Jazz Articles about Martin Kuchen

About Martin Kuchen

Album Review

Vilhelm Bromander: In This Forever Unfolding Moment

Read "In This Forever Unfolding Moment" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
September 15, 2023

Ornette Coleman's haunting “Lonely Woman" is becoming something of a 2023 soundtrack. At the time of writing, we have had memorable versions from Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Spirit Muse), and Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter on The Iridescent Spree (Edition), plus another couple of efforts about which the less said the better. Here comes a third boss edition. Sort of. “Låt Våra Tårar Bli Våra Vapen," which opens side two of Vilhelm Bromander's ...

Album Review

Martin Kuchen, Agusti Fernandez, Zlatko Kaucic: The Steps That Resonate

Read "The Steps That Resonate" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
October 23, 2022

Once improvisers reach a certain level of experience, it is rare that a meeting between them does not deliver the goods. By this stage they are well versed in the mechanics of collective music making off the map. They have developed a fine sense of when to play and when not, how much they can respond without it becoming predictable, and a host of other similarly arcane split-second decisions which happen faster than thought. But when masters of the art ...

Album Review

Angles: A Muted Reality

Read "A Muted Reality" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 13, 2022

For Swedish saxophonist Martin Küchen, all music is folk music. Proof of that statement is the Angles' release A Muted Reality. Whether he is referencing Balkan, African, Swedish, American jazz or Spanish dialects, he is drawing on kindred spirits in his music. With the various editions of his Angles projects, from trios to 10-piece small big bands, he releases music of the people, i.e. people music. This version of Küchen's Angles is an octet and the eleventh in a continuous ...

Album Review

Küchen, Fernandez, Kaučič: The Steps That Resonate

Read "The Steps That Resonate" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
August 29, 2022

Registrato il 9 settembre 2021 a Šmartno, durante l'undicesima edizione del Brda Contemporary Music Festival, questo disco documenta l'improvvisazione realizzata dal sassofonista svedese Martin Küchen, dal pianista spagnolo Augusti Fernandez e dal batterista Zlatko Kaučič, che del festival è organizzatore e anima. Il lavoro è suddiviso in due parti (sebbene la copertina non lo riporti): la prima è una lunga improvvisazione di oltre mezzora, senza soluzione di continuità; la seconda una replica più breve, circa cinque minuti, a mo' di ...

Album Review

Martin Küchen, Agustí Fernandez, Zlatko Kaučič: The Steps That Resonate

Read "The Steps That Resonate" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 21, 2022

Let's test the laws of thermodynamics with free improvisation music. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. This law is sublimely displayed during the live performance by Martin Küchen, Agustí Fernandez, and Zlatko Kaučič at the BCMF Festival in Slovenia, in 2021. While the Spanish pianist Fernandez and drummer & percussionist Kaučič have toured and recorded together--check out their ...

Album Review

Angles 3: Parede

Read "Parede" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 6, 2019

This European improvising super-group reverts back to the original trio format, captured live at a Portuguese venue. Here, reedman Martin Küchen teams with fellow Scandinavians (now residing in the US), bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Kjell Nordeson. In effect, it's an invigorating performance and designed with great focus, as the musicians don't blow matters out of proportion or engage in long-winded soloing sprees. Flaten cooks up a bouncy gait via his peek-a-boo ostinato to launch “Equality ...

Album Review

Martin Kuchen: Baza

by John Sharpe
February 26, 2019

On Baza Swedish reedman Martin Küchen joins forces with Polish acoustic bass guitarist Rafal Mazur for a seat-of-the-pants duet, recorded live at the titular Krakow club. Issued as a limited edition LP, but also available as a download, the program contains two cuts also named after the venue. While Küchen may be best known for his variable-sized Angles ensembles and his part in the co-operative quintet All Included, both of which perform his charts, he is also a formidable improviser ...