Jazz Articles about Frank Gratkowski

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Gratkowski / Nabatov / Schmickler: Deployment

by Glenn Astarita
June 14, 2010

Armed and prepared for battle, prominent improvisers Frank Gratkowski (reeds) and Simon Nabatov (prepared piano) align forces with computer operator Marcus Schmickler for a sequence of strategic maneuvers. They commence the Deployment with haunting overlays, via Nabatov's clustered phrasings and Schmickler's ethereal, and sometimes subliminal, overlays or interjections. Gratkowski commandeers a free form impetus, spanning boisterous sax and clarinet parts amid shifting movements and alterations to the ensuing skirmish.

The trio synthesizes an array of mood-evoking frameworks via ...

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Frank Gratkowski: Accept Everything

by Martin Longley
November 12, 2009

Virtuoso German reed specialist Frank Gratkowski enjoys a particularly fertile range of collaborations, settings and directional thrusts. He was back in New York in October, 2009 with a trio that has released three albums during the last six years: Kwast (Konnex, 2004), Unearth (Nuscope, 2005) and Palaë (Leo, 2006). Appearing at Roulette, Gratkowski was joined by pianist Achim Kaufmann and bassist Wilbert De Joode, both of whom hail from the Netherlands. The gig is billed as a session of “improvised ...

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Frank Gratkowski - Chris Brown - William Winant: wake

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 10, 2009

wake è il primo lavoro in Trio di tre giganti della scena improvvisativa degli ultimi vent'anni, Frank Gratkowski, Chris Brown e William Winant, che danno alle stampe per la Red Toucan una registrazione effettuata al Mills College di Oakland in California nel marzo del 2007. Il compositore, sassofonista e clarinettista tedesco Frank Gratkowski si conficca con grande esperienza nelle maglie del duo americano Winant-Brown, contribuendo con la propria ricca esperienza a dar vita ad un progetto decisamente corposo. La registrazione ...

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Frank Gratkowski: Palae, Wake and Live at the Musik Triennale Koln

by John Sharpe
March 7, 2009

Achim Kaufman/ Frank Gratkowski/ Wilbert de Joode Palae Leo Records 2007 Frank Gratkowski/ Chris Brown/ William Winant Wake Red Toucan Records 2008 James Choice Orchestra live at the musik triennale koln Leo Records 2008

German reedman Frank Gratkowski has become an increasingly significant presence on both ...

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Gratkowski / Brown / Winant: Wake

by Nic Jones
January 19, 2009

This is a remarkably simpatico trio. The evidence is all over this program in terms of deft musical touches and the deep listening of all three members. Even in the most animated passages the music never descends into mere chaos, and there is an underlying logic which just might lie closer to the heart of musical expression than any creation of chaos for its own sake.

The sonic palette of the instrumentation is exploited to the full. On the opening ...

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Gratkowski / Brown / Winant: Wake

by Mark Corroto
December 24, 2008

California meets Germany happens to be the headline of this trio of Frank Gratkowski, William Winant, and Chris Brown. Maybe the story-behind-the-story here is that great minds think alike and great improvisers improvise, well...greatly.

German composer/reed musician Frank Gratkowski has been active on the European scene for the last 20 years. He has an affinity for strong pianist like George Graewe, Misha Mengelberg and Achim Kaufmann, and drummers including Gerry Hemingway and Tony Oxley. It seems natural that he would ...

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Achim Kaufmann - Frank Gratkowski - Wilbert de Joode: Palaë

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 19, 2008

Il terzo disco (primo per la Leo) di questo trio tedesco e olandese porta impresso i segni di un retroterra tutto europeo. Un’indicazione che ne colloca gli esiti dalle parti di un certo camerismo contemporaneo. Lo sviluppo del suono ottenuto attraverso l’utilizzo di svariati registri e di molte delle possibilità fisiche dei tre strumenti, nonché una sorta di radicalismo contrappuntistico, costituiscono la materia di una geometrica relazione a tre che si evolve come un triangolo che spesso sembra isoscele, ma ...