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Archives: John Hébert

 

© FoBo–Henning Bolte ©  Brooklyn, 7th Av.

© FoBo–Henning Bolte © Brooklyn, 7th Av.

 

18.März: für ein paar Tage in Brooklyn, 11th Street, 4th Avenue, die Gegend um Park Slope im nordwestlichen Bereich des Stadtteils. Viele Musiker sind hier zuhause und eine Reihe von wichtigen Podien wie Barbés, Korzo, Shape Shifter, Roulette sind in nächster Nähe zu finden. Hauptanlass der Reise: das Paul Motian Tribute-Konzert im Symphony Space am 22.März, organisiert von Bill Frisell, Joseph Lovano und Hans Wendl. Drumherum Gespräche, Freunde, Spazieren, Flanieren, Musik.

Als erstes treffe ich den rumänischen Pianisten Lucian Ban und den Violinisten Mat Maneri. Beide haben sich bei Enescu Re-Imagined kennengelernt, einer Arbeit von Ban und dem rührigen Bassisten John Hébert. Ban und Maneri bilden seitdem ein Duo. Von dem Duo erscheint im Mai bei ECM das Live-Album Transylvanian Concert, aufgenommen im 1904 erbauten Kulturpalast von Targu Mures mit seiner eindrucksvollen Akustik. Abends dann ins Cornelia Street Café im Village beim Washinghton Square. Ein paar Kontakte treffen und einem Konzert des jungen Trompeters Mat Holman beiwohnen, der auch Mitglied der Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society ist.

Tags drauf eine kurze Verabredung mit dem jungen kubanischen Pianisten Aruan Ortiz, der im April in meiner Reihe Amsonanza im Duo mit der Saxofonistin Tineke Postma auftreten wird. Und am Nachmittag ein Treff mit dem legendären Pianisten Masabumi Kikuchi. Tja, und abends ein Auftritt von Warp-Musiker Tyondai Braxton im Guggenheim Museum. Ja, der Sohn von.

Am Freitag dann das Hauptereignis in Manhattan. Im Symphony Space am Broadway, 95th Street, der Paul Motian Tribute. Am Samstag vor der Rückreise schliesslich noch ein Treff in der Brooklyner Nachbarschaft.

Today meeting Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri at Barbès, a small bar and well-known venue (French style) in the South Slope area of Brooklyn (376, 9th Street, 6th Av.). It is run by two French musicians from Brooklyn. Meanwhile a well known music-place, meeting-point for musicians and connoisseurs. Programming and line-ups are impressive.
 
 
Lucian & Mat
 
 
Lucian Ban is a pianist from Romania who has been living and working in New York for the last ten years. Together with bassist John Hébert (from New Orleans) he set up Enescu Re-Imagined (2009), a work on famous Romanian composer, conductor and pianist George Enescu (1881-1955), teacher of great violinist Menuhin. Line-up for this work: trumpeter Ralph Alessi, saxophonist Tony Malaby, violinists Mat Maneri and Albrecht Maurer, percussionists Gerald Cleaver and Badal Roy together with Ban and Hébert (VIDEO)
 
 
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Mat Maneri is one of the finest musicians around and a very special violin-player who participated in many (many!) groups, a.o. groups of Paul Motian. We met earlier when I was involved in organizing a tour of Joel Harrison’s String-Choir Playing Music Of Paul Motian (HERE as one of my RADIO ON DEMAND programs).

Ban and Maneri met through this work and discovered their mutual musical rapport from which their steady duo-work emerged. It is the deep and dark sonance of Ban’s voice, its shadowy quality which gives way to Maneri wrapping his violin-sounds with all it’s microtonal colorings and multiphonics around conjuring up spiritual sentiments.

Mat is sitting in front of Colson Patisserie next to Barbès when I arrive at 4 p.m.. It turned out Barbès will not be open before 5 p.m.. So we took a delicious espresso at Colson and moved to another place in fine style nearby together with arriving Lucian for the interview.

ECM will in may release Transylvanian Concert, a live-recording of the duo made in the hundred year old Grand Theatre of Targu Nures with its extraordinary acoustics, an album produced by Steve Lake and Lucian Ban. This interview was somewhat special, special in preparation. First for weeks we did lots of efforts to set up a release-concert in Amsterdam fitting in the duo’s European may-tour and my Amsonanza-series. The music was not available then. I received it shortly before I left to New York.

There was a lot of common ground nonetheless and we could finally dig into musical issues easily and intensively. We touched upon and revolved around issues as spirituals, religiousness, folkmusic sources, Mal Waldron, avantgarde, musical solidity, African roots, cultural determination and universality, beauty of sound. It will all be revealed in a later article in may when the upcoming album will have been released. One exception, the Birthday Party Question: which person not alive anymore would you like to invite to join your birthday-party? Here it is for Lucian Ban: Thelonius Monk, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Joe Maneri. And here it is for Mat Maneri: Joe Maneri, Charlie Chaplin, St. Francis of Assisi. Heavy gathering? Lucky company? Meeting of minds? Rich perspectives!
 
Tour may

11th Cologne – Altes Pfandhaus w/Albrecht Maurer, vln
12 Berlin – A-Trane w/Albrecht Maurer, vln
14 Bucharest – Odeon Theatre w/Evan Parker, sax
16 Ploiesti – Toma Caregiu Theatre
21 London – Vortex
22 Derby – Voice Box w/Corey Mwamba, perc, electr.
23 Newcastle – Recital Hall
24 Wuppertal – tba w/Albrecht Maurer, vln
25 Bergneustadt – tba w/Albrecht Maurer, vln
27 Vienna – Porgy&Bess
28 München – Unterfahrt
29 Deutsch – Minihof – Limmitationes (A)


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