The Squid's Ear Magazine


Schlippenbach, Alexander von : Piano Solo: Slow Pieces for Aki (Intakt)

A graceful and beautiful set of 21 improvisations composed by German pianist and European Free Improv legend Alexander von Schlippenbach for Japanese pianist and von Schlippenbach's spouse Aki Takase, emphasizing a lyrical and passionate deceleration of his profound technical skills to ring lyrically and even romantically as he expresses Takase's musical portrait.
 

Price: $17.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 4.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Alexander von Schlippenbach-piano


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 7640120193461

Label: Intakt
Catalog ID: ITK346
Squidco Product Code: 29719

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: Jewel Case
Recorded at Radio Studio DRS, in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 4th and 5th, 2019, by Michael Brandli.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The pianist, two days in the studio, alone at the piano. A retreat in Zurich. Focus is on the now, the recording is running. Preparation time for the new compositions: about a year. Getting attuned to the music: a lifetime. Alexander von Schlippenbach, Slow Pieces For Aki, the emphasis being on the word "slow," not on rediscovering slowness but discovering slowness anew - dedicated to his wife Aki Takase.

With slow pieces, short pieces, compositions in which every single note demands the highest degree of attention, virtuosity shifts from the purely technical to the actual notes themselves, avoiding all irrel­evancies. Sounds that are able to glow in the dark and form themselves into star signs. It is not only Jazz and New Music that appear from far away, but also classical and romantic music, always reflected by the personality, the life and playing experience of Alexander von Schlippenbach.

From my subjective point of view, dare I suggest, there is a certain serious lyricism. Slow, full of passion and filled with dedication to the music."-Bert Noglik, from the liner notes



"Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach began recording in the 1950s. Twenty years into the new millennium, he continues to do so prolifically, with twenty-five albums under his own name listed on Wikipedia-a seeming short shrift; his three solo albums on the Intakt Records label from 2005 and 2012 somehow didn't make the list, suggesting there are more. His profile rose in the 1960s, with his work with the Global Unity Orchestra and a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens. And his work in collaboration with Parker and the world of free improvisation suggests some seriously "out there" sounds that are "fast, loud and intense."

But with his solo outings, that is not the case. Though known as an avant-garde-ist, on record von Schlippenbach has explored the more traditional sounds of Thelonious Monk and Jelly Roll Morton and, with his Intakt Records solo piano discography, he has delved into, again, Monk on Plays Monk (2012), and a measured and often introspective beauty on 2005's Twelve Tone Tales, Vol 1 and Twelve Tone Tales, Vol.2.

The creation of Slow Pieces For Aki: Piano Solo was given a nudge by von Schlippenbach's life partner, pianist Aki Takase, who questioned the necessity of speed, volume and intensity in the realm of free improvisation. Von Schlippenbach answers her question with twenty-one short tunes-running from just over one minute to just over four minutes, ten of them improvisations-laid down with an almost religious deliberation, a measured music where every note rings with a sense of meaning and directness.

Solo piano is a special challenge. Every jazz pianist worth his/her salt goes there; Art Tatum, Cecil Taylor, Jessica Williams, Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch and more have navigated success at going it alone at the keyboard. To that list of solo stars, add Alexander von Schlippenbach, with his sixty-plus years experience in the crafting of compelling sounds, for his two Twelve Tone Tales sets, and for his solemn sonic seduction of Slow Pieces For Aki: Piano Solo."-Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"One of Europe's premier free jazz bandleaders, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's music mixes free and contemporary classical elements, with his slashing solos often the link between the two in his compositions. Schlippenbach formed The Globe Unity Orchestra in 1966 to perform the piece"Globe Unity, which had been commissioned by the Berliner Jazztage.

