.

‘Triptych’ is a thrillingly quiet record.

While the album’s predecessor ‘Newborn’ (2018) featured a quintet, the rather unusual trio line-up on ‘Triptych’ gave Matthias more room to share the nuances of his playing.

His compositions, most written especially for this group, are of a noble simplicity allowing the musicians to focus more on interaction and sound.

1. Sanctuary

2. Triptych

3. Lola

4. Simmering

5. February 19th

6. First Steps

7. A Long Day Out

8. Farewell

Matthias Lindermayr, trumpet

Philipp Schiepek, acoustic guitar

Simon Popp, percussion

Recorded by Jan Krause at Mastermix Studio, Munich

Mixed and Produced by Martin Brugger

Stem Mixing by Mario Thaler

Mastered by Christoph Stickel at CS Mastering

Photography and Design by Maximilian Schachtner at Daily Dialogue

(c)+(p) 2021 Squama

PREORDER

Birgit Minichmayr - As An Unperfect Actor (Nine Shakespeare Sonnets) 2021 ACT Music

Birgit Minichmayr captures the imagination and holds centre-stage on “As An Unperfect Actor – Nine Sonnets by William Shakespeare”. This won’t come as a surprise to peop-le in the German-speaking world, where the Austrian actor is well-known from countless appearances on TV and a substan-tial filmography. Perhaps equally unsurprising is the deep expe-rience she can bring to Shakespeare: as an ensemble member of the Burgtheater company in Vienna, she has repeatedly lived out the searingly dramatic lives of the Bard’s characters, no-tably the daemonic anger of Lady Macbeth, the sadness of Ophelia, and even the uncomfortable truths of the Fool in King Lear.

What might be more of a surprise, however, is the exhila-rating musicality she shows on this, her first complete album as a vocalist. One could have predicted the crystal clarity, mean-ing and intent in her words – the desolation in her voice in “the very birds are mute...the leaves look pale” in Sonnet 97, for example. And yet there is more, much more, not least Minich-mayr’s uncannily natural instinct to find artful and felicitous ways to shape musical phrases.

Composer/ pianist Bernd Lhotzky has provided her with a wonderful array of musical contexts. As Minich-mayr says: “He got so deep into the meaning of each sonnet, his music made it different every time. And we talked a lot about the colour, the meaning of each poem.” The opening track, “Mistress Mine”, Sonnet 130 is a masterfully deft piece of gender-fluid irony. In the poem, a man is describing possibly the ugliest woman he has ever seen – while also declaring that she is the one he loves. Lhotzky gives us an acerbic version in that most male-led of dances, the tango, complete with bando-neon, in which the words are sung by...a woman. Minichmayr then gives a masterclass in how to end a song as she hits, holds and nails the words “false compare” with triumphant fearlessness.

Throughout the course of the album, we are magically transported to new musical and emotional places. As Minichmayr says: “Through singing, through just doing it, I was able to find deep love, or deep sadness. I was really touched by it.” We are straight into the elegiac world of “Sin Of Self-Love”, or into world-weariness, tinged with an unmistakable irritation, of “Tired With All These”. And then, unforgettably, we land in the major-key contentment of “Mine Eye Hath Played The Painter”.

One of the secrets to this album’s success is Lhotzky’s wish to find melodies which have a certain ease and straightforwardness about them. He says that he approa-ches all music – whether he is listening to it or writing it – with one simple and direct question: “What story is this telling me?” Lhotzky is known for his work in the field of early jazz, but the range here is far broader, with allusions to examples of fine songwriting: Brassens, Robert Plant, James Taylor...

The collaboration between Minichmayr and Lhotzky had a very propitious start and has gone from strength to strength. They were invited to work together on a Dorothy Parker project in the Austrian spa town of Bad Schallerbach in the summer of 2019. Minichmayr had been booked to do rea-dings, but was also keen to sing...Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things,” with its reference to Dorothy Parker in the first line. That worked out so well, it led Lhotzky to suggest a Shakespeare project to her which he had already embarked upon – it has been briefly glimpsed already on ACT, on one track of “Winter at Schloss Elmau”.

