Jazz Articles about Frank Gratkowski

About Frank Gratkowski

Album Review

Gratkowski - Robertson - Nabatov - Manderscheid: Celebrations

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 5, 2007

Prendi un quartetto di eccellenti improvvisatori, quattro strepitosi musicisti dalla reputazione consolidata, che non hanno più nulla da rischiare, niente da imparare e ancor meno da dimostrare. Immagina che un’etichetta indipendente tra le più coraggiose e rinomate li sostenga con fiducia incondizionata e, come al solito, conceda carta bianca ai propri pupilli. Aggiungi a tutto ciò il fatto che le strade dei fantastici quattro (scusate, ma non ho resistito alla citazione fumettistica), pur essendosi sfiorate numerose volte, non hanno mai ...

Album Review

Frank Gratkowski - Misha Mengelberg: Vis-à-Vis

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 18, 2007

Rara collaborazione tra due giganti della musica europea, Frank Gratkowski al sassofono alto e clarinetti, Misha Mengelberg al suo inseparabile piano. Vis-à-Vis", uscito nel 2006 per la Leo Records, contiene sei tracce (tutte con “mix" nel titolo) e più di un'ora di musica improvvisata che si riversa come un flusso ininterrotto, prorompente, a tratti intimista. Gratkowski e Mengelberg librano leggeri il loro vis-à-vis. Come due vecchi leoni dell'improvvisazione, che sanno il fatto loro, pare non concedano molto, lasciandosi invece ad ...

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Album Review

Frank Gratkowski and Misha Mengelberg: vis-

by Kurt Gottschalk
April 16, 2007

Misha Mengelberg's legacy, through his ICP Orchestra, will be as a pianist who is a unique jazz interpreter and bandleader with a devotion to Herbie Nichols, Monk and Ellington. And while he's made his own mark, it's only part of the story. At the helm of the ICP, Mengelberg leads jaunty, jazzy ditties, loaded with melody and humor. But on occasion, other sides of him seep out. Mengelberg, the son of a symphony conductor, was classically trained ...

Album Review

Frank Gratkowski Project: Loft Exil V

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 23, 2007

Questo doppio CD di Frank Gratkowski può servire come materiale importante per riflettere sulle modalità espressive tuttora vigenti nella musica improvvisata europea. L'intreccio di strumentisti tedeschi e olandesi consente una mescolanza significativa di attitudini linguistiche; la presenza altresì di due statunitensi è eccezione che conferma la regola di un procedimento senza compromessi, integro, quasi tetragono. Il doppio quartetto che costitusce la formazione (con il sassofonista e clarinettista Tobias Delius presente solo nel secondo disco), catturata dal vivo durante il trentaduesimo ...

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Album Review

Frank Gratkowski Project: Loft Exil V

Read "Loft Exil V" reviewed by Donald Elfman

by Donald Elfman
May 18, 2005

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 ...

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Album Review

Frank Gratkowski Quartet: Facio

Read "Facio" reviewed by Sean Patrick Fitzell

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
October 4, 2004

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 ...

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Album Review

Frank Gratkowski - Fred Van Hove - Tony Oxley: GRATHOVOX

Read "GRATHOVOX" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 15, 2003

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 ...