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Fite, Niklas / Gunter Christmann: Insisting (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Two string improvisers in an insistent dialog of quick-witted playing using every inch of their instruments under impressive technique, between Polish-born German cellist Günter Christmann, whose legacy hails from early European Free Jazz groups including Rudiger Carl Inc, and younger generation Finnish guitarist Niklas Fite, whose playing reminds of John Russell or Derek Bailey.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Niklas Fite-guitar

Gunter Christmann-cello


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Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CD111
Squidco Product Code: 35221

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded in Langenhagen, Germany, on May 5th and 6th, 2019, by Niklas Fite.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Hardcore proponents of free improvisation from different generations meet for a granular explosion.

Born in Poland, based outside Hannover, Germany, Gunter Christmann hails back to the origins of European improvised music, when he played trombone in Rudiger Carl Inc., the raucous trio that issued King Alcohol on FMP in 1972, as well as groups let by Peter Kowald, Alex Schlippenbach, and others. Christmann's personal arc drew him away from free jazz and deeper into a kind of improvised chamber music, which he explored in great detail with his many-versioned ensemble Vario and as a member of King ubu Orchestru, as well as in an extensive discography of solo and duo records on the Moers label. Marshalling incredibly acute listening with lightning quick response time and an endless well of extended techniques not only on trombone but also bass and cello, Christmann remained true to his own very particular vision, championing the most personal kind of absolutely free play.

On Insisting, he combines forces with Niklas Fite, a young Swedish guitarist who's equally committed to spontaneous music. Fite is the son of beloved Stockholm guitarist Andy Fite and was a student of British guitarist John Russell, with whom Christmann worked extensively. On this recording, Fite makes crystal clear his ability to pack gargantuan impact into the tiniest of sounds, manipulating time by placing ample space between sounds and allowing the mutuality to unfold in an unforced way.

Christmann plays cello exclusively here, the two stringed instruments combining with intensity and grace. A gorgeous, intimate recording, packaged with ink drawing by Christmann on the cover and notes by Fite."-Corbett Vs. Dempsey



"Two hardcore followers of free improvisation from different generations meet for an improvised explosion. Born in Poland, but based outside Hanover, Germany, cellist Günter Christmann traces his roots back to the beginnings of European improvised music, when he played trombone in Rüdiger Carl Inc., the trio that released King Alcohol on FMP in 1972, as well as groups led by Peter Kowald, Alex Schlippenbach and others. Christmann's personal bow playing drew him away from free jazz and deeper into a kind of improvised chamber music, which he explored in detail with his ensemble Vario and as a member of King Übü Örchestrü, as well as in an extensive collection of solo and duo records on the Moers label.

The young, Swedish guitarist Niklas Fite has, in a short time, developed into an exciting guitarist in the landscape of John Russell and Derek Bailey. He is a widely used guitarist in his home country and in the "freer" clubs in Copenhagen, and we have heard him with Raymond Strid, Sture Ericsson, Joe Williamson, Sven-Åke Johansson and Margeux Oswald, to name a few. He is the son of Stockholm guitarist Andy Fite and was a student of British guitarist John Russell, with whom Christmann worked extensively.

On 5 and 6 May 2019, they had a meeting in Langenhagen in Germany, where they recorded the eight free-flowing stretches that we get on the disc Insisting. They start with "exhalation", and immediately we discover that this is no ordinary guitar and cello record. Here there is free improvisation and playing in a way that is a long way from the blues scales or guitar jazz as we know it from the history of Charlie Christian, via Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall to Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and all the others we are more used to to listen to. But that does not mean that the music we are served here is not very interesting.

On the eight tracks, the guitar and the cello almost intermingle with each other. There are sound experiences and communication much more than melodic tonal ranges, but an extremely fascinating use of both guitar and cello that creates interesting images.

It is impossible to pick out a few favorite tracks, because all the improvisations are exciting, and the whole that the two create by giving us "new" angles to the two instruments, is what remains the strongest after listening to the tracks a few times.

An exciting meeting!"-Jan Granlie, Salt Peanuts (translated by Google)


Get additional information at Salt Peanuts

Artist Biographies

"Guitarist Niklas Fite is a Swedish improviser, guitarist and banjoist. He was born 1995 in Stockholm."

