Yes Walt - can we count on you to review Knives here (or elsewhere.. you know where to send unwanted reviews :))
I like Achim's playing very much and can heartily recommend his earlier work too "Weave" (Jazz4Ever, with Ingmar Heller & Jochen Ruckert) and "Double Exposure" (Leo, with John Schroder, John Hollenbeck and Michael Moore - not THAT Michael Moore, dummies)

Gratkowski smoke, here, but I don't know about Kaufman. I don't really share your enthousiasm Walt & Dan for his "pianism". Graewe continued to interest me much to follow your comparison. But if you want to do a fair one, listen to "Gratovox" another trio with Gratkowski, Oxley on drums and Van Hove on piano where there's no match, Van Hove is ligt years ahead of Kaufman.

One would expect him to be, given the length of his career. Would you compare John Blum to Cecil Taylor? And why "pianism" in inverted commas? Are you insinuating Kaufmann can't play at all? Explain yourself.

First, as an aside, Achim Kaufmann certainly does it for me. Caught him in February over four shows in Seattle and Vancouver (Time Flies was stupendous this year), and he's going places. Will he arrive in Graewe/Van Hove land? Who knows, but it's hardly damning to suggest that he ain't there yet.

On to my point, I was flabbergasted to read Walter's assessment of de Joode's place on this recording. For my money (okay, my housemate actually bought the disc) the bassist brings his usual finesse, extraordinary palette, and unerring musicianship to the mix. Last night's listen to "kwast" brought to mind one of my favorite aspects of some musicians' contrary contributions to freely improvised music. Players like de Joode don't necessarily take the bait of pianists' and saxophonists' fast runs and chromaticisms. Rather, they insinuate themselves into the proceedings idiosyncratically, providing us much more to grapple with than straightforward agreement among the artists.

Further, I'll venture that most any high-level free improvisor has been in the "modern classical boat" to one degree or another. Even more jazz-inflected free improvisation sometimes navigates those waters if it's any good - to these ears, anyway. Here's hoping that all free improvisors deal with Webern et al.

First, as an aside, Achim Kaufmann certainly does it for me. Caught him in February over four shows in Seattle and Vancouver (Time Flies was stupendous this year), and he's going places. Will he arrive in Graewe/Van Hove land? Who knows, but it's hardly damning to suggest that he ain't there yet.

On to my point, I was flabbergasted to read Walter's assessment of de Joode's place on this recording. For my money (okay, my housemate actually bought the disc) the bassist brings his usual finesse, extraordinary palette, and unerring musicianship to the mix. Last night's listen to "kwast" brought to mind one of my favorite aspects of some musicians' contrary contributions to freely improvised music. Players like de Joode don't necessarily take the bait of pianists' and saxophonists' fast runs and chromaticisms. Rather, they insinuate themselves into the proceedings idiosyncratically, providing us much more to grapple with than straightforward agreement among the artists.

Further, I'll venture that most any high-level free improvisor has been in the "modern classical boat" to one degree or another. Even more jazz-inflected free improvisation sometimes navigates those waters if it's any good - to these ears, anyway. Here's hoping that all free improvisors deal with Webern et al.

" Here's hoping that all free improvisors deal with Webern et al. "

check REFORM ART UNIT
a book just came out the whole history and shows will come again ....

Oooo, bad Henry, getting impatient and clicking "post" twice. Sorry, won't happen again.

http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/31245.html

I realize I digress, but it's good to see a reference, if only a name check, to the stalwart improvisers Reform Art Unit. I've listened to them for years, under several auspices/configurations (RAU, Masters Of Unorthodox Jazz). Fritz Novotny, Sept Mitterbauer, et al. are capable of some remarkable collective improvisation, & I never, ever see references to their work or history (outside of Milo Fine & a very murky web site I stumbled onto in the weest hours last summer).
I have a CD-R of RAU w/Milo recorded in '96 that has superlative trumpet work by Mitterbauer, and considerable variations in a suite-like form, given the players involved.
No disrespect intended for the artist's under discussion, having heard none of them. Suprised at the RAU reference is all.