The instrumentalists are a Munich based group named Quadro Nuevo, with Philipp Schiepek’s contribution a stand-out. As Lhotzky says: “He’s a phenomenal guitarist, and really young. With his acoustic guitar he brings us back to the origins, to Dowland's songs with lute. And the fact that he also plays electric jazz guitar provides a connecting link across the centuries.” And then there is bassist D.D. Lowka’s large-scale Charlie Haden-ish bass sound. “D.D. and Philipp are a dream team,” says Lhotzky. And reedsman Mulo Francel brings a whole range of colours from luscious contrabass clarinet to fluent jazz soloing on saxophones. Accordionist Andreas Hinterseher? “He’s just a phenomenon,” says Lhotz-ky, “he hardly said a thing in the sessions, but every take was perfect.” Bernd Lhotzky's piano playing, for example as he sets the scene for "Let not to the marriage" has a deliciously under-stated and laid-back eloquence and elegance.

Bernd Lhotzky’s kaleidoscopic musical vision and Birgit Minichmayr’s instinct for mood-setting have combined triumphantly in “As An Unperfect Actor”. In this “perfect ceremony of love’s rite,” they never seem to run out of joyous surprises for the listener.

1. My Mistress’ Eyes - Sonnet No. 130 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)04:39

2. When In Disgrace - Sonnet No. 29 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)04:43

3. Tired With All These - Sonnet No. 66 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)03:16

4. When Most I Wink - Sonnet No. 43 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)03:33

5. Sin Of Self-Love - Sonnet No. 62 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)05:26

6. As An Unperfect Actor - Sonnet No. 23 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)05:40

7. Mine Eye Hath Played The Painter - Sonnet No. 24 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)04:38

8. Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds - Sonnet No. 116 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)04:43

9. How Like A Winter - Sonnet No. 97 ( Bernd Lhotzky / William Shakespeare)05:22

Birgit Minichmayr / vocals

Bernd Lhotzky / piano & musical director

Mulo Francel / tenor sax, clarinet, double-bass clarinet & sansula

Andreas Hinterseher / accordion, bandoneon, vibrandoneon

Philipp Schiepek / guitar

D.D. Lowka / double bass & percussion

Nine Sonnets by William Shakespeare

All songs composed and arranged by Bernd Lhotzky

Recorded by Stefan Gienger at Mastermixstudio, Munich

January 29th and 30th, 2021

Mixed & mastered by Stefan Gienger

Produced by Bernd Lhotzky

Executive Producer: Siggi Loch

Cover photo by Sascha Kletzsch

Photo Birgit Minichmayr © Tomas Dashuber

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Philipp Schiepek & Walter Lang - Cathedral (2021 ACT Music)

“An insightful and versatile guitarist.” (All About Jazz). “He has found a sound that is his own - and it is always imbued with both beauty and excitement” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). The responses to Munich-based guitarist Philipp Schiepek’s 2019 debut album marked him out as a musician of real sensitivity and one to watch. Schiepek, now aged 26 – who first played piano and accordion before taking up the guitar at the age of twelve – definitely has that most important asset of a musician: his own individual style. During his time as a student of both classical and jazz guitar at the conservatoires in Würzburg and Munich, bookers in Southern Germany already had this accomplished, versatile, technically flawless guitarist firmly on their radar. From 2016-2018, he played in the BundesJazzorchester (BuJazzO). He has also appeared as concerto soloist with a classical orchestra, and in various bands in the Munich region, for example with Mulo Francel, and alongside players with an international profile such as Richie Beirach and Klaus Doldinger. He won several prizes, including the 2020 BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award, and he has also steered his first major project as leader, “Golem Dance”, involving no less a figure than stellar New York saxophonist Seamus Blake, to a highly successful conclusion.

