Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Philipp Schiepek: Golem Dance
Philipp Schiepek: Golem Dance
By"All and More" kicks off the album with an adequate introduction to the quartet. The understated melody of the tune is presented by Schiepek's earthy guitar tone, before saxophonist Seamus Blake joins in unison. Henning Sieverts doesn't hesitate for long and takes the wheel with some extensive phrases on double bass. But no matter whose turn it is to solo, Schiepek's slightly unconventional comping is able to grab the listener's attention without being too intrusive; while guiding the respective melodic protagonist, his playing furthermore adds an additional melodic dimension to the song.
On pieces such as "Ian" or "Up," the band lets the groove speak for itself and the rhythmical drive dominate the harmonic pace. The former is more monotonously tempered when it comes to the progressions and motifs, while "Up" writes the bebop chapter of the album with swing, speed and Blake and Schiepek at the top of their game. "Flou" finds the band starting off united and, piece by piece, pulled apart during the course of the song. First through-composed and then increasingly free, the instruments are temporarily held together merely by the shadow of a motif, before the partially chromatic and dissonant sounding melody signals the reunion.
The musicians leave one another the room to breathe, which the almost exclusively original compositions demand. The wrong cast of sidemen would have had a hard time delivering a set that incorporates as many challenging dynamic elements as these pieces do, but at no point does any doubt arise that this quartet gets along just fine.
"12 Raindrops" demonstrates that there is no need for a change of pace in order to transform a light swing to a hard bop attitude, while "Family Affair" is the ballad centrepiece of the album and, in referring to the title name, seems to point out that they are, in fact, rarely of a simple nature. "The Poet" and "Even Harder" continue in a dynamically alternating fashion. Appropriately titled, the first is a romantic ballad with vocal sax lines at its center, and "Even harder" isn't quite as hard as one might expect, but reveals a cheeky New Orleans-influenced street-band demeanor. The live-cuts (recorded at Unterfahrt in Munich, Germany) only confirm that there were no illegal tricks involved in the studio recording. Quite the opposite: This just might sound even better live.
Track Listing
All and more; Ian; Flou; 12 Raindrops; Family Affair; Up; Golem Dance - live; The Poet; Even Harder; Out Of Nowhere - live.
Personnel
Philipp Schiepek
guitarPhilipp Schiepek: Guitar; Seamus Blake: Saxophone; Henning Sieverts: Bass; Bastian Jütte: Drums
Album information
Title: Golem Dance | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Enja Records
Comments
About Philipp Schiepek
Instrument: Guitar
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToTags
Philipp Schiepek
Album Reviews
Friedrich Kunzmann
Golem Dance
Enja Records
Philipp Shiepek
Seamus Blake