Sorry, Dan.
Didn't see your post before today.
What I say is simple: Kaufman is maybe a gifted pianist but it's not on the same ligue that Graewe, Van Hove - to name two peoples who have play recently with Gratkowski - Veryan Weston or, let's say, Noah Rosen - two to whom I just listen today (Rosen and Kaufman are about the same age).
Didn't get what you say about my use of the term "pianism". Don't read and write enough good english for that.
If you want a deeper talk about Kaufman, I would be oblige to switch to french, but in this case, to not pollut this thread and this place, I would be oblige to do by e-mailing you, if you speak and read French, of course. Let me know.

"Didn't see your post before today."
Lucky you if you missed the deluge of invective on the other thread :)
Do you know Kaufmann's other albums? Seems to me he's coming at improv from the other end, cool, elegant ECM-y Eurojazz, unlike Noah Rosen (who I know, living as he does here in Paris) who studied with Andrew Hill & Bill Dixon (and it shows). Sorry about the pianism bit too; I assumed that by placing the word between inverted commas "---" you were implying he didn't have any.
I certainly do speak (and rather less well) write French, but not as well as you do English, from the look of it.

Taste is taste, of course. But I will say that I've heard (and very much enjoyed) lots of Graewe. Seen him live a couple times too (which is a big deal for me). While I've only got Kaufmann on a couple disks, my conclusion from that is that he might be a bit more consistent as a listener. Graewe has a tendency to talk too much sometimes. In a gig with Grat, he seemed to be annoying his bandmates on a couple of occasions by simply not letting tunes end. When the other guys would wind down, and a near perfect resolution was....right there! He'd take it as time to go into the concerto mode. I thought Grat might walk off in frustration at a couple points.

That said, I can't deny that some of his recordings are among my faves. He's a great player. Rosen I don't know at all.

Oh the quotes (you call it "comas"? Never heard the term). I just use it because I thought that was englishised (not sure of the word)a french word (pianisme) by taking the "e". Well never mind. I don't think that I ever say that Kaufman was a bad pianist, only a limited one to my hear. It's the third times that I hear him on record and I don't see any substantial progress in what he is doing. Aniway, you nail it right Dan : he gives the feeling to come from the cool/cold school of scandinvian player (Bobo Stenson is a good exemple) and try to get to the other side (I mean the "free impro" one that, let say, Van Hove Graewe, Mengelberg symbolizes in Europe) but stay, since his first record ("double exposure" his best and the only one from him that I've kept so far - I've get rid of his second on Red Toucan. Didn't like it at all and start to question since, his real value/talent/shop, whatever), in the middle of the river.
I don't know if what I say make any sense. Anyway, I'll just add that I've heard Gratkowski with better pianists than our German friend.
By the way, any of you have heard the last Veryan Weston on Emanem? That's a killer one! Never even imagine than Weston could sound so close to a "jazz pianist" (a free and modern one, I mean) that he does here. Back by John Edwards and the *mighty* Mark Sanders "Gateway to Vienna" is the real thing to me. It should be rebaptise "The Art of The Trio". Great, great monment of music. Too bad that the concert who's feature on the second CD has a such dead sound (absolutely no dynamic in it), but the, first recorded in studio, is a dream. The best Veryan Weston so far what is not a small thing to this ears.

Gateway to Vienna, you mean? Spectacular, yes. I'm a big Veryan fan. About time his earlier recordings were reissued too.

I have to say i had recently such a wonderful time playing with Veryan a duo in Vienna
above any expected pleasure and interplay
real Hot
real lovely
such a wonderful man of course

i need to pick up this recording actually

best
n

Have the concert been recorded Noël? If yes, maybe we can hope to see a "Weston/Akchoté" on Emanem, one of this day?

