Florian Weiss' Woodoism - Alternate Reality (2021 nWog Records)

It is a rare stroke of luck when a completely new piece of music triggers the spontaneous impression that one has known it for decades. This is undoubtedly true of Alternate Reality, the third album by the Swiss band Woodoism, based on trombonist Florian Weiss. The ten tracks, recorded with trombone, saxophone, double bass and drums – and with flute and glockenspiel at selected moments – seem as familiar as a warm coat in a snowstorm. Everything is brand new and exciting, and yet instantly becomes music that’s deeply ingrained in the body.

Florian Weiss takes his compositions from the thick of life. Almost in passing he finds tiny ideas, which he enriches with his very own mixture of curiosity, world view and life experience so that complete narrative strands emerge from them. He doesn’t need a concept for this, but can trust his impulses and instincts. If he feels the need to hear something in particular, he can rely on others feeling the same way – it only has to be put into practice. Woodoism translates this relaxed necessity into music – reflecting the band’s unmistakable signature. “I don't even have to consciously incorporate extra-musical aspects into my music,” says Weiss, “because that happens all by itself when I develop a piece. I stick to moods, seasons, places, smells, colors, situations or the weather. Still images emerge in my mind – sometimes clearer, sometimes less so – and provide me with the parameters of a piece.”

Just so there are no misunderstandings: Florian Weiss doesn’t write program music and he doesn't compose bouquets of flowers or glasses of water. Rather what he knows and has absorbed through his life flow into his songs. He is a warm-hearted storyteller, but he leaves it up to his listeners to find the individual narrative for his fables. The music is fascinatingly simple – which is the key to accessing it – and yet it never becomes arbitrary. On the contrary, voice and signature can be recognized, which is an indispensable feature of the album. This makes the music seductively approachable and is based, among other things, on the deliberate omission of a harmony instrument. 

Florian Weiss may be the leader of Woodoism, but the interplay of all four voices is founded on absolute equality. Since he was a student, he has been working closely with alto saxophonist Linus Amstad, bassist Valentin von Fischer and drummer Philipp Leibundgut: years in which they were able to roll out a common philosophy, in which everyone has played an equal part: with what he can do and with what makes him unique. Each voice is exactly what it is – together they give rise to something complete, which makes everything additional not only superfluous, but in this context absolutely unthinkable. The collective tonal spectrum of the band is reminiscent of the palette of a painter who can get everything out of the available colors that he needs for a painting or a whole sequence of paintings. 

This certainty in accessing the necessary means in each case expresses itself not least in Weiss' own trombone playing. He understands the limitations of his instrument and does not even try to imitate on his horn how agile and flexible other wind instruments can be played. Instead, he is able to breathe on the trombone and to convey the pulse of life in a similarly undisguised way as Albert Mangelsdorff or Grachan Moncur III did before him. Respect for tradition is part of the idiom of Woodoism, without them copying it at any point. And when saxophonist Linus Amstad takes up the flute in “Wabi-Sabi” or drummer Philipp Leibundgut dances on a glockenspiel in “Valse Des Papillons De Nuit,” they conceal timidly, but no less consciously, that they are opening their own world to new possibilities

Empathy and humanity do not have to be written on banners in order to live them out passionately in art. Florian Weiss, Linus Amstad, Valentin von Fischer and Philipp Leibundgut succeed in creating places of retreat in their pieces, where one can stay and not be afraid to accept well-being as a personal gain. “This is certainly related to a basic attitude that the positive prevails,” Weiss surmises. “It doesn't have to be all cheerful, but warmth and colorfulness are more important to me than distance.” In this sense, in times of inner and outer alienation, Alternate Reality unmistakably signifies confidence and an open approach to one another that – and there is no doubt about this – will radiate long beyond the immediate present.

1. Inhale, Exhale

2. Shivering Timbers

3. Valse des Papillons de Nuit

4. Wabi-Sabi

5. The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep

6. Feuer im Termitenhügel

7. Fuge für A.

8. Alternate Reality (Visiting Oz)

9. Alternate Reality II (Delirium)

10. Alternate Reality III (Awakening)

Linus Amstad - altosax/flute

Florian Weiss - trombone

Valentin v. Fischer - doublebass

Philipp Leibundgut - drums/glockenspiel

All compositions by Florian Weiss

Recorded by Werner Angerer on Nov 3rd - 5th 2020 at 4tune Studio, Vienna (Austria)

Mixed by Werner Angerer

Mastered André Pousaz

Artwork by Corinne Hächler

Produced by Woodoism

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Florian Weiss' Woodoism - Alternate Reality (May 21, 2021 nWog Records)

We are thrilled to announce, that we'll be joining the NWog-Family with our upcoming release "Alternate Reality"! We can't wait to share our new music with you. Stay tuned!

