The Squid's Ear Magazine


Gratkowski, Frank / Udo Schindler: Sounding Dialectics (Creative Sources)

"Now, two duos with the participation of Udo Schindler, German multi-instrumentalist who has been paying particular attention to bass and bass variants of the clarinet, but also uses the soprano saxophone and, in "Empty Pigenhole", the ...
 

Price: $16.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 5.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Frank Gratkowski-reeds

Udo Schindler-reeds


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




UPC: 5609063402810

Label: Creative Sources
Catalog ID: cs281
Squidco Product Code: 24307

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2014
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Jewel Case
Recorded live at the 33th Salon fur Klang+Kunste in Kralling/Munich, Germany , February 22nd, 2013, by Udo Schindler.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Now, two duos with the participation of Udo Schindler, German multi-instrumentalist who has been paying particular attention to bass and bass variants of the clarinet, but also uses the soprano saxophone and, in "Empty Pigenhole", the horn. In the first case, the one of the disc mentioned, we hear it with the pianist Elisabeth Harnik and in the second one, "Sounding Dialectis", with the alto saxophonist and also one of the great cultivators of the present bass clarinet, Frank Gratkowski. The companies determine the course taken ... With Harnik it makes one think of a Braxton of rude sonority, without the cool / West Coast influence admitted by it, but with the same referential duality in jazz and classical music of the twentieth century. With Gratkowski it is much less cerebral, reaching a kind of sonic animalism that precedes the musicality itself. "Sounding Dialectics" as that defines what is at stake with a duo, any duo. The construction of a dialectic in the purest Hegeliansense: a thesis and its antithesis converge in a synthesis. Schindler and Gratkowski do not listen to each other, they listen to each other so that they do not meet, taking care that what they say is a conversation and not two monologues. The result of your argument changes is not a common minimum denominator or a compromise, but something else. A synthesis that is the beginning of another thesis, crying out for another antithesis. There is no communication when redundancies are generated and here is an excellent proof of this maxim."-Rui Eduardo Paes, Jazz.pt


Artist Biographies

"Frank Gratkowski, saxophone. Born in Hamburg, 1963.

Started playing the saxophone at 16 and, following a period at the Hamburg Conservatory (Hamburger Musikhochschule), moved in 1985 to study at the Cologne Conservatory of Music with Heiner Wiberny, graduating in 1990.

Further studies with Charlie Mariano, Sal Nistico and Steve Lacy.

Frank Gratkowski has been working as a soloist in various international formations (Grubenklang Orchester, Klaus Koenig Orchester, Musikfabrik NRW, Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra, Bentje Braam, BikBentBraam, All Ears, Zeitkratzer, WDR Big band, etc.). Since 1990 he has been giving solo performances throughout Europe, Canada and USA. With his first solo program, he was a 1991 prizewinner in the Musik Kreativ contest. The release of the solo CD "Artikulationen" followed the same year and a new one "Artikulationen II" in 2002.

Since 1992 he has been working in a duo with the pianist Georg Graewe (CD "VicissEtudes"). The duo is often extended through the participation of different additional musicians, such as drummer Paul Lovens (CD "Quicksand") and bassist John Lindberg (CD "Arrears").

In 1995 he founded the "Frank Gratkowski Trio" with Dieter Manderscheid (Germany), bass, and Gerry Hemingway (USA), drums, (CDs "Gestalten" and "The Flume Factor" ). In 2000 the trio has been extended to a quartet by Dutch trombonist Wolter Wierbos (CDs "Kollaps", "Spectral Reflections", "Facio" and "Le Vent et la Gorge"). Since 2003 also appearing as a Double Quartet plus Tobias Delius, Herb Robertson, Wilbert DeJoode and Michael Vatcher. In 2005 he got the SWR Jazzprize.

In 1999 the duo with the Italian trombonist Sebastiano Tramontana has been formed and since 2001 Frank Gratkowski has been performing with a trio including Wilbert De Jode (NL) on bass and Achim Kaufmann (D) on piano (CDs "Kwast" and "Unearth"). Since 2006 he's working with the Trio Gratkowski / Brown / Winant (CDs "Wake" and "Vermilion Traces/Donaueschingen 2009"). He is also a co-leader / composer of the Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra and got a commission to compose for the ensemble Apartment House by "November Music " (Den Bosch NL) and the "Huddersfield Comtemporary Music Fesitival" (England) in 2009. Further actual projects are Fo[u]r Alto, a saxophone ensemble dedicated to microtonal music and "Artikulationen E" a solo program for saxophone with 8 channel live electronic.

Frank Gratkowski played on nearly every German and on numerous international Jazz and contemporary music Festivals including Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Quebec, Les Mans, Muelhuus, Groeningen, Nickelsdorf, Barcelona, Lithuania, Warsaw, Zagreb, Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, Bucharest, Odessa and Roma, Huddersfield, London.

