Could Georg Graewe be a chameleonic figure in the world of jazz improvisation? Listening to a selection of recordings from over the last decade or two, it soon becomes clear that this German pianist is frequently found in completely different settings, with his music consequently traversing the distance from intensely thoughtful sparseness through to throttling, high-density hyperactivity. He's always identifiably himself, but deeply affected by the colleagues that he chooses for any given session. Graewe has played piano duets with Marilyn Crispell (tuned and detuned), has a regular group with cellist Ernst Reijseger and percussionist Gerry Hemingway, a quintet (this was the form of his first band in 1974) or can be heard in duo with the British saxophonist John Butcher, his most violently abrasive outlet.
AAJ Contributor Martin Longley spoke with Graewe on the eve of his first dates in New York since the Fall, 2000.
Check out Georg Graewe: Jazz Improv Chameleon at AAJ today!
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