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/6435451-Niklas-Fite)
10/2/2024

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

"Born 1942; trombone, cello, film.

Günter Christmann has been working since 1968 as a free-lance musician specialising in improvised musics - particularly free improvisation - and their links with other art forms. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, he was primarily known for his trombone (and less frequent double bass) playing in a variety of groupings: Rüdiger Carl group (1969-1972); Peter Kowald Quintett (1972-1974); a duo with Detlef Schönenberg (1972-1982) which itself included many collaborations - for example with the electronics player Harald Bojé - as a member of the Globe Unity Orchestra from 1973 onwards; and in duo with Tristan Honsinger (1978-1981). In the mid-1970s Christmann also began exploring the possibilities of solo playing, sometimes including electro-acoustic manipulations and montage techniques. Since 1980 Günter Christmann has played regularly with Paul Lovens - for example, in the excellent (and recorded) trio with Maarten Altena, in duo, and in trio with Mats Gustafsson - in duo with bass player Torsten Müller (generally under the name of their recording, Carte blanche, as a member of King Übü Orchestrü (1987-1994), and in duo with Alexander Frangenheim. He also started to feature cello in his playing, not as a second instrument to trombone but as an equal.

From 1979 Günter Christmann has been interested in working with different combinations of improvisers from an international pool, often combining musicians with dancers, actors and acrobats. These groupings have gone under the generic name of VARIO (now up to VARIO 35), with many combinations having been documented on LP and CD (see list below). VARIO concerts have included: Langenhagen Jazz 1979/1981/1983; Moers 1981/1983; Actual London 1981; Pisa 1982; Osnabrück 1982; Utrecht 1982; a tour of South and Central America in 1983 (Mexico, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil); Zürich 1984; Hannover 1985; Bremen 1985; Paris 1992; Hannover 1993; Den Haag 1994; Stuttgart 1995; Nickelsdorff 1998; Hannover 1998. Artists who have participated in VARIO formations include: Maarten Altena; Regina Baumgart (dancer); Steve Beresford; Udo Blickensdorf (acrobat); Lindsay Cooper; Axel Dörner; Katie Duck; Alexander Frangenheim; Wolfgang Fuchs; Mats Gustafsson; Andy Geer (pantomime); Gerd Gläsmer (drums); Michael Griener (percussion); Ulrich Gumpert; Bernd Halleck (actor); Shelley Hirsch; Tristan Honsinger; Guus Janssen; Sven-Åke Johannson; Theo Joling (clown); Peter Kowald; Gyde Knebusch (harp); Thomas Lehn; Paul Lovens; Rudi Mahall (bass clarinet); Radu Malfatti; Phil Minton; Torsten Müller; Christian Munthe; Maggie Nicols; Evan Parker; Melvyn Poore; Jon Rose; John Russell; Jo Sachse; Wolfgang Schliemdun (percussion); Detlef Schönenberg; Irène Schweizer; Günter Sommer; LaDonna Smith; Mariano Suarez (trumpet); Martin Theurer; Roger Turner; Peter van Bergen; Davey Williams; Stephan Wittwer.

Even outside VARIO, Christmann has longstanding interests in bringing together similar-minded artists from a variety of disciplines. This started in 1974 through a collaboration with dancer/choreographer Pina Bausch and was later continued with Elisabeth Clark and Regina Baumgart. These early experiments led to his interest in film, particularly the relationship between improvising musicians and experimental film-makers; his current work in this area goes under the banner Deja-vu, being a sequence of music-theatre scenes in which live music, acting, films and sound collage are brought together. At its centre is the playing musician who works both with and against the film and whose relationship with the situation on stage in constantly changing. Advantages are taken of the ability of film to snatch up, to double and enlarge, and to fragment what would otherwise be a traditional relationship between action, scenery and person. This results in an interchange and transformation of themes, properties and associations, and movement between illusion and reality. The films are by Günter Christmann, music is provided by Christmann and Michael Griener, and technical assistance is provided by Elke Schipper."

-European Free Improv (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mchrist.html)
10/2/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Exhalation 05:24

2. Inhalation 05:35

3. Holding 03:16

4. Suspense 03:13

5. Relief 07:55

6. Breath 02:16

7. Game 03:45

8. Felt 08:40

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Stringed Instruments
Guitarists, &c.
Duo Recordings
New in Improvised Music
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