Space Tigers keep their spirit ahead with their own brand. Call it Jazz, Techno, Punk or Funk – for them it doesn’t matter. Be aware – it’s not just a band, it’s a movement, it’s an invasion.
Space Tigers usually have a trumpet, alto saxophone, guitar and drums lineup, but their regular trumpeter was replaced at late notice by a second altoist, thereby creating a grouping that recalled the Spy vs. Spy combination of Tim Berne and John Zorn, or the twinned altoists of the English band Led Bib. Space Tigers locked into a metallic cross-hatching of rock-funk patterns, maintaining this hard intensity throughout their set, either with jointly entwining altos or with solo horn stretches, attaining a pinnacle of piercing precision.“
A jazz fed by Latin sounds, contemporary music, groove and improvisation. A “fusion jazz”, luminous or abrasive, sophisticated or spontaneous, able to express the excitement of travels and new encounters. Pit and Company: it is a quintet freely expressing the thrill of the great escape and of the adventures in the big wide world. At the helm of this inspired endeavour is the very best of the French-speaking part of Switzerland’s jazz and Latin jazz: Peter Balazs (double bass) and Stéphanie Küffer (piano), joined by Mathieu Schneider (flute) and Raphael Nick (drums, percussion) as well as the special guest Gerry López (saxophone). Gathered together in a gang loving jazz in all its shapes and forms, from barred grooves to unbridled fusions, these five virtuosos present, in spring 2018, “L’ Emigré”: the first studio album signed Pit and Company. An invitation to embark on an odyssey without borders spanning enchanting, lyrical and unique climates.
Gert Anklam live in Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig – 9.7.2017 featuring Pina Rücker
20 years ago, in June 1997, in the domed hall of the Monument to the Battle of Nations in Leipzig, I made a live concert recording that became my first solo CD, „konzert für b”. This recording opened many doors for me all over the world: my many performances on baritone sax included playing at the UN Assembly in New York, in the Forbidden City in Beijing, in South Africa and together with the Freedom Bell in Berlin! The CD was used on documentary film soundtracks, in radio plays, and to accompany dance and theatre performances. And so, my association with the monument was sustained over the years, and I wanted to play there again. Of all the many venues I have had the privilege of playing in, each with its own unique sound, none has moved or inspired me as much as the acoustic of the domed hall in the Monument to the Battle of Nations. The defining playing technique of my solo concerts is circular breathing. The normal cycle of inhaling and exhaling creates a pulse that affects our individual sense of time. When this discontinuous air flow is then replaced by simultaneous inhaling and exhaling, both listener and player lose track of time. The long low tones of the crystal singing bowls have a similar effect on one s sense of time. It was a great pleasure to welcome Leipzig sound artist Pina Rücker to perform with me at this concert in July 2017.
The video of this concert comes from my friend and documentary filmmaker Salar Ghazi, who is gratefully thanked for his work and the beautiful film. He brings the extraordinary atmosphere of the concert back to life again in a very special way.
The band was established by Hungarian drummer Balázs Balogh in 2014 in Graz, Austria. It has been an international quintet from the beginning, having had members from Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro and Brazil since then. They play mostly Balázs’ compositions and arrangements. The music is based on the hard-bop tradition of jazz, but involves everything that has influenced the composer at a time, such as jazz-rock, free jazz, the folk music of Eastern-Europe, and the Balkans, odd-meters and polyrhythms, etc… The goal was to create a band with a characteristic sound – using a very ordinary instrumentation, and Balázs found great partners in the recent members of the quintet to achieve this: Tobias Pustelnik (AT) on tenor saxophone, Lajos Tóth (HU) on piano, Márton Fenyvesi (HU) on guitar, and Gustavo Boni (BR) on bass. They’ve had appearances in several countries of Central-Europe, including Opus Jazz Club (Budapest), Round Midnight (Trieste), ZWE (Vienna), and a radio appearance in Studio Glas Podzemlja (Maribor). They participated and won second prize at Zilina International Jazz Contest in Slovakia (2015), and won the Best Band Prize at Sibiu Jazz Festival, Romania (2016). Their first album entitled „Borderline Inspirations” will be released at Unit Records, and contains only original compositions of the band leader. Two compositions of the CD were also arranged and performed by the RTV Big Band Slovejina.
