Izvajalec: Markus Stauss Project
Založba: Samozaložba
Izid: year
Ocena: 4/5
Kaj se zgodi, ko se združita dva tria (prvi z Markusom Staussom, Jeanom Chainom in Davidom Mossom) in na odru skupaj igrata improvizacije. No, dobimo nekaj kot je album New Duos ‘N’ Trios. Morda bi nekdo pričakoval standardne jazz improvizacije, a obe trojici se domislita mnogo boljših rešitev in na koncu smo nagrajeni še z enim odličnim delom, kjer je sodeloval Markus Stauss.
Glasbeno bi album verjetno opisal kot “čuden”, vendar, kar se mene tiče, ima ta beseda vedno bolj pozitivne asociacije. Zadeva je čudna v stilu Art Bears, še posebej z vso vokalno zmešnjavo in norimi zvoki. Čutim tudi velik vpliv Franka Zappe (prav tako vokalni deli in tudi instrumentalni), medtem ko nekateri bolj nasilni “odpeti” deli celo spominjajo na Koenjihyakkei ali Ruins. Vse to lahko slišimo na čvrsti jazz podlagi. Ta album je torej v glavnem nor, a na njem se med vso zmešnjavo najdejo tudi trenutki lepote, še posebej med izvedbo lepe tradicionalne pesmi “Mayenzeit”.
Skupina se najbolj izkaže, ko vseh šest članov združi moči. Je pa veliko trenutkov, ko slišiš igrati le en trio, medtem ko ostali praktično počivajo. Slišimo lahko veliko vokalnih in instrumentalnih variacij in veliko kombinacij, sestavljenih iz obeh trojic, a, kot sem že dejal, vse skuapj deluje najbolj prepričljivo, ko slišimo vse glasbenike igrati naenkrat, čeprav rezultat na prvi posluh zveni precej kaotično.
Album je v glavnem improviziran. A tukaj ne gre za standardno jazz improvizacijo, temveč ta vsebuje veliko slogov in zanimivih zvokov. Vse skupaj igrajo odlični glasbeniki, ki skupaj ustvarijo lepo odrsko čarovnijo in na trenutke se med njimi res trejo iskre. To ni projekt za ljubitelje striktno komponirane glasbe, temveč za ljudi, ki radi poslušajo zabavno, odštekano in noro glasbo.
Ta izdelek ni med Staussovimi boljšimi, a pomanjkanje komponiranih delov je več kot nadomeščeno s preprosto zabavo. Čuti se, da se glasbeniki na odru zabavajo in ravno to je eden tistih delov glasbe, ki se jih v zadnjem času zanemarja. Ravno ko pomisliš, da si odprl vsa vrata Staussove glasbene graščine, se pojavi to delo in ti pokaže, da obstajajo tudi skrite sobane. Dobro, morda slišimo tudi kakšen krik groze (vsaj nekateri vokalni deli so takšni), a je užitek nedvomno večji.
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What happens when a trio featuring Markus Stauss, Jean Chaine and David Moss joins forces with another jazz trio to do improvisations together on stage. Well, you get something like the album New Duos ‘N’ Trios. One might expect a pretty standard improvised jazz fest here, but the two trios come up with much more than that and in the end we are again rewarded by yet another fine product involving Markus Stauss.
Musically, I guess I would put this album into the “strange” category, however I have come to associate this word with positive sensations. This is strange in an Art Bears sort of way, with all the vocal havoc going on and all the crazy sounds. There also seems to be a lot of Frank Zappa in here (the vocal parts as well and some of the music), while some of the more violent “sung” passages even come close to Koenjihyakkei or Ruins. All of this is done on a firm jazz foundation. So, most of all, this album is crazy, but you can still find moments of beauty on it, particularly with the inclusion of the lovely traditional tune “Mayenzeit”.
The group seems to be at its best when all the six members combine their efforts, though there are several moments when you hear one trio playing, while the other almost rests. You can hear many vocal and instrumental variations here and many combinations of both trios, but as I said, this works best with all the musicians playing a role, even though the result may sound a bit chaotic on first listen.
All in all, this album is, for the most part, improvised, however, this isn’t standard jazz improvisation here, but it contains many styles and many interesting sounds. This is played by some fine players who create some nice stage magic together and you can really feel the chemistry between them at times. It’s not a project for fans of strictly composed music, but people who like fun, wacky and crazy things will definitely get a kick out of this.
This product really isn’t among Stauss’s best moments ever, but it more than makes up for any lack of composed parts by the sheer fun of it. You can feel the guys are having a blast on stage and that’s also one segment of music that has been sadly neglected as of late. Just when you think you’ve opened every door of the Stauss musical mansion, this kind of work shows you that there are hidden chambers in there as well. Sure, there may be some screams of terror (at least judging by some vocal parts), but the pleasure very much outweighs it.
Zasedba
Markus Stauss – saksofoni, piščal
David Moss – bobni & vokal
Jean Chaine – električni bas
Dieter Ulrich – bobni
Thomi Hirt – bas
Ellen Christi – vokal
Produkcija
Markus Stauss
Seznam skladb
1. Sound blocks
2. D 24 A
3. Tempest
4. Medley: Outside, Devils drive
5. Animals
6. Mayenzeit
7. D 24 B
8. Down town
9. OG
