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Denzler, Bertrand / Antonin Gerbal: Heretofore (Umlaut Records)

The duo of tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and percussionist Antonin Gerbal, 2/3 of the Zoor trio, in an album of free improvisation contrasting simple and complex sounds, organic and mechanical rhythms while evoking asymmetric, geometric or enigmatic shapes.
 

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Personnel:



Bertrand Denzler-tenor saxophone

Antonin Gerbal-percussion


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Label: Umlaut Records
Catalog ID: umfr-cd12
Squidco Product Code: 20846

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: Sweden / France / Germany
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Atelier Polonceau Thomas-Roudeix, Paris, France on May 31, 2014

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"It seems that Swiss-born tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler is already involved in so many contrasting groupings that he would have no need to be joining or creating yet more. Active groupings of which he is a member include Hubbub, Mark Wastell's The Seen, Trio Sowari, Zoor, plus a trio with Eddie Prevost and John Edwards. Some others seem dormant, but not actually extinct, including the saxophone quartet Propagations, his own Bertrand Denzler, and a duo with Hans Koch. In addition, in the wake of his innovative solo album Tenor (Potlatch, 2010), he must be much in demand on his own. [...]

The duo of Denzler with drummer Antonin Gerbal is a new one, but the two have had experience together in the trio Zoor which has been together since 2011. Of course, to play together in a saxophone-drums duo requires the participants to be familiar with one another. While there are successful precedents for the format-Coltrane/Ali on Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1974), Parker/Stevens on The Longest Night (Ogun, 1977)-they feature pairings of players with history together. On the one thirty-four minute title track of Heretofore, studio-recorded in May 2014, Denzler and Gerbal are recognisably the players who collaborated in Zoor and, unsurprisingly given Denzler's thirst for innovation, they create a new paradigm for saxophone-drums duos. As in the trio, Denzler avoids pyrotechnic displays, instead employing plenty of sustained notes which are held long enough to be savoured by the player, his playing partner and his listeners. Gerbal is just as restrained, providing a variety of support, commentary and coloration while keeping a steady pulse ticking over. Crucially, as in any successful duo, there is a balance between the two players, with the style of each being apparent but neither dominating the other or hogging the limelight. This is certainly a duo for the future, one to watch out for."-John Eyles, All About Jazz


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"Bertrand Denzler is a tenor saxophone player. He has played in Europe and Latin America both as a solo act and with musicians such as Xavier Charles, Peter Frils Nielsen, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Barry Guy, Ninh Lê Quan, Urs Leimgruber, Günter Müller, Bob Ostertag, Norbert Pfammatter, Hasse Poulsen, Mark Sanders, Mathieu Werchowski, and Otomo Yoshihide. He is a member of the groups Hubbub, Nanocluster, Laps, Denzler-Mariage, A3/1, and Chamaeleo Vulgaris. He has put out a number of compact discs on various labels."-ActuelleCD.com (http://www.actuellecd.com/en/bio/denzler_be/)
3/13/2024

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

"Since the release of File under: Bebop - Peeping Tom in 2009, Antonin Gerbal has developed his own approach of the drums - reinterpreting history of jazz drumming through the prism of european musical improvisation. Improviser, composer, teacher and performer, Antonin Gerbal is associated with the vitality of the Parisian music scene, notably through Umlaut Records. He has performed in Europe, U.S., Russia and Japan, with many original projects such as Nakasanye, Zoor, ISM or Peeping Tom. Involved in large ensembles such as ONCEIM (playing pieces Eliane Radigue or Stephen O'Malley) and Umlaut Big Band (swing dancing band), Antonin Gerbal works regularly with English, German, Swiss and Japanese artists. At the begining of 2016, he releases his solo works called Sound of Drums."

-Antonin Gerbal Website (http://antoningerbal.com/about)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Heretofore 33:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
Free Improvisation
Percussion & Drums
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Duo Recordings
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Percussion & Drums

Search for other titles on the label:
Umlaut Records.


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