He has been teaching saxophone and ensembles at the Cologne, Berlin and Arnhem Conservatory of Music and is giving workshops all around the world.

Furthermore he has performed with Robert Dick, Phil Wachsmann, Radu Malfatti, Herb Robertson, Marcio Mattos, Eugenio Colombo, Peter Kowald, Ray Anderson, Michael Moore, Ken Vandermark, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, Louis Sclavis, John Betsch, Jane Ira Bloom, Connie and Hannes Bauer, Xu Fengxia, James Newton, Muhal Richard Abrams, John Lindberg, Michael Formaneck, Ernst Reijseger, Fred van Hove, Theo Jörgensmann, Phil Minton, Peter Brötzmann, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Hamid Drake, Michiel Braam, Han Bennink, Mal Waldron, Misha Mengelberg a.m.o."

-Frank Gratkowski Website (http://gratkowski.com/biography/)
7/15/2025

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

"Udo Schindler is a German improvisation musicians (bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, saxophone, flute, cornet, also accordion, guitar, percussion, analog synthesizer) and architect. Schindler was active in the 1970s in Franconia first as rock and rock jazz musician before he had flute lessons at the conservatory Nuremberg. Subsequently, he studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich and worked as an architect. In the 1990s he turned to contemporary music (Arch.Ensemble) and improvised music (Schindler.Interferenz.3). In addition to the single tube instruments (saxophones and clarinets), he studied the cornet. In addition to his sound research, he also worked as a director, performer, musician and composer for various theater productions. In the following years he performed with solo and duo projects at new music festivals (Musica Viva, Klangaktionen, etc ...), jazz, experimental music, among others. This led to collaborations with musicians like Hubert Bergmann, Gerry Hemingway, Eddie Prevost, Sebi Tramontana, Georg Wissel, John Russell, Blaise Siwula, Frank Gratkowski, Hans Koch, Urs Leimgruber, Elisabeth Harnik, Katharina Weber and Frank Paul Schubert. In addition to his activities in solid cast he initiated in Munich a series of concerts to free improvisation in ad hoc to test instrumentation."

-Wikipedia (translated by Google and Squidco) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udo_Schindler)
7/15/2025

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


Track Listing:



1. Distant 4:23

2. Near 21:42

3. Extreme 10:44

4. Different 8:47

5. Similar 3:10

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Duo Recordings
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players

