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Euphorium_freakestra: Free Acoustic Supergroup
BySommer is back for this outing, which also includes trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, bassist Barre Phillips, and spoken word artist Friedrich Kettlitz. Schwerdt has paired musicians by instrument, Smith with Axel Dorner, Sommer with drummer Christian Lillinger, Phillips with bassist Michael Haves, the saxophonists Urs Leimgruber and Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, and Schwerdt himself at the piano.
Free Acoustic Supergroup was captured at the 2009 Euphorium Festival in Leipzig. Like Derek Bailey's Company Weeks, this free improvised collective draws musicians from across the globe with the countries Germany, Switzerland, and the United States represented. Kettlitz' elocution (in German) opens the discs, and it recalls the Dada and Futurist recordings of Kurt Schwitters and Richard Huelsenbeck. His spoken recitations are the introductions to various improvisations and appear to spark the subsequent improvisations. Although there are ten members of this Supergroup, each leaves plenty of space for their colleagues. For the most part, the music is presented in pairs, the same instrumentstrumpets, saxophones, basses, and drumsin conversation or a cross pollination between a reed and a brass instrument, et cetera. Clearly, the musicians are listening to each other, and their deep concentration is apparent in the cohesive nature of this freely improvised music. Unlike many large free ensemble recordings, this does not devolve into chaotic hubbub. Even when all the musicians are engaged at once, there is a self-possessed cohesiveness to the sound.
Track Listing
CD1: Free Acoustic Supergroup I Kantate, Pt. I: Im Strahlen Der Trabanten; Phore I (2-5): Spridriger Feuertunkel, Tafft!; Globalhirtenrider: Eyes & Gliss; Streichprafater, Zug Von Zungenstuhl; Graben Jetzt, Alle Auf Nach Stoirhondur, Neun Kleine Feten Geh’n…; Kantate, Pt. II: Versandete Trompeten; Phore II (7-8): Zarte Klaster Drüber Winde Steh'n (Quintett No. 1); Conference At Olli's (Black Music GDR); CD2: Free Acoustic Supergroup II Kantate, Pt. III: Am Baustrand; Phore III (2-4): Briedwaht, Kleiheuer, Stuff (Zeitungszeugen Lesen Heuer Körner); 2 Trios In The Street (Microphistical Klee Der Raben); Throughout The New Mississippi Freedom Train, Mister Borgenthal Jumps Into The Rhythm Of Tastoraster In Gloria, Calms Down And Finally Vanishes; Phore IV (5-7): Chiclin Berago (Von Axelleo Da Schmidt-Wödarner); Garten Rüben Oben, Stoirihondurando Zehn; Langer Brueder Feitendarm? (American Successfully Amplified); Kantate, Pt. IV: Klonkern, Wieder Ulmanach; Phore V (9-10): Morning Hours Without Rice, But Rice (Haschbender Russenkatze); End Of Night, Enlighted Days Beyond (The Golden Trio's Todeshymne); Kantate, Fin: Orgel-Laib Am Bein.
Personnel
Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky
saxophone, altoBarre Phillips
bassMichael Hayes
bass, acousticChristian Lillinger
drumsGunter Baby Sommer
drumsOliver Schwerdt
pianoUrs Leimgruber
saxophone, sopranoAxel Dorner
trumpetWadada Leo Smith
trumpetFriedrich Kettlitz
vocalsAdditional Instrumentation
Oliver Schwerdt: Percussion; Urs Leimgruber: tenor saxophone;
Album information
Title: Free Acoustic Supergroup | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Euphorium Records
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