1. Inhale, Exhale

2. Shivering Timbers

3. Valse des Papillons de Nuit

4. Wabi-Sabi

5. The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep

6. Feuer im Termitenhügel

7. Fuge für A.

8. Alternate Reality (Visiting Oz)

9. Alternate Reality II (Delirium)

10. Alternate Reality III (Awakening)

Linus Amstad - altosax/flute

Florian Weiss - trombone

Valentin v. Fischer - doublebass

Philipp Leibundgut - drums/glockenspiel

All compositions by Florian Weiss

Recorded by Werner Angerer on Nov 3rd - 5th 2020 at 4tune Studio, Vienna (Austria)

Mixed by Werner Angerer

Mastered André Pousaz

Artwork by Corinne Hächler

Produced by Woodoism

Pre-order

Nils Wogram & NDR Bigband - Work Smoothly (nWOG RECORDS June 8, 2018)

Nils Wogram is a lot, but he is certainly not one thing: uninspired. As intensely as he may devote himself to each of his numerous projects, new path markings are always emerging on the horizon of his imagination. Who knows the trombonist, knows that he never chooses the easiest way. He often chooses the route that is least expected of him. And yet the choice turns out to be consistent, especially as it prepares for each of these trips so well that it becomes a very pleasant challenge for all passengers.

His gifted leader of small ensembles has actually recorded his new album "Work Smoothly" with a large jazz orchestra. And not with any big band, but with one of the flagships of the scene, the NDR Big Band. This is not his first encounter with the renowned orchestra, as in 2007 he published "Portrait Of A Band" in this combination. However, on the new CD, this episode does not just continue, but Wogram takes a whole new approach that does justice to his current horizons. If one wanted to agree on the often-used phrase, "it should not be an ordinary big-band album," one would do only partially justice, because basically it is just that: a true big-band album.

But it is precisely in this respect that it differs from the flood of productions that just do not want to be. Wogram pulls out all the stops of the big band. In the beginning he thought about what it means to write for a big formation. His passionate postulate on this subject also provides the answer to the understandable question of why he ever made a big-band album. "I listened to a lot of historical big band recordings, and many of my colleagues write for big bands. There are now many free big bands. Most of it is incredibly well done, the players have a high technical level. Colors, structures, the frame, everything fits. What I often miss is the substance. Something that really gets stuck with the listener. That you do not just see such a wall approaching and impressed by it, but rather melodies that speak for themselves. I just wanted to write real pieces and not just dig up some material from a germ cell to make an impressive arrangement about it. "

Wograms claim is to feature the classic sections and functions of the big band and still make something very personal. He uses these structures in a highly variable and dynamic way. It's about the story that wants to be told musically, not the medium that tells it. The self-confidence with which a freelancer like Wogram writes his stories into a long-established ensemble like the WDR Big Band is impressive. He does not cut the sound colossus at any point in his power and Fulminanz, and yet the Storylines are very small parts. The variety of colors and voices becomes possible in the first place because, in addition to the band as a whole, Wogram also resorts to a multitude of individual design possibilities. Above all, he allows himself the luxury of working slowly, giving room to every tone, every chord, and even when writing, not to capitulate on what is offered, but to search until it fits best.

At no time was it about reinventing the Big Band concept. Wogram and the NDR Big Band have deliberately decided on each other and therefore take as they are. This healthy acceptance results in a natural and lifelike flow of intentions and images. However, Wogram's intense preoccupation with the possibilities and history of the Big Band has another side effect that is not intended in this form. Regardless of the specific compositions that the trombonist wrote for the band, he also tells the story of the big band. George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, and Django Bates all seem to be watching Wogram unobtrusively. He does not copy or imitate anything, but he allows these references intuitively. Everything sounds surprising and new, and yet it also seems familiar and corresponds to the progressive memory. "It was important to me that in the end I not only find myself as a front man, but that all the participating musicians feel comfortable with it as well. I had previously discussed with the orchestra how I want to set up the band, was allowed to bring my own Tonmann. I invited the whole big band to dinner. That's not to be underestimated. If you just go there and say, 'my music will go, now you have to play it perfectly', problems inevitably arise. I did not want to fail because in the end it means that my music is so exhausting and difficult. No, the musicians should find each other again and feel good. "