Search for other titles on the label:
Creative Sources.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Schindler, Udo / Sandy Ewen / Damon Smith
Munich Sound Studies Vols. 4, 5 & 6 [3 CDs]
(Balance Point Acoustics)
An expansive 3-CD document recorded live across three Munich venues in May 2023, featuring Udo Schindler (clarinets, saxophones, brass), Sandy Ewen (electric guitar), and Damon Smith (double bass), each session enhanced by collaborators Karina Erhard, Jaap Blonk, and Sebastiano Tramontana, in an inventive series of improvisations of dynamic interplay and innovative sonic experiments.
Schindler, Udo / Erhard Hirt / Ove Volquartz
Shifting Types of Amazement
(FMR)
A compelling live performance from Munich's Waldkirche Planegg uniting Udo Schindler's inventive bass clarinets, Erhard Hirt's textural guitar and computer interactions, and Ove Volquartz's resonant low reeds, weaving a rich tapestry of spontaneous, intricately layered improvisations infused with subtle electronic nuances.
Sjostrom, Harri
SoundScapes #4 Festival Berlin 2023 [3 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A remarkable live document of Finnish saxophonist Harri Sjöström's SoundScapes #4 festival in Berlin, bringing together 19 extraordinary musicians from across Europe, Australia, and the U.S. for a series of improvised performances from intimate duos to expansive octets, highlighting spontaneous collaborations all driven by creative risk-taking, deep listening, and a profound sense of musical trust.
Graewe, Georg & Sonic Fiction Orchestra
In Concert, Bochum 2022
(Random Acoustics)
A remarkable solo concert from German pianist George Graewe, performing at Kunstmuseum Bochum in 2022, presenting intricate and expansive free improvisations that showcase his dynamic range, rhythmic precision, harmonic sophistication, and the lyrical abstraction that has defined his work across contemporary jazz and modern improvisation.
Schindler, Udo / Max Arsava / Gunnar Geisse
Sightings And Stratifications - 2nd Investigation For Trio
(Creative Sources)
A live document of free improvisation from Udo Schindler (clarinets, cornet, soprano sax), Max Arsava (piano, tapes, sampler, objects), and Gunnar Geisse (laptop guitar, virtual instruments), in a performance of pointillistic exchanges and layered textures that blend intricate acoustic and electronic timbres into a cohesive, exploratory sonic tapestry.
Schindler, Udo / Werner Dafeldecker / Gunnar Geisse
Travelling Sound Images - Cognitive Transfers [Trio]
(Creative Sources)
In this live recording from Munich's Schnitzer& Studio, Udo Schindler's "Low Tone Studies" series expands through a collaboration with Werner Dafeldecker on double bass and Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar, blending deep-register improvisations across double bass clarinet, cornet, saxophones, and electronic manipulations, exploring the convergence of acoustic resonance and digital textures.
Schindler, Udo / Paul Rogers
Ephemeral Locations
(Confront)
Recorded live in Munich, Germany, Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers unite in a masterful duo performance blending Schindler's clarinet, double bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and cornet with Rogers' work on the 7-string double bass, crafting an intricate, dynamic improvisation that explores space, texture, and resonance in a profound and sometimes exultant exploration of Recorded live in Munich, Germany, Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers unite in a masterful duo performance blending Schindler's clarinet, double bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and cornet with Rogers' work on the 7-string double bass, crafting an intricate, dynamic improvisation using space, texture, and resonance in a profound and sometimes exultant exploration of low tones. tones.
Rodrigues / Gratkowski / Rodrigues / Griener
Unstable Molecules
(Creative Sources)
Bridging jazz and contemporary forms, this 2024 live recording of four improvisations at Berlin's Kuhlspot Social Club channels collective power with chamber jazz influences, showcasing the refined techniques and deep experience of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Frank Gratkowski on clarinets and alto saxophone, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Michael Griener on percussion.
Schindler, Udo / Rieko Okuda / Eric Zwang Eriksson
Disturbed Terrains [2 CDs]
(Creative Sources)
Recorded over two days — first in the studio, then live at Freies Musikzentrum in Munich — Udo Schindler on clarinets, saxophones, & cornet joins pianist Rieko Okuda and drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson in a dynamic exploration of texture and interplay, beginning with clarinet-piano duos before expanding into a full-throttle trio improvisation, for an intricate and energetic free jazz performance.
Schindler, Udo / Paul Rogers feat. Eric Zwang
Ephemeral Locations [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Recorded across two live sessions in Munich, Ephemeral Locations expands Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers' LowToneStudies with the addition of drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson on several tracks, blending Schindler's mastery of bass reed instruments, Rogers' unique 7-string double bass, and Eriksson's dynamic percussion in a captivating exploration of deep tonal textures and spontaneous improv.
Schindler, Udo / Olaf Rupp
HerzAtmungen
(Creative Sources)
Quoting Piet Mondrian — 'I believe that the destructive element in art is neglected too much' — the duo of Udo Schindler (bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cornet, tuba) and Olaf Rupp (electric guitar) deliver a compelling 2023 live performance at MUCCA [BASIS-Buchsalon] in Munich, Germany, in the six-part collective conversation "HerzAtmungen," loosely translating to "Heart Breathings".
Schindler, Udo / Michel Wintsch
Tout L'ame Resumee
(FMR)
Drawing on a sound poem from French poet Stéphane Malarmé published in 1875, pianist Michel Wintsch and multi-reedist Udo Schindler on bass clarinet and alto saxophone tubax (a modified contrabass saxophone) perform five expressive and assertive improvisations with titles "borrowed from Stéphane Malarmé, who sees his texts as instruments."
