Jazz Articles about Ensemble 56

Ensemble 5: Solstice

by Glenn Astarita
April 6, 2013

Drummer Heinz Geisser's robust discography for Leo Records implies an active mind on the loose via his firm footing in the avant spectrum. He now expands his Collective 4tet to Ensemble 5, offering a combination of youth and experience coalescing into an idea factory of sorts. No two pieces sound distinctly alike, which is not always the case with many other free-reign albums of this ilk. With a broad baseline laid out, the unit's fluctuating momentum, blustery choruses, sinuously designed ...

Ensemble 56: 1st Meeting: Towards Sky Flight of Dragon

by Jerry D'Souza
January 1, 2009

Attila Dora, Rafal Mazur and Mieczyslaw Gorka sought inspiration from the ancient Chinese book “The Wanderer" by I Ching in calling themselves Ensemble 56. They conceptualize the philosophy of strangers meeting and interacting through their music, all of which is improvised in real time.

Spontaneous, improvised music is an art in its own. Dora, Gorka and Mazur have transcended the ordinary to find an intuitive weave and give their music a presence of depth and dimension. The path ...