Wograms decision to include well-known musicians from his environment in the production belongs to well-being and recovery - not least in the sense of the listener. He has brought in a fellow-speaker, French-born pianist Bojan Z, whose musical cosmopolitanism inspired him on the duo album Housewarming. When it comes to playfulness, humor and emotional intelligence, the trombonist and the pianist are on the same wavelength. Drummer Jochen Rückert, due to his membership in Root 70, is one of the musicians most familiar with Wogram's way of thinking. The saxophonists Steffen Schorn and Niels Klein also played with Wogram many times before. In Rainer Tempel he finally decided on a conductor who leads the big band with the same ease with which he composed the pieces himself. Temple agrees with Wogram that spirit is more important than precision.

Only those who prepare for life can take it as it comes. This also applies in full to "Work Smoothly". Nils Wogram took it easy, thought through and prepared all the components as well as possible from many sides, in order to finally be able to fall into the playful moment with all those involved without hesitation. That's how a Big Band CD came to be, which has everything a Big Band CD needs, and yet, or perhaps because of that, is quite different from anything we know in this segment.

Christoph Stiefel - Sofienberg Spirits (nWOG RECORDS 2018)

Born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1961, the pianist became a permanent band member of Andreas Vollenweider & Friends at the age of 23. He toured with the band from 1984 to 1989 through Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA. He became well known internationally in the last few years, in particular, for his own compositional style, through which he has created a contemporary type of jazz by using a compositional technique from the Middle Ages (isorhythm) – his music oscillates between intensive grooves and tonal color painting in a fascinating manner. For years, he has fostered this compositional style, mostly in his “Inner Language Trio”, which manages the balancing act between precise conceptual work and unleashed improvisation with such aplomb as few other formations in the current jazz scene.

1. Sofienberg Spirits I 01:48

2. Sofienberg Spirits IV 02:01

3. Sofienberg Spirits III 03:14

4. Inner Roughs 03:07

5. Sofienberg Spirits II 01:15

6. Reminiscence 05:29

7. Sofienberg Spirits VI 02:10

8. Giant Steps 03:52

9. Inner Language / Isorhythm # 19 06:34

10. Beauty 04:19

11. Sofienberg Spirits V 03:13

12. A Great Place / Isorhythm # 34 03:55

13. Attitudes / Isorhythm # 31 04:47

14. Sofienberg Spirits VII 02:57

Christoph Stiefel (piano)

Nils Wogram Root 70 - Luxury Habits (nWOG RECORDS 2017)

Released April 28, 2017 

After four "conceptual works" releases Root 70 enters the free and spontaneous space again. Luxury Habits is an album on rhythm and unexpected metric transformation. Take the risk and get surprised.

Times change, and with them, the themes and credo of all artists – as long as their antennas continue to receive signals. Even the first bars of the opener of Luxury Habits announce that Root 70 is moving differently. Indeed, the motto for the new CD could be “the party’s over.” Never before has the band sounded so serious. Although here, serious does not mean the cerebral tendency in some of contemporary jazz, but rather the seriousness with which a subject is exhibited, and the depth with which the intentions of four musicians merge. Indeed, the music on Luxury Habits did not even have a conceptual plan. On the contrary, unlike on the last records of Root 70, Wogram wanted to do in a space devoid of concepts what a jazz musician likes to do: to simply play.

Wogram, Chisholm, Penman and Rueckert combine the gift of questioning themselves. Individually and as a band, which, in this case, amounts to a close circle of friends. “The album has emerged from a band dynamic,” says Wogram. “We talked intensively about the concepts of the past few years and agreed that we wanted to take a little more risk. We needed a new challenge.” The collective risk of precise blurring is a rare commodity in an epoch so fond of the post-factual. Root 70 lean far out the window. We have enough answers. Root 70 are four individualists who merge into an inseparable identity and once again ask the right questions in their music.

1. Luxury Habits 05:37

2. To Don`t List 06:58

3. Rehearsing the Future 09:21

4. Flattery is the Strongest Weapon 07:33

5. It`s arrogant to call me arrogant 06:11

6. Rich Kid 08:04

7. Party Anxiety 05:36

8. Starting from Zero 07:25

9. Piazza 08:33

Nils Wogram (Trombone, Melodica) 

Hayden Chisholm (Alto Sax) 

Matt Penman (Bass) 

Jochen Rueckert (Drums)

Bojan Z & Nils Wogram - Housewarming (2016) nWog Records

nWog Records