The Squid's Ear Magazine


Denzler / Grip / Johansson: Zyklus 1 [2 CDs] (Umlaut Records /  SAJ)

Exploring new ways of interplay within a classic jazz trio setting, "Zyklus 1" or "Cycle 1" is the 3rd album from the trio of Bertrand Denzler on tenor saxophone, Joel Grip on double bass, and Sven on Ake Johansson on drums, a double CD + poster of four improvisations that reference "Time" through masterful technique and superb collective free jazz.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Bertrand Denzler-tenor saxophone

Joel Grip-double bass

Sven-Ake Johansson-drums


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Includes a fold out poster with a drawing by Sven-Ake Johansson and liner notes by Seymour Wright.

Label: Umlaut Records / SAJ
Catalog ID: umcd 28 29 / sajcd 47 48
Squidco Product Code: 27323

Format: 2 CDS
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Sweden / France / Germany
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels w/ booklet
Recorded at Isotop, in Berlin, Germany, on November 3rd and 4th, 2017 by Andrew Levine.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The third release by the trio Neuköllner Modelle, saxophonist Bertrand Denzler, bassist Joel Grip, and drummer Sven-Åke Johansson, Zyklus 1 might be considered a zen chronicle. The four lengthy tracks reveal the true nature of improvised sound, group interaction, and thus, the essence of meditation. Like meditation, their music is very simple, yet extremely hard to execute.

The use of the classic saxophone/bass/drums configuration yields nothing like trios led by Albert Ayler, Sonny Rollins, or Charles Gayle. Even if you recognize Johansson (b. 1943) as a doyen of free jazz, the leadership of this trio here cannot be affixed solely to him. Listeners might consider him the Swedish Han Bennink, but it is more accurate to refer to Bennink as the Dutch Sven-Åke Johansson. No, this is a leaderless trio, and that might be where the zen comes in. There are no hints of grandstanding and no protracted solos.

What these four pieces contain are sustained collaborations-no better yet, corroborations. Grip, who released a mesmerizing solo recording Pickelhaube (Umlaut, 2012), also performs in more conventional jazz settings and with vocalists. His bowing technique here sounds at times very much like a second horn, and he can also maintain a pulse that often mimics the life force of the heart. Denzler, a giant in the world of free improvisation, in bands such as Hubbub and Trio Sowari, applies his own minimalist take on the sound of John Coltrane to match the meditative vibe of this partners. With Johansson pleased to exercise brushes on cymbals and skins, and make tattooed remarks, as a means to keep this music constantly buoyant; the music remains a faithful prayer."-Mark Corroto, All About Jazz


Includes a fold out poster with a drawing by Sven-Ake Johansson and liner notes by Seymour Wright.


This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

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.

"For a number of years now, energetic double bassist, filmmaker and producer Grip has played an important role for the new scenes of improvised music in Europe. As founder of Umlaut Records, he opened up for creative forms of organizing collectives of musicians and promoting their music internationally. Since 2003 he has been one of the main organizers of Hagenfesten in Dala-Floda, Sweden, a stand-alone festival, and quite frankly possibly the most pleasant venue for free improvised music not only in Sweden but in the whole of Europe. Few other places offer quite the same endearing combination of sophisticated musical risk-taking, and up-beat, social get-together. GripÕs musicianship is informed by a similar knack for welding musical sophistication with social communication, often with an analog film camera at hand. With a handful of short films Joel Grip met mexican filmmaker Mauricio Hern‡ndez and shortly the film production company Umlicht was established. They are right now working on their third and forth feature film together. Umdicht is amplifying the pencil of Joel GripÕs hand, partly through the irregular issue of Lšsa Blad and partly in the future release of books."

-Joel Grip Website (http://www.joelgrip.com/Joel/biograf.html)
3/13/2024

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

"Sven-Åke Johansson (born 1943 in Mariestad, living in Berlin since 1968) is a Swedish drummer and composer associated with free jazz and free improvisation. He was in the Globe Unity Orchestra and played with German reedist Alfred Harth and Belgian pianist Nicole Van den Plas in E.M.T.."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven-%C3%85ke_Johansson)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Time 22:28

2. Timing 36:55

CD2



1. Out Of Time 24:33

2. Timeless 31:34

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Collective Free Improvsation
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Top Sellers for 2019 by Customer Sales

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