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Jazz Articles about Frank Gratkowski

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Album Review

Nicola Miller: Living Things

Read "Living Things" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


It is more than fair enough to say that Nova Scotia-based saxophonist/composer Nicola Miller's vision and understanding of things is peppered with oddly curious axioms and an astute ear for the undertow that pulls us all further out to sea or crashing into the breakers. At least that is what Living Things, Miller's first bold statement as a leader leads one to believe given the odd shapes and delineations that such serpentine wanderings of the lead-off “Barge"--its slippery, open ...

3
Album Review

Frank Gratkowski, Simon Nabatov: Tender Mercies

Read "Tender Mercies" reviewed by John Sharpe


This collection of seven duets from pianist Simon Nabatov and reedman Frank Gratkowski stands as one of those times when the late Misha Mengelberg's term “instant composition" for a series of seat-of-the-pants encounters makes absolute sense. Perhaps that should not be a surprise, considering the protagonists histories and shared base in the German city of Cologne. Indeed, their association dates back to at least 1999, when the reedman appeared as part of a quartet on Nabatov's Nature ...

7
Album Review

Frank Gratkowski, Achim Kaufmann, Wilbert de Joode, Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery

Read "Flatbosc & Cautery" reviewed by John Sharpe


Adding a new member to a long-established group sometimes reinforces the chemistry, at other times it transforms. With the threesome of reedman Frank Gratkowski, pianist Achim Kaufmann and bassist Wilbert de Joode, a unit since 2002, the co-option of Necks drummer Tony Buck propels the outfit more explicitly towards the high-energy end of the free spectrum, compared with previous outings such as palaë (Leo, 2007) and oblengths (Leo, 2016). Recorded in concert in Koln, in May 2018, ...

Album Review

Gratkowski, Nabatov, Mahnig: Dance Hall Stories

Read "Dance Hall Stories" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il titolo e la foto di copertina sono allusivi e non vanno presi alla lettera. Il pianista Simon Nabatov e il sassofonista Frank Gratkowski non hanno deciso di abbandonare la libera improvvisazione per un omaggio al repertorio da ballo ma includono nella collaborazione il giovane batterista Dominik Mahnig, che si aggiunge in metà dei brani del disco. Anche se pubblicata nel 2020 la registrazione risale a una session in studio (a Colonia) di tre anni prima. A ...

Album Review

Simon Nabatov: Time Labyrinth

Read "Time Labyrinth" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Registrato il 17 aprile 2019 a Colonia, “Time Labyrinth" è la prima parte di un progetto di Simon Nabatov denominato Changing Perspectives, che sarà completato nel prossimo futuro. Il pianista e compositore di origine russa vive nella città tedesca da quasi tre decenni ed è una figura di primo piano nell'universo della musica improvvisata europea ai confini tra jazz d'avanguardia e musica classica contemporanea. Le sei composizioni che costituiscono l'opera si collocano decisamente nell'ambito della musica ...

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Album Review

Simon Nabatov: Time Labyrinth

Read "Time Labyrinth" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Pianist Simon Nabatov is well-known for his explosive semi-structured presentations and freely navigated improvisational advances within this seemingly limitless musical space. But Nabatov is a composer who often stretches the perceived limits of avant-garde jazz. With this effort, he pursues a largely new approach by employing chamberesque forums via an acoustic-electric platform, intensified by consummate woodwind aces Frank Gratkowski, Matthias Schubert and other stalwarts to round out a drummer-less Germany-based septet. In the liners, the leader states that ...

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Album Review

Z-Country Paradise: Live in Lisbon

Read "Live in Lisbon" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


The multinational quintet revs up the audience on this wild and scruffy excursion that skirts a misty demarcation between punk jazz and avant-garde improvisation along with off-kilter jazz rock tendencies. Vocalist Jelena Kuljic's guileful and emotive iterations instill hip, Beat Generation-like narratives in concert with the band's jarring and edgy grooves via some recoiling breakouts and oscillating storylines. Indeed, the formidable frontline of esteemed reedman, Frank Gratkowski--a longtime Leo Records artist--and ace guitarist Kalle Kalima infuse their distinct ...


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