Home » Jazz Musicians » Klaus Gesing Discography
Song and Dance
Klaus Gesing
Label: Challenge Records
Released: 2024
Duration: 01:06:29
Views: 19
Tracks
Back on Track; Sisyphus; Baile para las almas viajeras; Drifter;Pleši me; 1210; Dance Without Answer; Take it to the Bridge; Lullaby for Max
Personnel
Album Description
All tracks composed and arranged by Klaus Gesing, except track 5, Pleši me (trad.) & track 9 Lullaby for Max (trad.), arranged by Klaus Gesing
KLAUS GESING - SOPRANO SAXOPHONE & BASS CLARINET
ANA PILAT - VOICE
THE LATVIAN RADIO BIG BAND
When I started reimagining the tunes I had composed for Trio or Quartet settings for a larger ensemble, I realised this would inevitably limit the improvisational freedom of each player. I also thought that abandoning the idea for this reason would be like comparing apples and oranges—the small ensemble, with its intimacy and full improvisational freedom, and the large jazz ensemble, with its rich palette of colours, interwoven melodies, and dynamic grandeur, are simply two distinct ways to express music, like changing the dress for a different occasion. And so, I began to sew a new wardrobe for the Songs and Dances on this recording.
Three main elements thread through the compositions and arrangements of this collection. Firstly, the presence of irregular time signatures. The fact that some tunes on this CD are written in metres of 5/4, 11/8, 7/4, 15/4, or 17/8 is not a deliberate choice of mine. The way these odd metres slightly alter the passing of time—or at least the way I perceive it—inspires me and leads me on a search for a particular state of rhythmic and melodic flow that ultimately lets the concept of time signature itself lose its importance.
Secondly, I am captivated by the magic that happens when a melody is accompanied by words: lyrics seem to emancipate a melody from the composer’s original intent; what has been a tune becomes a song, with a life of its own.
And thirdly, I am fascinated with textures, with the changing colours of intertwining wind instruments—the human breath at the source of the sound we hear—and the harmonic and rhythmic authority of the wind ensemble in conjunction with the rhythm section.
The music on this album brings together pieces from various origins and inspirational sources. The opening tune, Back on Track (for J.), one of the three instrumental pieces on this recording, explores alternating subdivisions within the 11/8 time signature.
Baile para las almas viajeras is the most recent addition to this programme. Its arrangement, relying solely on flugelhorns, trombones, piano, and bass, aims to underline the ephemeral atmosphere of the Spanish lyrics by Ana Pilat.
Sisyphus, Drifter, and Dance without Answer have previously been performed and recorded in a trio setting with Norma Winstone on vocals and Glauco Venier on piano. Sisyphus showcases a unison melody for guitar and glockenspiel, while Dance without Answer atmospherically transports us back to the 1930s, featuring clarinets and the Solotone mute on trombone. The lyrics Norma Winstone wrote for Drifter are a fine example of storytelling.
Pleši me is a striking example of the rhythmic and melodic ingenuity of folk music. It features a 17/8 metre, the wordless singing of Ana Pilat, and light-footed melodies that effortlessly disguise the underlying rhythmic complexity.
1210 (for C.&F.) explores the 15/4 time signature from various rhythmic and stylistic perspectives while showcasing several soloists of the band.
The bass line and melody of Take it to the Bridge are inspired by a particular style of Austrian folk singing, where two voices sing an identical melody, with the second voice starting a quarter note later than the first. It was written for a quartet, featuring Gwilym Simcock on piano, Yuri Goloubev on bass, and Asaf Sirkis on drums.
Lullaby for Max, the closing song of this collection, starts with a lullaby, then takes us on an excursion to a dreamland full of coloured clouds, phantasmic animals, and tin-figure brass bands before bringing us back to its initial atmosphere.
The story of this recording started in November 2022, when I met Ana Pilat and the Latvian Radio Big Band in Riga for the first performance of this programme. Shortly after our concert, I was thrilled to receive the band’s proposition to continue our collaboration and record the music in this setting.
The days spent in the recording studio with Ana Pilat and the Latvian Radio Big Band were an intense and wonderfully inspiring moment in time. Each musician brought their personality to the music, generously offering their expertise, dedication, and heartfelt musicality.
I hope that when you listen to the outcome of our combined efforts, you will experience the same joy that I felt during the recording of the music.
Klaus Gesing
Album uploaded by Klaus Gesing
