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Language is itself the ultimate portable
communications device. More featureladen than a blackberry
or iphone, it fits under any hat - you can take it beyond
the network. Jazz is a language like any other. More melodious
than Portuguese, more rigorous than German, more international
than Esperanto…
Klemens, Johannes, Peter and Milan speak an unmistakably
New York dialect, regardless of their current residence.
They share a deep respect for both the history and the
present of their art, are so well versed in the work of
its finest modern practitioners that this work has become
them. They swing even as they tease with parlor tricks,
feints and parries, the serendipitous and the inevitable. |
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Peter
Madsen is an underheralded master, overflowing
with wit, charm and personal integrity. He has quietly
amalgamated the history of jazz piano into more than a
means of self-expression: his is a running aesthetic commentary
on the state of the world. Johannes
Enders is an eloquent and sonically pristine voice.
His approach to ballads in particular is strikingly mature,
emblematized by the beauty of "Darkness" and
"Song for Rosa". Milan
Nikolic is consistently warm and thoughtful, a
helpful hunter, perpetually stalking the right note at
the right time for the sake of the whole.
As a composer, drummer and bandleader Klemens
Martkl illustrates the dialectical pull faced by
every serious artist. A conscientious student of his craft,
he maintains reverence for icons and peers alike. As a
result he continues to grow, overcoming technical and
musical challenges along the way. At times this pole of
the dialectic obliges him (consciously or unconsciously)
to pay tribute to the music that has shaped his inner
soundworld. Knowledgeable ears will hear echoes of several
towering musical personalities smiling down on the bandstand
from above and afar, even as Klemens and company live
fully in the moment.
The opposing pole is that of budding aesthetic authority.
Every artist ultimately finds what he has to offer, discovering
along the way that he has less to prove and more to give.
This pole finds Klemens quirky and tasteful and more than
clever: a generous leader with something fresh to say.
Johannes and Milan and the always brilliant Peter (e.g.
check out "When Eric Met Ornette"), help him
muster the bravado to say it with style, proving again
that that one’s best self is always selfless.
Aaron Goldberg, Brooklyn, NY |
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