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Jazz Articles about Michael Wollny
Jazzfest Bonn, Opening Night With Niels Klein / EOS Chamber Orchestra And The Michael Wollny Trio
by Josef Woodard
JazzFest BonnBonn, Germany May 31-May 28, 2022 From the vastly populous files of shuttled cultural plans during pandemic times, JazzFest Bonn also played calendar catch-up on May 1. The kickoff concert of the festival's 12th annual edition opened at the Oper, a large theater venue nestled along the Rhine River, in overdue gala fashion. In the spotlight was a Germanic double-header featuring saxophonist-composer Niels Klein's enticing music for jazz trio and the EOS Chamber Orchestra and ...
read moreMichael Wollny: Treasures from the Wunderkammer
by Kurt Ellenberger
German pianist Michael Wollny is one of the most exciting and important jazz artists of our time. His work is marked by exquisite pianism and a restless creativity and search for expression that knows no stylistic boundaries. Wollny's output has been remarkable both in quality and quantity--he is in his early 40s, and has released almost 20 recordings as leader, along with many more as sideman, making him one of Munich-based ACT Music most prolific artists. All About ...
read moreWollny - Parisien - Lefebvre - Lillinger: XXXX
by Phillip Woolever
This unique group effort by a progressive team of virtuoso improvisers doesn't always hit the mark of inspired mastery, but the project certainly expands such possibilities. The album is culled from a four-night stand at Berlin's well-known A-Trane club which produced around eight hours of recorded material. The intriguing, unpredictable package presented here clocks in at around 45 minutes. The opening track Somewhere Around Barstow" pops with multiple-sourced seeds which literally set a stage for the chaotic chops ...
read moreMichael Wollny Trio: Weltentraum
by Bruce Lindsay
The inventive German pianist Michael Wollny combines a delight in exploration with an impressively high work rate. As a result, he's become one of the European jazz scene's most prolific and most unpredictable performers. Weltentraum is the debut recording from the Michael Wollny Trio, a piano, bass, drum collaboration that on the surface at least bears a striking resemblance to [em], Wollny's previous piano, bass, drums collaboration. Given that [em] was one of the most enjoyable and talented bands on ...
read moreMichael Wollny's [em]: Wasted & Wanted
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il pianista tedesco Michael Wollny, a leggere le concise note di copertina, sembra convinto della diversità del suo trio rispetto a quello che si ascolta in giro, che sia mainstream o avanguardia. Dopo una digressione sul concetto estetico di bello" conclude con un motto molto semplice: Make your own damn rules. La musica del trio in effette sfugge alle facili classificazioni, così sospesa fra ritmi in battere, accordi usati con forza, ad imitare cluster, se non che seguono dei precisi ...
read moreMichael Wollny's [em]: Wasted & Wanted
by Bruce Lindsay
Michael Wollny's sleeve notes for Wasted & Wanted are emphatic: MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN RULES. This is Jazz." Back in the day, this German piano trio used to be plain old [em]. Some re-branding has taken place, and now it's Michael Wollny's [em]. According to Wollny, the change is intended to help people who have been confused by the name [em], and to follow the well-worn tradition of naming a piano trio after the pianist. Hmm. Rather a strange approach, ...
read moreHeinz Sauer with Michael Wollny & Joachim Kühn: IF (BLUE) THEN (BLUE)
by AAJ Italy Staff
È a tutt'oggi difficile regalare emozioni con la formula del duo tra sax e pianoforte, largamente esplorata dal mercato discografico del jazz. Un compito tanto più arduo e rischioso se si pensa di rivisitare alcuni classici del davisiano Kind of Blue". E solo tre autentici fuoriclasse come Sauer, Kühn e Wollny potevano non lasciarsi ingabbiare dalle maglie melodico-armoniche degli standard proposti. Il loro è un felicissimo incontro tra virtuosi del proprio strumento, oltre che tra due generazioni di musicisti tedeschi, ...
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