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Frank Gratkowski Project: Loft Exil V
by Donald Elfman
In the first movement of Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony, the composer musically presents the birth of the world and nature, with plants and animals coming to life in a wild and brilliant procession. It's the familiar sound world of the composer translated into a rich tableau that is somehow both familiar and brand new. In this set's first extended piece, “The Morning Beckons, saxophonist Gratkowski and his band offer an emergence from the darkness, as presented in the ...
Continue ReadingFrank Gratkowski Quartet: Facio
by Sean Patrick Fitzell
Veteran German saxophonist/multi-clarinetist Frank Gratkowski's latest offering, Facio , is an ambitious nine-part suite covering a swath of musical territory--from composed ensemble sections to free improvisation, delicate whispers to ferocious sonic assaults. But the different facets are skillfully joined together--the composition offers a hint of structure to the improvisations and the free playing adds spontaneity to the written material. In the capable hands of trombonist Wolter Wierbos, bassist Dieter Manderscheid, and drummer Gerry Hemingway, Gratkowski's music lures the listener into ...
Continue ReadingFrank Gratkowski - Fred Van Hove - Tony Oxley: GRATHOVOX
by Glenn Astarita
Recorded in Germany, these improvisational giants align their very special talents for what may appear to be a most unusual yet largely gratifying set. The trio commences with an open-ended sequence of interlacing movements on “Tartar.” As the musicians explore microtonal sounds and subliminally constructed mini-themes. Drummer/percussionist Tony Oxley uses his darkly hued cymbals for accents, while pianist Fred Van Hove and multi-reedman Frank Gratkowski implement parallel tonalities. The band occasionally veers off into circularly devised motifs amid manically developed ...
Continue ReadingFrank Gratkowski Trio: Quicksand
by Derek Taylor
The three Germans on this disc are dedicated to upholding the tradition of that expressionism in improvised music. Over the course of four lengthy compositions, which seem demarcated more in the interest of providing convenient entry points rather than delineating drastic shifts in direction, they do just that. Lovens is perhaps the best known among them. Through his longtime associations with Evan Parker and Alexander von Schlippenbach he has hammered out reputation as one of the most versatile improvisers in ...
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