Hello all,

I happened onto this thread and found it interesting to see that my 'pianism' has stirred up some kind of mild controversy which means that I must be doing something right..
I just wanted to express that I find it sometimes troubling to see such a need for pigeonholing, for setting up dos and don'ts in improvised music.
Like: "Scandinavian pianists (exemplified by Bobo Stenson) = cool or cold, Euroimprov = personalized by Mengelberg, van Hove, Graewe etc = way to go"
I find Stenson lyrical but not cold - or is it that he doesn't play so many clusterstorms, maybe (how about Sten Sandell, then?)
On the other hand, why put Misha and Georg Graewe in the same bracket? They are very different personalities and players - I like them both. I have been knowing Georg for maybe ten years, and he has been influential on my playing (Misha has been, too, in more recent times). I dare say that G's playing has sometimes a very poetic, introspective quality. I hear some unsentimental romanticism in his playing, but maybe that's just me.
True, I listened to some ecm records in the past (and I liked them, still do - some of them) but I have been a huge Monk fan even before that. My point is, I am much in favor of just listening to music and responding to it in personal ways, instead of trying to put it into little corners and setting up fences..

thanks for listening to my music, anyway!
Achim

I understand very well that you didn't like what I wrote but, sorry, I stand by my commentary. Seems to me, that the way that I've "pigeonhole you" wasn't so wrong, after all, as your answer makes, to me, an involuntary demonstration of it.
As long as I remember to have read about music, litterature, painting, what ever, making comparisons has always been a way to estimate and to define music and musicians (and litterature and writers, etc).
In this circonstances, the reaction of the artist has always been to ask to be listening (reading) for themselves. What is quite impossible most of the time. This can happen ONLY with somebody who comes with something REALLY new and/or grounbreaking. What is not very often.
I've met enough musicians in my life (and among them few pianists). Most of them, when they happen to spoke about music and musicians of (their) past or present are the first to do that sort of comparison and to "pigeonhole" their "colleagues".
I like Sten Sandell, find sometimes Bobo Stenson interesting (I've seen a beautifull duet, once, between him and Tomasz Stanko) but call him lyrical? I suppose that we don't have the same definition of what lyrical is (I don't find the recent incarnation of Marylin Crispell "lyric" at all, what she is for most of the people, I suppose - much of a caricature to what lyrism is, IMO. Do you think that she has listen to some Bobo Stenson lately? Or to this great lyric pianist, Keith Jarrett?)
Veryan Weston is to me a very lyrical pianist, Noah Rosen too. And, in a more "light" way (sorry too "criticised" and to "pigeonhole" the guy), Pandelis Karayorgis. From the "old" school Bill Evans in his last years, Paul Bley, Misha Mengelberg, Alex von Schlippenbach and Cecil Taylor (yep, the guys who "clusterstorms" the piano)are all lyrics pianist to my ears.
I know that to be a "professional musicien" in the jazz/improvisation field is not an easy way to live his life as a creator and make a living from it.
But, I've the impression than "older" one who lived that life wasn't so touchy about bad or "mild" criticisms (If it wasn't so, I don't know how Cecil Taylor could have survived).
I don't know if it's a problem of generation or a phenomenon induce by the internet but it seems that the skin of the younger generation is not so thick anymore.
By the way, I was in the minority here, as everybody seems to like very much what you do. But until further proove of the quality of your "pianism" to come, I'm sorry but I will stay in that minority.

Dear … (I don't even know your name - unless "LeMo" is your name)

Of course you can (and should) criticize me and my work - I wasn't saying "you shouldn't pigeonhole me" - but rather trying to say something about pigeonholing in general (which is not the same as comparing). I find it not really helpful to understanding music (but can words ever be?)
I've got the feeling you didn't really get what I said but I'll leave it like that.
Maybe others will get my point.

A.

I'm afraid that you didn't get mine either.
Let's put the fault on my poorskill to read and write english - by the way, if want know my name, you just have to clink on my pseudo: there you got my email where my name is writing in full letters.

Digging up an old one here. This trio plays here Monday, and I just put this cd in my itunes, this was the first page in an image search for the cover art.
As far as the assesment of De Joode, I disagree, while I do agree that Léandre or Kent Carter would have been better, but you can say that about nearly any bassist, those two are peerless and we can always use more Kent Carter recordings.
This is the cd that really woke me up to De Joode when it came out, and now I am a big fan of his work.
I think he really makes this trio. I love the textural work with his gut strings (I am not a fan of gut in general) He has an original approach to this context. They should be great Monday!

Their gig was really incredible here. I have very limited attention span for live music, I much prefer recordings, but I was completely enthralled for two 40min sets. I could have listened all night.
This is easily one of the best working groups in improvised music.
De Joode is a total orginal. Kaufman is more understated but really
"ties the room together", to quote the dude. Obviously, it is a great situation for Frank who just makes the best choices and plays his ass off the whole time.
They have another beautiful cd on Leo called "Palaë"

I'm envious! I was hoping to make it to this concert, but had urgent family business to deal with.

Damon, what's up with that new Leo? Has it been issued yet? It's not even listed on the Leo website. Did you somehow come up with an advance copy?

Can't say I'm surprised to hear that de Joode was so good, I've always loved him in the Ab Baars Trio. Has anyone heard de Joode's solo CD on Wig??

I think the cd just came out. Frank will be back in a little over a week and he should have some, I have two gigs with him and if you don't want to hear me I think he plays Mills again with Chris Brown and WIlliam Winant - a great trio.
Winant is doing more improv lately and sounds great.
He also has a CNMAT gig with Myra Melford and David Wessel.
Wilbert's solo "Olo" is incredible. He such an orginal voice on the instrument.

Yeah, I saw that Brown-Winant-Gratkowski trio in SF a year or two ago and they smoked it out. Winant had a good, varied kit with him including some tonal percussion, and Chris uses his Hyper-piano to great effect. And Frank just plays his ass off, as Damon said. I saw him once in a saxophone trio and he played softer than the other guys but I could hear him better! More presence on the instrument.

Yes, this trio is pretty astounding. I saw them in Houston on November 27th, and I have to say that they have even come a long way since they recorded Unearth, a recording that I was proud to release on nuscope. The ways in which this group interacts and creates new environments for improvisation reminds me of the Graewe/Reijseger/Hemingway trio, despite the different instrumentation. They create a new world every time they perform.

I agree about Wilbert--I love his playing, and, like Damon, I am not a fan of gut strings. This was one of the best improvised concerts I have seen in quite some time, and is right up there with performances by other long-time groups that I have witnessed live such as G/R/H, the Schlippenbach Trio, and Parker/Guy/Lytton.

I just saw this trio twice here in New Orleans - Wed. night at the Hi-Ho Lounge (during which Achim used the Hi-Ho's battered upright for prepared/innerpiano aktion AND a Fender Rhodes lent by Brian Coogan) and Thurs night at Snug Harbor (jazzclub, so they had a proper grand for him there)... What an amazing band! I agree that they are one of the best working groups in improvised music right now.

It's really an ideal setting for each musician. They can bring all their resources to the table and didn't seem to have to limit their choices at all due to the range of the group dynamic. Frank gets to put all his approaches to use, the many textures and subtleties of Wilbert's playing are heard to excellent effect (especially since there's no drums) and Kaufman (who I had not heard previously) is a terrific group player - he seems to set a lot of ideas into motion that propel the other players and provide perfect counterpoint to their ideas. I just found them very impressive and engrossing and could have heard even more. Bought that new Leo Cd off 'em and cracked it this morning a bit. Very well recorded and strong pieces. What I really liked is that they rise above the all-star syndrome and have a real group voice - good listening and sense of flow that results in more cohesive pieces of music than a lot of improvising groups. Also it seems that nothing is ruled out - rhythm/melody/etc. is allowed/not required, full dynamic range from softest pianissimo to forte on up, etc. Nice to hear such an inclusive approach.

Quite a week - also got to see Melt Banana Tuesday night, who are sounding better than ever, and then Frank G comes back here for few more days of gigs with New Orleans musicians.

Oh yeah, and the night Achim used the upright and Rhodes 'twas mighty damn interesting hearing him deal with the contingencies of those two instruments and find some wild and righteous solutions... We got to hear some unique music that night!