Jazz Articles about Alexander von Schlippenbach

Schlippenbach Trio: Winterreise

by Nic Jones
December 8, 2006

These musicians have been working together on and off for a long time, and perhaps the only thing they have in common with the “classic" lineup of the John Coltrane quartet is the fact that they work with such notable empathy that every disc they put out is in the most profound sense a document of a work in progress.

Taken from two concerts given in Cologne in German in 2004 and 2005, the two pieces that make up this ...

Alexander von Schlippenbach: Compression & Monk's Casino

by Andrey Henkin
June 2, 2005

The career of most artists follows one of two paths: linear (Pablo Picasso or Gato Barbieri) or circular (Chick Corea). Few can or wish to maintain multiple personalities creatively. In music, there are more instances of this kind of multi-tasking and German pianist Alex von Schlippenbach has proven himself especially adept. In the January 2004 issue of this gazette, two CDs by Schlippenbach were reviewed; The first was a ecstatic new entry into the catalogue of the ...

Alexander von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino

by Derek Taylor
May 5, 2005

Alexander von Schlippenbach Monk's Casino Intakt Records 2005

Monk covers are as regular as the tides these days. Everyone from Wynton Marsalis on one end, to Steve Lacy at the other, has seemingly picked the songbook clean. Most have mined it for the more accessible ore and left the more erudite entries, tunes like “Sixteen and “North of the Sunset, untapped. Into this arena of precedence and cherry-picking Alexander von Schlippenbach audaciously ups the ...

Alexander von Schlippenbach/Carlos Bechegas: Open Speech

by John Kelman
May 17, 2004

For the third release on flautist Carlos Bechegas’ new Forward.rec label, he continues to draw on a series of duets recorded in July ’03, this time with German free pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. Recorded at the Jazz a Luz Festival in France, Open Speech continues Bechegas’ search for interplay and interconnection. Unfortunately the results are nowhere near as successful as his release with flautist Michel Edelin, Open Frontiers , recorded three days later. While Bechegas and Schlippenbach are, of course, ...

Alexander von Schlippenbach: Broomriding

by John Eyles
December 11, 2003

Apart from using his Psi label to re-release his old Incus recordings and to put out new recordings of himself in a variety of contexts, Evan Parker is also using the label to release recordings by friends and colleagues, material that might otherwise have been overlooked. So far, the Psi recordings without Parker have all hit the bulls eye-- 'Smatter by Gerd Dudek, Dream Sequence by Kenny Wheeler, and now Broomriding. Of course, Alexander von Schlippenbach and Paul ...

Alexander Von Schlippenbach Trio: Pakistani Pomade

by AAJ Staff
October 5, 2003

British saxophonist John Butcher recently asked me why his music is considered jazz. Sure, it's based on improvisation. Is that enough of a qualification? There are some connections with the American avant-garde from the '60s, including atonal experiments by Cecil Taylor and expansions of the saxophone's sound by Coltrane and Ayler. But in the end, as much as we all like categories, Butcher's music does not fall into any neat bin. “European free improv" is about as close as you ...

Alexander Von Schlippenbach: The Living Music

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2003

When this session was done, everyone needed a shower. There's no doubt about that. The Living Music lives and breathes at such a high level of intensity (and coherence) that it must have brought these seven European free improvisers to sheer exhaustion that long, productive afternoon almost exactly 24 years ago in Köln. But there's a strong sense about this record--now in its third release--that things fit where they belong.

Belonging is a relative concept, of course, and ...