British firebrand baritone saxophonist Alan Wilkinson's stunning 'Norwegian' quartet with guitarist Kim Johannesen, bassist Ola Høyer, and drummer Dag Erik Knedal Andersen are back at Cafe OTO for another blast playing opposite the duo of saxophonist Simon Rose and Stefan Schultze's prepared piano.

AKODE



ALAN WILKINSON

There can be few more daunting sounds in free music than that of Alan Wilkinson in overdrive, whether the headlong flights of his alto playing, or the beefier heft he gets from the baritone. Often featured lately with bassist John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble ( their CD ‘Live at Cafe Oto’ was among the CDs of the last decade in the Times) he’s also appeared with Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Chris Corsano, Talibam!, Eddie Prevost, and his trio with Simon Fell and Paul Hession, among others.

KIM JOHANNESEN

Guitarist Kim Johannesen has a speed and dexterity that places him closer to a Joe Morris than Derek Bailey yet with a take on abstraction that’s entirely his own. Based in Oslo his impressive record includes work with Raymond Strid, Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten, John Butcher, Pat Thomas and Roger Turner.

OLA HØYER

Currently resident in Berlin bassist Ola Høyer, like many of the erudite new generation of Norwegian musicians, is equally at home in Jazz, alt Rock and heavy metal. What he brings to free improvisation is an acute musicality and an unfettered approach that is making him increasingly in demand, sharing a strong relationship in particular with Johannesen.

DAG ERIK KNEDAL ANDERSEN

Dag Erik Knedal Andersen is the wild card whose flamboyant, hyperactive, take-no-prisoners approach to drumming place him somewhere between Paal Nillsen-Love and Han Bennink. He is an ubiquitous part of the Oslo and Norwegian improvised music scene having won the title of ’Talent of the Year’ at the Molde Jazz Festival in 2010.

STEFAN SCHULTZE / SIMON ROSE (DUO)

Meeting in Berlin Schultze and Rose’s collaboration was initiated through a shared interest in free improvisation. Schultze’s personalised piano preparations, developed through a compositional process for solo piano, are employed here in the improvisation setting. Rose’s developments, both as soloist and within group settings, have increasingly led him to work with the extended possibilities of the saxophone. Within this potent mix they create and explore a sound world that makes as much use of extended silence and fine detail as it does dynamic percussive interplay and visceral momentum.

STEFAN SCHULTZE / prepared piano

Composer/pianist Stefan Schultze studied with John Taylor, Paulo Alvares and Joachim Ullrich at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. In 2006 he was awarded a grant to study composition at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. In 2007 he won a DAAD grant to continue his studies in New York with Michael Abene and Reiko Fueting. Prizes include: ’JazzIn’ (2004), ’Biberacher Jazzpreis’ (2004), Jazz an der Donau - ’Next Generation’ (2005), ’Best International Jazz Band’ (2005 & 2006) and ’Lower Saxony Jazz Prize’ (2008). A 2010 Goethe-Institute supported tour took Stefan Schultze’s Large Ensemble to Macedonia. In 2010 Schultze was awarded a WDR-Jazzprize for composition. Schultze’s festival appearances include: Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Festival Internacional Jazz Peru (Lima, Peru), Days of Macedonian Music, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Sofia Jazz Festival, Skopje Jazz Festival, Costa Rica International Jazz Festival and at Carnegie Hall (New York , USA). He’s worked with C.Puntin, Wu Wei, Frank Gratkowski, Matthias Schubert, Paulo Álvares, Martin Lubenov, Nils Wogram and others.

SIMON ROSE / alto & baritone saxophones

Rose’s performances have ranged from solo to large group in Europe, US and Canada. Interest as a free improviser developed exploring the possibilities created by purposefully limiting himself to the alto saxophone (solo alto: ‘Procession’ FMR 2005). More recently Rose has included the baritone saxophone exploring the possibilities offered by the larger bore’s harmonic range (solo baritone: ‘Schmetterling’ Not Two Records, 2011). Collaborations in small groups have included Jan Roder, Kjell Nordeson, Simon Fell, Christian Marien, Oluyemi Thomas, Klaus Janek, Steve Noble, Olaf Rupp, Antonio Borghini, Chris Chafe, Kanoko Nishi, Ava Mendoza, Weasel Walter, Dave Tucker, Damon Smith, Scott Looney, Pauline Oliveros, Charity Chan, Colin Stetson, Yorgos Dimitriadis, Dominic Lash, Jen Baker, Sami Pekola, Thomas Helton, Hilary Jeffery, Klaus Kuervers, Mark Sanders, Alan Wilkinson, Steve Heather, Adam Bohman and Pascal Nichols amongst others. Participation in large groups has been with Marco Eneidi Orchestra, London Improvisers Orchestra, Ensemble directed by Evan Parker. CD recordings can be found on Bruce’s Fingers, Emanem, FMR, Rayon, Leo, PSI, Not Two and pfMentum.

‘There are solo saxophone records, and then, there are the solo saxophone records that transform the instrument into an orchestra; effect is superseded, or rather transmogrified, moving away from virtuosic display and becoming an essential part of the instrumental language.‘ Procession’ is one of the finest statements from the saxophone I have ever had the pleasure to experience. Over three extended pieces, recorded in concert, Simon Rose proves himself a student of history, but not a slave to it. Each piece is encyclopaedic and grandiose without pretence, as witnessed in the opening of the aptly named ‘Ground Effect’. - Marc Medwin, CADENCE, September 2007

www.simonrose.org
www.stefanschultze.com