Schindler / Willers / Eriksson
Cassiber Complex
(FMR)
An extended improvisation captured in 2023 at ASIS_Klangraum in MUCCA & dasvinzenz (Munich) from the trio of long-time collaborators Eric Zwang Eriksson on drums and Udo Schindler on bass clarinet, cornet & Tubax (an Eb contrabass saxophone) with guitarist Andreas Willers of Grid Mesh, for an evolving and exploratory work of deep reflection and extreme catharsis.
Gratkowski / Uchihashi / Heather / Sundland
Frank Gratkowski's Entrainment
(Klanggalerie)
A stunningly powerful quartet of electric jazz captured live at the 2022 Freejazz Festival in Saarbrucken, Germany between German alto saxophonist Frank Gratkowski (Skein), Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi (Ground Zero, Altered States), electric bassist Dan Peter Sundland and drummer Steve Heather, performing four assertive, charged and cathartic collective improvisations.
Schindler / Eriksson / Engl / Neuser
ImproX #1_Sound Poems to the Risk
(Creative Sources)
Quoting Danish painter & sculptor Asgar Jorn--"To get anywhere, one must choose one's mistakes. I chose experimental acts."--the quartet of Udo Schindler on alto sax, bass & double bass clarinets & cornet, Eric Zwang Eriksson on drums, Ardhi Engl on self-invented instruments and Nikolaus Neuser on trumpet, are heard live at Munich's FMZ for 3 masterfully risk-taking sound poems.
Schindler / Zwang Eriksson / Rehling
Ritual Sound Exposures
(FMR)
The long-standing duo of German multi-reedist & brass player Udo Schindler and drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson are joined by percussionist Erwin Rehling (HAMMERLING) for the 4-part free and eclectically authoritative improvisatory work "Ritual Sound Exposure", recorded live at the music venue and bookstore BASIS_Klangraum at the Munich Community Arts Center.
Schindler, Udo / Eric Zwang Eriksson / Sebastiano Tramontana
Canto Senza
(FMR)
Experimental chamber music from the German trio of Udo Schindler on tenor saxophone, bass saxophone & cornet, Eric Zwang Eriksson on percussion and Sebastiano Tramontana on trombone & voice, performing at BASIS_Klangraum in MUCCA, Munich, the title translating to "singing without words" from the poetry cycle "Il taccuino del vecchio" by Guiseppe Ungaretti.
Schindler, Udo / Peter Jacquemyn / Georg Karger
Hybride Synergetics [LowToneStudies]
(FMR)
Reedist Udo Schindler continues his exploration into the double bass and low-tone reed instruments, here on bass & contrabass clarinets contrasted only with his soprano saxophone, in a 2022 live recording from MUCCA_Kommandozentrate in Munich of the five-part improvisation "Hybride Synergetic" in a trio with double bassists Peter Jacquemyn and Georg Karger.
MUC_ChamberArtTrio (Schindler / Geisse / Gramms)
Dachao Polyphonic
(FMR)
A remarkable concert as part of reedist Udo Schindler's LowToneStudies, referred to as "acoustronic" for the transformational aspects of each instrumentalist's playing, deceivingly electronic sounding despite being fully acoustic, captured live at Kulturschranne Dachau from the trio of Schindler, Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar and Sebastian Gramss on double bass.
Fields, Scott Ensemble
Sand
(Relative Pitch)
Scott Field's 9-part Sands for 20 instrumentalists, three singers, and a conductor, in this case Fields himself, employs a modular performance system that integrates composition and improvisation, the conductor selecting modules from melodies, phasing patterns, long tones, improv elements, fragmented short stories, &c., spontaneously assigned live; a fascinating accomplishment.
Duo User 52 (Udo Schindler / Etienne Rolin)
Plastic Narratives
(FMR)
Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings.
Schindler, Udo / Nikolaius Neuser / Georg Karger
Rhapsodic Topologies
(FMR)
Performing at the Gallery arToxi in Munich, 2022 as part of clarinet & cornetist Schindler's LowToneStudies series, the free improvising trio of Schindler, Nikolaus Neuser on trumpet and Georg Karger on double bass perform four extended conversations of meticulous momentum and superb technique, at times repurposing, extending or modifying their instruments.
Gratkowski, Frank / Simon Nabatov
Tender Mercies
(Clean Feed)
Long-time collaborators, German reed & wind player Frank Gratkowski and pianist Simon Nabatov release their third collaboration as a duo, concentrating their playing from large bands including the Simon Nabatov Quartet to the essence of their personal and impressive dialog, here performing at the LOFT, in Cologne for the celebration of Nabatov's birthday.
Skein (Kaufmann / Gratkowski / de Joode)
Spectra & Affrays
(Klanggalerie)
Describing their improvisation as a chemical reaction of positive and negative ions, the central trio of the ensemble Skein--Achim Kaufmann (piano), Frank Gratkowski (winds) and Wilbert de Joode (bass)--are heard in this incredible 2018 concert at Konfrontationen Festival as a septet with Tony Buck (drums), Richard Barrett (electronics), Liz Allbee (trumpet) and Uchihashi Kazuhisa (guitar).
Schindler, Udo / Ardhi Engl
Basis_B(r)uchstucke
(Creative Sources)
Performing on clarinets and theremin, Udo Schindler follows up his series Salon für Klang+Kunst after 99 events with this new series at BASIS_Klangraum in Munich's historic BASIS Booksalon at MUCCA, in a concert with instrument maker Ardhi Engle performing on a diverse set of acoustic and electronic inventions for nine concise collective conversations.
MUC Chamber Art Trio (Udo Schindler / Sebastian Grams / Gunnar Geisse)
Resilient Perspectives (...A Real Fact)
(FMR)
A fascinating chamber jazz trio performing in a 2021 live concert in the Galerie at arToxin, in Munich, Germany from the collective free improvising trio of Udo Schindler on alto & sopranino saxophones & bass clarinet, Sebastian Gramss on double bass and Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar, subtitled RESILIENT PERSPECTIVES... a real fact? [LowToneStudies#9+]




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC