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Oliver Schwerdt
Dörner-Schwerdt-Sartorius: Jul Fuel
by Mark Corroto
Jul Fuel unfolds more like a tale of three cities than a singular statement--especially when the tracks are experienced in album order. The release transitions from a solo piano performance to a piano-drum duet, a trio performance, and, finally, a slide trumpet solo. At its core, however, Jul Fuel revolves around German improviser Axel Dörner, even in moments when his horn is silent. Pianist and label chief Oliver Schwerdt takes on dual roles here: as an innovative artist ...
Continue ReadingOliver Schwerdt: Fucking Ballads
by Glenn Astarita
Pianist Oliver Schwerdt's Fucking Ballads is not just an album title; it is a declaration of sonic defiance, a rallying cry for those who dare to challenge the status quo. The juxtaposition of the genteel term “ballads" with the bold expletive “fucking" sets the stage for a musical escapade that is as cheeky as it is profound. From the opening notes of the album, Schwerdt and his ensemble are on a mission to disrupt the conventions of jazz. ...
Continue ReadingEuphorium_freakestra: Free Acoustic Supergroup
by Mark Corroto
Thanks to pianist and director Oliver Schwerdt, the Euphorium_freakestra is and always has been a glorious experiment in organized disorganization. The double CD Free Acoustic Supergroup is the ensemble's seventh release. Schwerdt's experiments began with the single disc Ðal Ngai (Euphorium Records, 2004) and eventually the group's 3-CD Grande Casino (Euphorium Records, 2018). Ðal Ngai included the guest artists Friedrich Schenker and Günter Baby Sommer. Other releases found the ensemble hosting musicians such as Thomas Lehn, Barry Guy, and Bertrand ...
Continue ReadingBig Bad Brötzmann Quintet: Bambule!
by Glenn Astarita
This set finds legendary free jazz innovator Peter Brotzmann leading his Big Bad Quintet, along with fellow German improvisational champions, keyboardist Oliver Schwerdt, drummer Christian Lillinger, bassist John Eckhardt and fabled British bassist John Edwards to round out a sweltering session, teeming with notions of turmoil, and enduring interchanges. Brotzmann is like a turbo-charged bulldozer flattening all the unwieldly routes throughout these two extended tracks. As the German translation of the album moniker infers, a non-violent prison protest. ...
Continue ReadingOliver Schwerdt with Barry Guy and Günter ‘Baby’ Sommer: One for My Baby and One More for the Bass
by Troy Dostert
There aren't many musicians who've loomed larger in European free improvisation since the 1970s than bassist Barry Guy and percussionist Günter 'Baby' Sommer. In addition to their own work as leaders (the former having much more of a presence in this regard than the latter, admittedly), each has collaborated with the heavyweights of the free music scene, from Peter Brötzmann to Evan Parker to Cecil Taylor. Yet the two had never performed together, until up-and-coming pianist Oliver Schwerdt invited them ...
Continue ReadingBig Bad Brötzmann Quintet: Karacho!
by Mark Corroto
Good free jazz is like a trip to a carnival with its exotic and unfamiliar sights and sounds. Even for an experienced listener, the surprise of great instant composing never grows old. A prime example is Karacho! by the befittingly named Big Bad Brötzmann Quintet. Like visiting the carnival, there are innumerable sound experiences encased within an all-embracing vibe, not disparate parts that fail to integrate. Recorded in 2017 at the naTo club in Leipzig, Germany, pianist Oliver ...
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