Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Christoph Irniger / Pilgrim: Mt. Tongariro

55

Christoph Irniger / Pilgrim: Mt. Tongariro

By

Sign in to view read count
Christoph Irniger / Pilgrim: Mt. Tongariro
Whether by default or intent, Europe's Pilgrim communicates an artistic portraiture of progressive jazz. Framed on the sensibilities of travel and alluding to New Zealand's Mt. Tongariro as a core premise for the underlying themes, this quartet led by saxophonist Christoph Irniger pursues a signature sound and methodology. With ethereal overtones, budding passages, and succinct treks into the free jazz realm, the program encompasses blustery textural components, as the soloists' detail-oriented exchanges are modeled with authority and poise.

Featuring bassist Christian Weber's edgy arco lines and Irniger's eerie sax choruses, the band launches the festivities with "The New World," where stark imagery looms as an overriding factor. Here, they set the stage for a multi-phased venture, enhanced by pianist Vera Kappler's ever-so-delicate phrasing and concise chord clusters. The band morphs the piece onto an ascending motif, which could parallel the slow climb up a mountain.

On "Chasing Dreams of Mt. Tongariro," a staggered rhythm creates an unsettling ambiance, gelled by the saxophonist's yearning notes, although the band switches gears on the rather stoic and moody "Dead Man." In other regions of sound and scope, the quartet kicks it up a few notches via flourishing melodies, amid Irniger's brawny extended note forays and soul-stirring thematic incursions, often reinforced by drummer Michael Stulz's punchy grooves.

Mt. Tongariro tenders a poetic string of musical events. Unhurried, climactic in scope, and largely designed with memorable harmonic material, the music often takes on an appearance of a cherished shrine. Yet the differentiator relates to the musicians' openness and subtly articulated movements that surge onward with buoyant ebbs and flows. It all translates into a broadly entertaining forum that seeds the antithesis to more familiar modern-jazz passageways.

Track Listing

The New World; Pathfinder; Chasing Dreams of Mt. Tongariro; Dead Man; Mt. Tongariro; Moving Moment (for Katrin).

Personnel

Christoph Irniger
saxophone, tenor

Christoph Irniger: tenor saxophone; Vera Kappeler: piano; Christian Weber: bass; Michael Stulz: drums.

Album information

Title: Mt. Tongariro | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Between the Lines

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.