Luboš Soukup Quartet’s latest release, Země, features guitar and vocals from Lionel Loueke
Luboš Soukup Quartet has released their third studio album, titled Země (The Earth). The jazz album features guest appearances from guitarist Lionel Loueke, who brings a slightly African touch. As with the band’s earlier releases, all music and arrangements are composed exclusively by the Czech saxophonist Luboš Soukup, and it is the first of the quartet’s offerings to feature vocal arrangements.
Compared to their previous release, Through the Mirror, which was recorded with an ensemble of 14 musicians, Země is more intimate and personal. The quartet’s essence stays the same, but new musical interactions are presented. The instruments featured on the recording (saxophone, guitar, piano, double bass, and drums) are reminiscent of the quartet’s debut album Beyond the Borders, which featured a guest appearance from guitarist David Dorůžka. However, Soukup introduces a new instrument to this project, which has not previously been typical of his music, the voice. The saxophonist again joins forces with Danish drummer Morten Hæsum, one of the quartet’s founding members, and German pianist Christian Pabst, who featured on the quartet’s previous album. They are joined by Danish bassist Morten Haxholm, who has been with the band since 2016, and New York-based, Benin-raised guitarist, Lionel Loueke, who accompanies the band for six tracks, including providing vocals for some of them. Luboš Soukup, recipient of the Danish Music Talent Award 2017, first met Lionel Loueke at a Summer jazz workshop for professional musicians in Vallekilde, Denmark, three years ago. At the beginning of 2017, Soukup invited Loueke to join his quartet for a European tour, during which the five musicians performed at Jazz Festival Brno, the Czech Republic, and in Copenhagen, Denmark, amongst others, and finished the tour in Danish studio, The Village Recordings, where they recorded the music for Země. Music that celebrates the Earth The CD begins with title track Země (The Earth), which was inspired by Loueke’s music. “I wrote this composition with Lionel in mind,” says Soukup, “we live in interesting times and our planet faces many issues. My wish is that people strive to be more environmentally-friendly and sustainable, and that we are in closer contact with nature. I think future lifestyles will have to be simpler, which is a rather difficult task in today’s world with all the incredible possibilities we have.” This optimistic song is followed by rather darker ballad, Dark Shark.The track description from the CD insert reads: “A dark shark is floating around your head, waiting for your good thoughts to eat.” Continuing with the marine imagery, following track The Red Sea — inspired by the picture of Moses stretching out his hand over the sea and God parting the waters — is one of the most rhythmically complex pieces on the album.
Soukup borrows the word ‘Shikara’ from the Salman Rushdie classic, Midnight’s children, as the title for a short poem about small colorful boats on Indian lakes, and the dialogue between piano and clarinet is the leitmotif of calm and dreamlike composition, White Horse. The dreamy mood continues in the second part of Smoke, which is also one of the most technically sophisticated compositions. Soukup found inspiration for this tune in the eponymous movie directed by Paul Auster and Wayne Wang. An interesting music development can be also heard in C. The piece opens with the collective improvisation of piano, guitar, and soprano saxophone, and features a main theme of Latin-American vibes, finally graduating in an exposed guitar solo The only tune that bears any hallmarks of the classical jazz of the1960s is Falling star, which captures the impression of a falling star freezing on the horizon. The final track on the album is a positive arrangement of the Czech folk song Na Bílé Hoře (On the White Mountain) which, thanks to Lionel Loueke’s contribution, has a distinctly African feel.
Notes Luboš Soukup Quartet first formed in 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. During this time, the band has changed its lineup several times. The remaining original members of the project are Czech saxophonist and clarinettist Luboš Soukup, who is also the founder, band leader, and exclusive composer of all the band’s music, and Danish drummer Morten Hæsum, who is renowned for his innovative, highly interactive way of playing. In the current line-up, the band also features German pianist Christian Pabst, who brings a fresh, lyrical style to Soukup’s compositions, and Danish bassist Morten Haxholm, who ensures that the music’s foundation is mature and solid. Soukup studied at three European music schools, The Jazz Conservatory in Prague, Czechia, The Music Academy in Katowice, Poland, and The Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2011, he became the first scholar of the benefit project Chocomusic, which was founded by the O2 Foundation alongside Strings of Autumn, one of the biggest Czech music festivals, and which contributes to foreign studies. During his studies abroad, Soukup fell in love with Scandinavian musical tradition and settled in Denmark. In addition to the Luboš Soukup Quartet, he also leads the internationally successful quartet Points, and its expanded versions — Points Septet and PointsRataj Quintet (a jazz quartet with live electronics). He is a member of the energetic Scandinavian band MAdHAs, the Czech-Polish quintet Inner Spaces, and the Czech big band, Concept Art Orchestra etc. In recent years, he has been very involved with composing music for his own bands, as well as other people’s projects, and he teaches Saxophone and Ensemble at the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (HAMU) in Prague. The Benin-raised jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke makes a guest appearance on Země. Thanks to his originality, outstanding rhythm and well-honed technical skill, he has become one of the most sought after jazz musicians in the world today. He has previously featured in the work of Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Dave Holland, Chris Potter and many more.
1. Země (The Earth) 6:12
2. Dark Shark 6:05
3. The Red Sea 4:12
4. Shikara 6:51
5. White Horse 4:01
6. C 7:03
7. Falling Star 6:05
8. Smoke 7:06
9. Na Bílé hoře (On the White Mountain) 4:53
All compositions by Luboš Soukup, except track 9 (Czech folk song arranged by Luboš Soukup).
Playing alone is a bit unconventional for a bass player, since generally the bass is an accompanying instrument. This setting has allowed Alessandro to explore new territories, entering a space free from contaminations, and exploiting the acoustic sound, without any device.
Fedrigo explores the worlds of writers, Murakami and Verne, reinterprets pieces played with the XYQuartet and Hyper+ and finishes with two free improvisations.
Suonare in solo è un po' desueto per un bassista, abituato alla funzione ritmica del suo strumento. In questo caso Alessandro sa esplorare nuovi territori, entrare in spazi liberi da contaminazioni e valorizzare al massimo il suo suono acustico, privo di artifici.
Qui Fedrigo esplora il mondo degli scrittori, da Murakami a Verne, passando per composizioni suonate con i gruppi XYQuartet e Hyper+, per concludere poi con due improvvisazioni libere.
SKNAIL will present his futuristic and organic jazz at La Ferme Asile in Sion (Switzerland) and take the opportunity to preview a part of his new repertoire from his new album "Mutation" which will be released in September 2018.
Cortex? No, this isn’t jazz of the cerebral kind – even considering that the approach in “Avant-Garde Party Music” is very much the intelectual one coming from the bebop / hard bop era (when the music seated its users, inviting them to listen and not prioritarily to dance) and approaching our times through the free jazz evolutive line. Avant-garde the music certainly is, but you can still party with it, because this record grooves and swings like hell. Not in the conventional way, of course, but giving a chance to your temptation to shake the body. Having the transitional years going from bop to free as reference, it’s natural that you find on these tracks the influence of what Ornette Coleman did with Don Cherry. But this isn’t as simple as that: Cortex is a Scandinavian band and as such the music has a twist, the same you’ve found before in groups like The Thing, Atomic and The Core: a sort of hyper-realism, turning this jazz born in Europe even more “authentic” than the American original.
