Home » Jazz Musicians » Olaf Taranczewski Discography
When I Was
Olaf Taranczewski
Label: Hey!jazz
Released: 2021
Views: 143
Personnel
Album Description
aranczewski is a trio from Berlin. Connoisseurs of film soundtracks may be familiar with the name Olaf Taranczewski; for everyone else, the band comes out of nowhere, and yet after just a few notes, it seems as if it had always been there.
This impression does not come about by chance. Pianist Olaf Taranczewski has known bassist Jean-Philippe Wadle and drummer Benedikt Stehle for decades, yet they had never played together in this constellation. The pianist is the composer and namesake of the band, but as can be heard on the debut album ‘When I Was’, Taranczewski is a stable triangle whose impulses and contributions are evenly and – more importantly – equitably distributed. The three musicians are not only united by making music together in different contexts, but also by listening to music together. These are formative experiences that leave their mark on ‘When I Was’. Strictly speaking, they tell each other stories of this musical listening on the album, and their listeners in turn enjoy the privilege of listening to these gentle narratives. ‘The pieces themselves are also up to 15 years old,’ adds Olaf Taranczewski. ‘As far as the songs are concerned, it is in a way a ‘best of’ my compositions from the last decade and a half. However, they always felt unfinished. With Benedikt and Jean-Philippe, they have been completely recreated.’
Imaginary memory could be the secret motto of this recording. Did we experience it, dream it, or was it just told to us? The deeply personal nature of Taranczewski’s pieces lies precisely in the collective search for traces, which probably grips each of us sooner or later, whether we are aware of it or not. This circumstance, as well as the long time span in which the songs were written, suggests the term ‘timeless’. Viewed fleetingly, Taranczewski’s pieces are indeed extremely timeless. And yet this term only applies to a limited extent. For it is not for nothing that both the pieces and the pianist’s search for traces have waited exactly until the present moment to culminate in ‘When I Was’. In an era in which personal biographies and life paths are once again gaining more weight than national borders, old stories want to be told anew. Because of the numerous levels of association, the word ‘everlasting’ therefore captures the essence of this recording far better than ‘timeless’.
With Benedikt Stehle, drums and Jean-Philippe Wadle, bass.
All compositions by Olaf Taranczewski
Mixed by Olaf Taranczewski
Mastered by Christoph Stickel
Album uploaded by Olaf Taranczewski
