Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Cor Fuhler: Stengam

Cor Fuhler: Stengam

By Mark Corroto
April 5, 2007
Sign in to view read count

Cornelis Fuhler is an Amsterdam based improviser who, as a pianist, is comfortable playing swing to John Cage. This recording from 2006 is a solo piano session made with no electronics, no overdubs, and no electronic treatments. With that in mind, he has created a series of sustained tones and notes that are remarkable in both a technical aspect and as a sonic document of sound improvisation.

A true chameleon in the experimental scene, Fuhler has recorded with drummer Han Bennink and bassist Wilbert de Joode. Sonic manipulator Gert-Jan Prins and Fuhler make up The Flirts. He works regularly with the likes of guitarist Keith Rowe, violinist Phil Durrant, cellist Tristan Honsinger, and saxophonists Michael Moore and Tobias Delius.

Forgetting the remarkable premise for this session, Fuhler brings sustained echoey and foggy sounds by utilizing various ebow and super magnets applied to an acoustic grand piano. They create electromagnetic waves that perpetuate a resonance of energy and sound that can only be described as "electric. The remarkable spatial feeling created is one of deep mediation of machine dreams.

This solo piano recording is unlike any other. In fact, any resemblance between these sounds and that of a piano are quite coincidental. The dreamy states of spinning energy Fuhler concocts are devices simply to muse on the imponderable

Track Listing

North-South; Ferrous; Stengam: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5; part 6.

Personnel

Cor Fuhler

Cor Fuhler: acoustic grand piano, preparations.

Album information

Title: Stengam | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Potlatch Records

< Previous
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Hot 'N' Hea...

Next >
Keep Your Sunny Side Up

Comments

About Cor Fuhler

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

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.