He remained involved with the orchestra into the '80s. Schlippenbach began taking lessons at eight, and studied at the Staatliche Hochschule for Musik in Cologne with composers Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Rudolf Petzold. He played with Gunther Hampel in 1963, and was in Manfred Schoof's quintet from 1964 to 1967.Schlippenbach began heading various bands after 1967, among them 1970 trio with Evan Parker and Paul Lovens and a duo with Sven-Ake Johansson which they co-formed in 1976. Schlippenbach has also given many solos performances. In the late '80s, he formed the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra,which has featured a number ofesteemed European avant-garde jazz musicians including Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, KennyWheeler, Misha Mengelberg and Aki Takase. During the 90`s Duo work with Tony Oxley, Sam Rivers and Aki Takase. 1999 started performance and radiorecording of Thelonius Monks complete works, (all the compositions) with Rudi Mahall and his group "Die Enttäuschung"."

-Alexander von Schlippenbach Website (http://www.avschlippenbach.com/)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Haru No Yuki (Fruhling Im Schnee) 2:49

2. Improvisation I 2:15

3. Torso 4:28

4. Improvisation II 1:46

5. Improvisation III 1:27

6. Tell You 2:36

7. Improvisation IV 2:18

8. Cleo 4:40

9. Improvisation V 3:01

10. Naniga Nandemo 2:46

11. Improvisation V 1:59

12. A-Blues 1:49

13. Blues B 2:31

14. Improvisation VII 1:14

15. I Told You 3:34

16. Improvisation VIII 1:26

17. Improvisation IX 2:21

18. Dydo 2:11

19.Improvisation X 1:13

20. Frage Nicht 2:41

21. Zycado 2:42

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Piano & Keyboards
Schlippenbach
Solo Artist Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Intakt

