The Squid's Ear Magazine


Oberg, Uwe: Twice, At Least (Leo Records)

Live recordings from 2012 & 2015 by German pianist Uwe Oberg performing a mix of original compositions and work by Monk, Bley, Lacy, & A. Peacock, balancing melodic and exploratory playing with passionate conviction backed by masterly skills and impeccable pacing.
 

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Uwe Oberg-piano


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UPC: 5024792073320

Label: Leo Records
Catalog ID: LEOR733.2
Squidco Product Code: 21266

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: UK
Packaging: Jewel Case
Tracks 1 Ð5 recorded live at WMK, in Wiesbaden, Germany, on December 7th, 2012.

Tracks 6Ð7 recorded live at Musikbibliothek, in Wiesbaden, Germany, on March 3rd, 2015.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"All the music on this CD was recorded in concert. Uwe Oberg is no stranger to Leo Records catalogue. His first CD for the label recorded as a trio was released in 1997. Now is the time for a solo statement. Concert is where his music literally lives and achieves a maximum of density and intensity. Besides playing original compositions and free improvisations Uwe embraces pieces by his favorite composers/musicians. He says: "It is fun to start freely, proceed with an original and finish with a Coltrane tune, all in one piece. Deconstruction / transformation / transition."-Leo



"German pianist and composer Uwe Oberg is often found nestled in a duo, trio or quartet, so his solo album Twice, At Least gives an intriguing insight into his own musical motivations. Twice, At Least is comprised of live recordings in which original compositions are blended with treatments of Monk and others. He creates an open solo structure in which there is scope both to indulge in playful thoughts and to lay bare powerful emotions. These patient, searching free improvisations develop into a very rewarding listen.

The opening piece, Chant II/Kelvin, dovetailing two Oberg originals, begins minimally: a neutral key lightly played before sliding into discord. We swing between light taps and a rolling bass absorbing all before it. He presents innocent themes with sinister undertones - imagine a gambolling fawn picking its way along the hard shoulder of the M4. These cinematic snippets appear cut between jaunty themes as over a dozen minutes Oberg sets out his stall: intense, unpredictable, yet coherent.

The abrupt, high-energy arrival of Enzym & Eros brings bravado and old empire pomp. Repeating and alternating between defiant cries and grand flourishes, Oberg rumbles and rolls, deconstructing the composition plank by plank before he abandons the piece disappearing amongst a hyperactive tinkled flurry. The reimagining of the solo piano continues in Magnetic Wood, where the introduction of a Mbira (thumb piano) - an instrument as much a part of southern African sounds as it is becoming part of Dan Nicholls' north London electronic stylings - adds a more percussive approach.

The understated high point is the Monk/Oberg combination Brilliant Corners/Twiyed Place arriving with a tinkling steely wash, echoing and reverberating gently behind the clean piano. Among the searching chords we settle into a fresh atmospheric piece, looping and re-referencing phrases with an unexpected Kieran Hebden lilt. The delicate drawn out chords at the opening of Pannonica and the care which follows encapsulates a style which delights in leaving a respectful space amongst the notes when needed - a contained, sparse melancholia.

Interspersed amongst Oberg originals and Monk adaptations (which Oberg evidently feels equally at home with) are changes in compositional tone. Touching provides the time and separation for some beautiful phrasing and clear tones, while the chunky King Korn - high speed and tumbling over itself much like Mingus at the bench - remains an exciting counterpoint.

Oberg possesses a unique approach: at times frugal, at others erratic or classical. Here is a man as comfortable with one hand on the keys and the other in the belly of his grand piano beast as he is delicately playing by the rules with both hands on deck. The liner notes by Claus Gnichwitz of Hessischer Rundfunk refer to his "density and intensity", a texture drawn out through the continual establishment of themes. Each theme is rolled out, laid aside and lost, only to be unearthed again with a fresh, exciting perspective. To build and develop as Oberg does, everything must happen twice, at least."-Dan Bergsagel, London Jazz News


Get additional information at London Jazz News

Artist Biographies

"Uwe Oberg *1962 Offenbach / Germany, lives in Wiesbaden nearby Frankfurt.

He started playing piano at the age of seven, moved in the early 80s from popular music to Jazz and joined in 1986 the KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ / ARTist Wiesbaden, an association of improvising musicians. Improvisation is the keyword for his work. Impressed by Free Jazz and New Music, he developed exceptional piano techniques; influences are Thelonious Monk, Paul Bley, Cecil Taylor, Don Pullen, Ran Blake, Andrew Hill, the music of Anthony Braxton, the early piano compositions of John Cage as well as european free improvisation. He is also a composer and a highly individual interpret of Jazz-compositions.

He works in various musical contexts: as a soloist he bends the bow from inside piano to the music of Monk. With LACY POOL he dives into the music of Steve Lacy, the duo with SILKE EBERHARD plays originals as well as music by Carla Bley, Annette Peacock a.o. ROPE is an improvising quartet with european line-up. Whatever Oberg plays, he transforms each material in his very personal, twinkling sound without musical borders.

Beside fixed projects he enjoys the improvised encounter with musicians from different styles and cultures. He often played in combination with other artforms, theatre / dance / lyrics, currently mainly with silent films, as a soloist and with ensembles. Cooperation with: ALFRED HARTH, PETER KOWALD, XU FENGXIA, MATTHIAS SCHUBERT, PHILIPPE MICOL, JÜRGEN WUCHNER, ULI PHILLIPP, TONY OXLEY, SVEN-AKE JOHANSSON, RUDI MAHALL, HR JAZZENSEMBLE, HEINZ SAUER, URS LEIMGRUBER, SAADET TÜRKÖZ, SUBROTO ROY CHAUDHURI, PAUL LOVENS, AXEL DÖRNER, FRANK GRATKOWSKI, EVAN PARKER a.m.o.

In December 2007 Oberg got the award HESSISCHER JAZZPREIS. Laudatio by Dr. Wolfram Knauer (in German Language)"

-Uwe Oberg Website (http://www.uweoberg.de/e.html)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Chant II / Kelvin 11:58

2. Touching 7:08

3. Enzym and Eros (Variations) 6:22

4. Magnetic Wood / Blues 10:55

5. King Korn 5:38

6. Brilliant Corners / Twiyed Place 9:29

7. Pannonica 5:07

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
Piano & Keyboards
Solo Artist Recordings
Leo Records
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