An important feature behind the rapid rise in Schiepek’s profile in Germany is that he is just as interested in classical music as he is in jazz. Schiepek sees the fact that he can oscillate between the two worlds as positive, enriching and complementary. And the miracle is how he manages to remain true to both: the classical acoustic guitar and the electric jazz guitar are essentially two very different instruments, whether seen from the perspective of playing techniques or timing or how musical interaction happens. Schiepek’s exceptional craft and his unique approach can now be enjoyed on his ACT debut “Cathedral”, in a duo with pianist Walter Lang, in which he plays just one instrument, the nylon-string acoustic guitar. His sound has a wonderful warmth to it; the setting may be intimate, but the playing is spellbinding.

Walter Lang, now aged 59 and from the Stuttgart region, has been called “the poet”, “the romantic” among German jazz pianists. He grew up with classical music, folk music and the Beatles, and it was essentially chance which led him to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and into jazz. The constants with Lang are a love of melody and a remarkable economy of expression – as his two albums with Lee Konitz testify. And the fact that he had developed accompanying vocalists into an important strand in his career is also fully consistent with this. And yet there are other sides to his artistry: he is a member of Trio Elf, successful pioneers in adapting electronic dance-floor sounds into the jazz arena. And he is also always looking for new challenges. Lang explains the genesis of “Cathedral” as follows: “The combination of piano with conventional jazz guitar can often be problematic. And that's why I've been having thoughts during the past three years about a duo with nylon-string guitar. During the Corona time I composed an enormous amount for it. I had been aware of Philipp for a while, so I just asked him.”

They got together for a session: “We just played for four hours straight, and realised that it was all working absolutely perfectly,” says Schiepek. “We didn't have to talk much about the music at all.” The power of simple melodies brings their playing together in “Cathedral”, whether in unison, in alternation or as call-and-response – or indeed all of these together in "Estrela Cadente” (shooting star). The two players are an ideal complement for each other. Lang's delicate touch and the variety of his approaches to both single note and chordal playing are enhanced by Schiepek's refined technique and frequent ornamentation, evoking the world of the Spanish classical guitar.

“Cathedral” is an album which lives up to its name: as an act of devotion, as sounds that rise into hallowed space. This is a touching and enchanting dialogue between piano and guitar, between young and old, classical and jazz, form and freedom. We eavesdrop on a musical conversation which through its depth and intimacy speaks directly to the times we live in. It can sometimes be sustained and calm, with hints of oriental meditation – as in the opener, “Sumniran” or in “Kamo”, evoking a time-honoured river which flows gently through the Japanese city of Kyoto. Or hymn-like as in the title track, or expressing the allure of a setting off on a long walk – as in “Pilgrimage”, composed by Schiepek. Or melancholic, as in “The World Is Upside Down”, which feels like an ode to the sorrow and sadness of the pandemic. But we find comfort and consolation too, as in the final track “The Encourager”.

“Cathedral” carries several messages of hope: that music will reawaken; that the universal language of jazz can and will both reach out into the future and, as ever, hold its many traditions to its heart; and - by no means least – one about the promise, the exciting prospect of all that young guitarist Philipp Schiepek still has to offer.

1. Sumniran (Walter Lang) 07:20

2. Cathedral (Walter Lang) 06:18

3. Estrela Cadente (Walter Lang) 06:11

4. Kamo (Walter Lang) 04:20

5. Pilgrimage (Philipp Schiepek) 05:13

6. Meditation in Ten (Walter Lang) 06:32

7. Gliding over Meadows (Walter Lang) 06:11

8. Prelude To the World Is Upside Down (Philipp Schiepek) 01:50

9. The World Is Upside Down (Walter Lang) 03:52

10. Light at the End of the Tunnel (Walter Lang) 05:06

11. The Encourager (Walter Lang) 05:49

Philipp Schiepek, Nylon String Guitar

Walter Lang, Grand Piano

Recorded and mixed by Uli Fiedler at Flip Top Studio, Wertingen, 13.11.2020

Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Piano tuner: Helmut Troendle

Produced by Philipp Schiepek and Walter Lang

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