Search for other titles on the label:
Intakt.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Stemeseder, Elias
Piano Solo
(Intakt)
A solo album from Austrian-born, NY-based pianist Elias Stemeseder, a member of the Jim Black Trio and Dre Hocevar, here presenting 14 original compositions, succinct works of inventive structures and insightful improvisation along with a traditional Austrian tune "foeggslia'l", an album revealing great skill, quick wit, and a complex mind that yields delightfully intrepid discovery.
Schubert / Schlippenbach / Blume
Forge
(Relative Pitch)
"Merge" aptly describes the nearly telepathic interplay between these three European Free Improv masters -- Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano, Frank Paul Schubert on alto & soprano saxophones, and Martin Blume on drums -- recorded live in 2019 at Ruhr Jazz Fest, in Bochum, Germany, for an expansive 47 minute improvisation and a brief "Forgin the Work" conclusion.
Schlippenbach Quartet
Three Nails Left
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Remastered and with the original cover, the expanded Schlippenbach Trio of pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker on soprano & tenor, drummer/percussionist Paul Lovens, and German double bassist Peter Kowald, a stellar group captured in two incredibly inventive concerts at Third New Jazz Festival Moers and at Quartier Latin in 1974 & 1975.
Brotzmann / Schlippenbach / Bennink
Fifty Years After... Live at the Lila Eule 2018
(Trost Records)
50 years after saxophonist Peter Brotzmann's Octet recorded the legendary "Machine Gun" album, the trio of Berlin pianist, composer Alexander von Schlippenbach and Dutch percussionist Han Bennink commemorated the album at Lila Eule in Bremen, the concert heard here so successful that the trio decided to release the album and continue on as a working trio.
Johansson, Sven-Ake / Alexander Von Schlippenbach
Schraubenlieder [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
Drummer Sven-Ake Johansson is also a poet, writer and visual artist; here he joined forced with Alexander von Schlippenbach in 1988 to record these songs, never previously released, sung in German and English, for a set of 9 fascinating narrations that engage the listener independent of language, as von Schlippenbach improvises with prodigious technique.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Taylor, Cecil (w/ Lyons / Dixon / Grimes / Silva / Cyrille)
With (Exit) To Student Studies, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Changing approaches to his music with new quartet of Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Alan Silva on double bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums, pianist Cecil Taylor's incredible 1966 concert in Paris presented four extended compositions, here remastered and reissued with a track from a compilation LP--"With (Exit)"--extending his quartet with Bill Dixon on trumpet and Henry Grimes on double bass.
Drifting Box Celebration
Noeud-Col
(BeCoq)
Since 2010 the French band Drifting Box Celebration has blurred the lines between jazz, free improvisation and contemporary compositional music, led by drummer and composer Sylvain Marty and here with Stephane Arbon on double bass, Franck Pilandon on saxophones, Clement Gibert on clarinet & saxophone, David Audinet on trombone and Alexandre Peronny on cello.
Inlay Ensemble (Price / Bishop / St Jacques)
Songs for Habitual People
(Creative Sources)
Led by Sydney, Australia double bassist and composer Elsen Price, the Inlay Ensemble with violist Carl St. Jacque and violinist Susie Bishop merges contemporary composed and improvisational styles in an album with each piece reflecting a distinct mood based off a single motif, creating unique perspectives that the ensemble develops through improvisation.
Cortex (Hoyer / Nilssen / Alberts / Johansson)
Legal Tender [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Seriously joyful and consequential "avant-garde party music" from the Norwegian Cortex quartet of Ola Hoyer on double bass, Gard Nilssen on drums & percussion, Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxophone, and Thomas Johansson on trumpet, in their 6th album of irresistible, upbeat free jazz.
Taylor, Cecil Quintet (feat. Harri Sjostrom / Tristan Honsinger / Teppo Hauta-aho / Paul Lovens)
Lifting The Bandstand
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Though not well documented, free jazz legendary pianist Cecil Taylor's working band for 3 years in the late nineties was this quintet of Harri Sjostrom on soprano saxophone, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Teppo Hauta-aho on double bass, and Paul Lovens on drums, cymbals & gongs, heard in this energetic concert at Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland, 2018.
Mazur, Rafal (feat. Satoko Fujii / Guilleromo Gregorio / Ramon Lopez / Natsuki Tamura / Artur Majewski)
The Great Tone Has No Sound [4 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Four settings with improvising bass guitarist Rafal Mazur, 4 CDs, the first a solo studio recording of two extended improvisations; the 2nd a duo with clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio; the 3rd a live concert at Baza Club in Krakow with trumpeter Artur Majewski; the 4th a quintet session with Gregorio, Satoko Fujii (piano), Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Ramon Lopez (drums).
Goncalves, Luisa
Unno
(Clean Feed)
A rich and lyrical album of solo piano improvisation from Lisbon-based Portuguese pianist Luísa Gonçalves, improvised yet merging elements of contemporary compositional music into beautiful and graceful forms that she reveals in a contemplative and pensive mood, savoring her notes and progressions while allowing melody to come forward in sophisticated ways.
Yannatou, Savina / Joana Sa
Ways of Not Seeing
(Clean Feed)
A gorgeous and sinuous album of piano and voice from Portuguese pianist Joana Sá, using preparations and props to accompany the incredibly illustrative voice of Greek vocalist Savina Yannatou, whose profound skills create a sense of mystery and narrative that surpasses language and intent, creating something uniquely fragile yet fiercely alluring.
