Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Clarinet Trio: Oct. 1, '98

92

The Clarinet Trio: Oct. 1, '98

By

View read count
The Clarinet Trio: Oct. 1, '98
The Clarinet Trio is made up of Jürgen Kupke (clarinet), Gebhard Ullmann (bass clarinet) and Theo Nabicht (bass clarinet). Although this somewhat straitened instrumental lineup would seem limited, these three musicians have tremendous stylistic ability and virtuosic breadth. On these 19 brief pieces they move through a world of clarinet approaches - indeed, often they do so in the course of one piece.

To take just one example, "Klezmer . . . Flower . . . Tag . . .," although it is not even three and a half minutes long, has enough time to unfold a theme with modern classical harmonic piquancy, shift to broad Dixie clarinet, and back again, all with a contrapuntal approach that gives the music a symphonic depth that belies the fact that there are only three musicians. A symphonic buildup appears on "Heaven No. 2.7" also, around a few more playful dialogues.

These three musicians can, of course, dance at the outer fringes, as on the opening "Mouthpiece" and the Dolphyan bass clarinet features "Für Bassklarinette Alleine," "Brywzc (für zwei Bassklarinetten zusammen)" and "Für die Andere Bassklarinette Alleine." But true to Dolphy's highly vocalized approach, they can also mimic the cadences of the colorful vocal styles of gospel music on the extraordinary "Gospel," which sounds like a Mahalia Jackson recording run through clarinets. Here the trio makes great use of one voice in the lead with the others providing an immediately recognizable gospel backdrop. Less dead-on, but still engrossing, is a hypnotic "Blues/Collective Three" that follows later. It's not very bluesy, but with such a rich sound as this disc has, they can call the pieces whatever they want.)

The trio even creeps edgily into an increasingly sincere take on "Tea for Two," on which the old chestnut of a theme arises sidelong out of some soft abstract musings, like a snake charmed out of a basket. Toward the end of the disc comes a genuine waltz, "Walzer/Collective Four," a straitlaced title for such an absorbing little thing. Just as Oct. 1, '98 is a straitlaced title for such a great disc. It's all topped off with a terrifically sentimental "Parlami di me." Recommended.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Oct. 1, '98 | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Leo Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.