Manafonistas

On Weltentraum, the brilliant young German pianist Michael Wollny pursues his conviction that almost anything can become a „standard“ vehicle for jazz improvisation – this set includes music by Alban Berg, Edgard Varese, the Flaming Lips (Be Free, A Way), and a live finale of Pink’s God Is a DJ, sung by Theo Bleckmann. Wollny quotes „tonality and atonality; fragility and force, melodic purity, romantic totalism, endless melodies, dark abysses, angels, dream logic, light darkness, gothic beauty“ as the opposites he toys with, and if that sounds over the top, the music bears it out. Bassist Tim Lefebvre joins regular drummer Eric Schaefer, and the music passes through a delicately dissonant investigation of Berg’s Nacht, a rocking, fulsome Be Free, A Way, jazz swing peppered with quirky delays and damped notes on In Heaven and the faintly Brad Mehldauesque When the Sleeper Awakes, and through to the ethereally soulful God Is a DJ. There are plenty of contributing composers, and group-improv input too, but this couldn’t be anything other than a Michael Wollny album.

Med «Cosmic Creation» tar Henriksen denne gang sats og tar lytteren med på en ekspedisjon som utforsker tid og rom. Det er ihvertfall den uttalte inspirasjon bak prosjektet. Romfølelsen er så absolutt merkbar, og da spesielt når vi snakker om opplevelsen av dimensjoner i lydbildene. Et vidspent lerret, med uendelig dybde og perspektiv. En mørk bakgrunn på horisonten, oppbrutt av funklende detaljer i form av Henriksens elektronikatilnærmelser. Samtidig på grensen til «industriell-mekanisk støy» som gir assosiasjoner til de mer transportbaserte aspekter ved en romodyssé. Henriksens trompet er på ingen måte dominerende, men heller aldri langt unna. Nettopp der du kanskje begynner å føle turbulens, kommer Henriksens befriende luftstrømmer, og tilfører den etterlengtede grad av eterisk komfort.

Å gi noen nærmere beskrivelse eller båssetting av Henriksens musikk er som vanlig like fånyttes som meningsløst.

La meg heller bare konstantere at Arve Henriksen er stadig på reise, både rent fysisk-geografisk og kunstnerisk. Med «Cosmic Creation» kanskje lenger unna det mer allmenne musikalske sentrum enn noen gang. Men sinnimellom blir vi også minnet om røttene, med tydelige og slitesterke bånd til den norske folkemusikktradisjonen,. Å bli med en slik reise som «Cosmic Creation» vil alltid være en utfordring. For den djerve også en belønnin

Hope to hear from you soon. The possibly only two soul mates in that house, and I meet them when flying home. You should hire a car, drive through the roads of the Timanfaya hills, perfect small high-ways in between the ashes of volcanos. You should enjoy, in the morning, being nearly alone on Mirador del Rio, and see La Graciosa before your eyes, like a painting. I once was there when fog made nearly everything invisible, but then, within an hour, and great ambient music in my ears (From Kranky Records) the light came through, small dots, and you could see more and more of small island besides Lanzarote. Awesome. You should also go, early in the morning to the famous beaches besides Playa Blanca. in the morning, before 8 o’clock, no one is there, and the temperature already high. In Arrieta it’s fun to eat at the restaurants at the beach, the best fish restaurant in Puerto del Carmen is „Les Sardineros“, at the old habour. Simple and great. And if you like Italian food, go to la Trattoria Antica Verona, at the beginning of Puerto del Carmen (from your side) they have good pizzas, and the best orange juice of the world. 700 m from there, and there you’ll discover a small stand (don’t miss it) with the best Italian ice cream of the Canaries:) but don’t go to the valley of  1000 palms. It’s hot, dead and merciless. Recommended, too: the house of the local hero, you know the artist Cesar Manrique, painter and much more who died by accident on the island he loved, in 1992. in his house an old Miles Davis record could be heared, I think it was My Funny Valentine. I had only one cd in the car during this week. Neil Young: On The Beach. The dark side if the hippie era anno 1975. Would be nice to hear from you. Just leave your email and a short comment. No one can read the email adress. Would like to visit Dublin, some time, soon! Best, Michael! And in one of the „cuevas“ (nice cafe) they still play Eno’s „Music For Airports“ from time to time, and the composition „Lanzarote“. Years ago Brian Eno played down the bottom of a volcano! It was fun, but no one was prepared for the cold ground at midnight.

Lese taeglich und mit grossem Nutzen fuer meine Seele die „Gedanken weiser Maenner“. Die letzten zwei, drei Tage arbeite ich unaufhoehrlich und ohne von jemandem gestoert zu werden an mir selbst: erlaube mir keine verwerflichen Gedanken und keine leichtsinnigen Handlungen wie etwa Turnen oder Kartenlegen ! Und das ist schoen. Koennte ich es doch bis zum Tode durchhalten !

– Leo Tolstoi, Jasnaja Poljana, 1906

 
Mit diesen einleitenden Worten beginnt das Buch von Michael Maar. Beispiele grosser Tagebuecher — wer faellt einem da ein ? Samuel Pepys, natuerlich: der 1633 geborene, boshaft schreibende Chronist seiner Zeit. Thomas Mann, der die Flucht aus dem Nazideutschland nach Amerika und die Rueckkehr in den 1950iger Jahren nach Deutschland notierte; geheime Sehnsuechte und Verdraengtes inbegriffen. Virginia Woolf, die durch das Aufschreiben gegen ihre Depressionen und Psychosen anschrieb.

Viele waeren zu nennen; „Heute bedeckt und kuehl“ tut es und bindet sie in bis in die Jetztzeit reichende und zum Beispiel auf Rainald Goetz („Abfall fuer alle“) und Wolfgang Herrndorfs Blog verweisende, lesenswerte Zusammenhaenge ein.

Das Lesen von Biographien und auch Tagebüchern ist — neben der nicht zu leugnenden Einsicht man schaue gleichfalls wie durch ein Schluesselloch auf das Leben der Tagebuchschreibenden — fuer mich verbunden mit dem Wunsch zu erfahren wie andere Menschen, zu anderen Zeiten unter anderen Umstaenden ihr Leben gelebt haben, Schwierigkeiten und Katastrophen gemeistert haben – oder an Ihnen gescheitert sind. Eine Aufforderung also ueber den eigenen Tellerrand hinauszuschauen, herauszufinden was das Leben anderer ausmacht; seinen eigenen Alltag hierzu in Relation zu sehen und zu setzen.

Dazu laed dieses kenntnisreich geschriebene Buch ein.