Rodrigues, Ernesto / Guilherme Rodrigues / Fred Marty / Carlos Santos
Sur Nos Pas Dans La Clarte Du Jour
(Creative Sources)
A live performances at CreativeFest 2018 in Lisbon from the electroacoustic quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Fred Marty on double bass, and Carlos Santos on electronics, the title translating to "On our footsteps in the light of day" as the improvisers merge strings and electronics through spirited and radiant playing.
Brennan, Patrick / Maria do Mar / Ernesto Rodrigues / Miguel Mira / Hernani Faustino / Abdul Moimeme
The Sudden Bird Of Waiting
(Creative Sources)
A studio recording from the electroacoustic sextet of saxophonist & cornetist Patrick Brennan, Red Trio bassist Hernani Faustino, and Creative Sources collaborators Maria do Mar on violin, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitars & objects, in a spirited set of concise and open-minded free improvisations.
Eichler, Hendrick
Dimensions
(Creative Sources)
Active in the modern creative music scene around Germany and The Netherlands, drummer/percussionist Hendrik Eichler explores a variety of "Dimensions" and "Transcendence" in solo percussive playing, using traditional and extended techniques, from highly active to deeply introspective moods, assisted at time through digital technology.
Takahashi, Marie / Maria do Mar / Ernesto Rodrigues / Helena Espvall / Joao Valinho
Queen Triot
(Creative Sources)
A remarkable album of masterful and wide-ranging string interaction from improviser and Creative Sources label leader Ernesto Rodrigues (viola) with active contemporary Portuguese performers Maria do Mar (violin), Helena Espvall (cello) and Berlin-based violinist of Japanese origin Marie Takahashi, accompanied by Joao Valinho on percussion & piano.
Calvi, Juan / Maria do Mar / Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues
Los Ejes De Mi Carreta
(Creative Sources)
A studio recording bring three Portuguese string players--Maria do Mar on violin, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello--together with bass & soprano clarinetist Juan Calvi, for 9 succinct intertwining of energetic interplay, often chamber-oriented but all examples of masterful free improvisation exploring a diverse set of creative approaches.
Wooley, Nate
Seven Storey Mountain VI
(Pyroclastic Records)
Composer & trumpeter Nate Wooley presents the 6th composition of his SSM series exploring music's ability to bring catharsis and ecstatic release to the performers and listeners, in a large ensemble of 11 musicians and voice, in a stunningly sophisticated large work of modern orchestration through acoustic and electronic/amplified instruments; a masterwork.
Kordik / Lucas / Prevost
High Laver Reflections
(Matchless / Earshot)
The Earshots duo of Daniel Kordik on modular synthesizer and Edward Lucas on trombone reprise their meeting a year earlier with free improvising percussionist and AMM legend Eddie Prévost, drawn by the natural resonance of the All Saints Church in Essex, England, recording these electroacoustic improvisations of astonishing sonic properties and astounding technique.
Moore / Prevost / Yarde
Nous
(Matchless)
A concert by drummer Eddie Prˇvost, electric guitarist N.O. Moore, and saxophonist Jason Yarde on alto & soprano recorded at the Vortex Jazz Club, in London, Moore deploying effects and Yarde using electronics to create subtexts of sounds, especially on the extended 25 minute "Impossible Meaning" where unusual structures meld with the acoustic free playing.
Parker, Charlie
Bebop Live [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Remarkably remastered recordings of Charlie Parker's quintets from 1945-49, performing live at Carnegie Hall, Royal Roost, & Town Hall with configurations of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Dorham, Red Rodney, Don Byas, Al Haig, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Kenny Clarke, Tommy Potter & Curley Russell, allowing us to re-live the consistent brilliance of the leader and his sidemen.
Ulher, Birgit / Franz Hautzinger
Kleine Trompetenmusik
(Relative Pitch)
Translating to "Little Trumpet Music", the duo of trumpeters Birgit Uhler and Franz Hautzinger, Uhler also performing on radio & objects, use extreme techniques and approaches to their improvisations, focusing on extraneous sounds from their instruments in enigmatic and captivating ways, expansively defining reductionism in masterfully idiosyncratic ways.
Lovens, Paul / Florian Stoffner
Tetratne
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Captured live in Ljubljana during the 2019 "Sound Disobedience Festival", European Free Improv legendary drummer Paul Lovens co-composed this work with Swiss guitarist Florian Stoffner, "Tetra" referring to structures of 4, as in their 4-part improvisation with each player using all 4 limbs in a remarkable dialog of time, tone, technique, and nearly telepathic intention.
Ayler, Albert
Spirits Rejoice & Bells Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Revisiting two of the most essential and influential albums of saxophonist Albert Ayler's discography, both recorded in 1965 — Spirits Rejoice in a sextet and Bells in a quintet — both drawing from some of NY's finest players including Charles Tyler, Henry Grimes, Gary Peacock, Sunny Murray, Donald Ayler and Lewis Worrell, properly remastered to showcase Ayler's stunning conceptions in free jazz.
Ayler, Albert Quartet With Don Cherry
European Recordings Autumn 1964 (Revisited) [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Essential radio and live recordings from saxophonist Albert Ayler's European tour in 1964 with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums, a quintessential grouping for Ayler's compositions, here in outstanding renditions of classic works including "Spirits", "Ghosts", "Vibrations", "Mothers", "Childrens", plus Don Cherry's "Infant Happiness".



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC