Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Heinrich von Kalnein: Songlines

150

Heinrich von Kalnein: Songlines

By

Sign in to view read count
Heinrich von Kalnein: Songlines
The last time saxophonist Heinrich von Kalnein crossed this writer's path was directing the band on Joys & Desires. In quite a departure from that outing German expatriate cum Austrian von Kalnein enters the more confined climate of the quintet, expanding the format with wide open arrangements of spatially conceived original compositions.

Heinrich von Kalnein's quintet includes Marek Balata as a wordless vocalist who employs scat, vocalese, and assorted vocal sound effects that impart an atmospheric character to the pieces. The effect is similar to that of using wordless vocals in a movie soundtrack to evoke a choral or spiritual ambience (e.g., Lord of the Rings death scenes).

Scat and vocalese, definite jazz conventions, are pushed to a level equal with von Kalnein's reeds. This is best illustrated on "Sam where Balata and von Kalnein become one in the music. Kalnein's introduces a compelling melody that is joined by Balata, who solos in scat to striking effect. "Sam is one of the more compositionally tethered pieces on the disc, which is more widely populated with air, open spaces filled with bass, percussion, and keyboards on all sides with von Kalnein and Balata weaving in and out of the mix. These effects are well reflected in "Songlines and the eerie "Homepage.

The closing "Coming Home is an ethereal ballad, softly set to flight by von Kalnein and spurned on by keyboardist Uli Rennert, who uses a variety of effects to cushion the saxophonist's emotive flights. Achim Tang establishes a steady bass heartbeat, welcoming Balata into the harmonic, melodic mix. Songlines smacks of originality and uniqueness in a current deluge of less well conceived projects.

Track Listing

Songlines; Short Jump; Virginia; Cien Aguas; Sam; Homepage; Coming Home.

Personnel

Heinrich von Kalnein: alto and soprano saxophones; Marek Balata: vocals; Uli Rennert: keyboards; Achim Tang: bass; Gregor Hilbe: drums.

Album information

Title: Songlines | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: TCB Music

Comments

Tags


For the Love of 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 create 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.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

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