Another Frankfurt inevitability

Along with the Städel, the Jazzkeller is another unmissable when I'm in Frankfurt. Impressively, this is its 70th anniversary year. That's 20 years older than the Sydney Opera House and shortly after WW2. I think of the devastation of bombing in Germany and assume that basements were amongst the few usable spaces after carpet bombing. I guess they were used for protection then temporary accommodation, then became available for cheaper uses like jazz clubs. Whatever, it's a classic space with a noble history of major artist visits, if small and acoustically imperfect. This night Jazzkeller featured a quartet around Martin Sasse and Tony Lakatos; I think it was Tony sitting in with Martin's trio. This was good old hard bop done with considerable skill and plenty of solos all round. I heard Martin's piano as playing the changes but with frequently moving chromatic substitutions. Tony seemed mostly a big, fat tenor tone running though chordal cells, interesting in themselves without substitutions, but they were often enough thrown in as well. Vladimir on drums wrote some worthy tunes, not least a lovely ballad, and soloed solidly, heavy on toms and middy-pitched rolls. Martin, this time the bassist, again wrote some interesting tunes, not least one with several somewhat unconnected but effective passages and explosive melodies ending on descending tritones which were nicely played unison by bass and tenor. This Martin sat nicely, undemandingly, but could double up for some light flurries of notes at breakneck speed. Loved that! Otherwise, they played 2 sets of 5 and 4 tunes over a few hours. The Jazzkeller attracts tourists so there were departures in the break then mid-second set and urgently when the gig ended. Thus are the renowned jazz clubs in Europe. But it was an enlivening night out, hearing breakneck swing (the second take on a blues was at 260). The one non-original was Skylark and that was sweet and familiar. Otherwise originals by the trio. The night ws enlivening also for the chats with various people over for the Frankfurt Bookfair (400k attendees and 7k stands in the venue. Wow). I chatted with guys from New Jersey (bigger population) and Finland (smaller population, 5m). Like I chatted with two Fins from a Sami Museum at the Städel yesterday. This is all nicely cosmopolitan and part of why we travel. Oh, and a chat with Martin the bassist, about amps (Glockenklang Blue Bird and Acoustic 8-1 bin) and pickups (again Glockenklang) and strings (Spirocore Weich solo strings tuned down a semitone) and acoustics, but that's just jazz.

Martin Sasse (piano) and Tony Lakatos (tenor) led a quartet with Martin Gjakonovski (bass) and Vladimir Konstadinovic (drums) at the Jazzkeller, Frankfurt.

Perhaps to be expected

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was and I still am as I think of it. Jazzkeller doesn’t normally open for gigs on Tuesday nights but there was a jazz festival concert at the Alten Opera celebrating local success Albert Mangelsdorff and so a special, free late night jam at Jazzkeller. Form the top it was huge. A piano trio was on offer as host but tenor sat in from the first notes. The tunes were standard, obvious enough, but the takes were inventive, imaginative, contemporary and full of energy. The tenor was Peter Klohmann, nicely presented in suit and white shirt, young and hairy, with thoughtful phrasing and substitutions and a blissful tone, playing through seemingly endless choruses with real interest and changing themes. His history in the German Youth Jazz Orchestra "BujazzO" and more. The bass, Hanns Hohn, was a stunner. He’s built for the bass, tall and strong, with big sound from firm strings, big woody tone, strength and flexibility into thumb positions and expressive phrasing. Pianist, Nico Hering, was variously chromatics and melodicism, restrained and explosive. And drums, Mathis Grossmann. At first he seemed simple, unaffected, happy to sit back. This was nice reliable, supportive playing. But then his solo, in the first tune, was probably the best example of solo development I have been aware of. From just single notes, he gradually built rhythms and cross rhythms and complexity to an eventual climax of rock intensity and a denouement so everyone recognised and returned clearly to the start of a new head. Stunning. This was just for openers. A break and other sit-ins. I didn’t catch all names but notably Dennis Sekretarev playing an impressive bop trumpet and a senior master, Tony Lakatos, on tenor. Tony was a revelation. To my ears, bop in style but with an easy overlay of modernity that twisted phrases and introduced contemporary dissonance. He’s on Youtube playing with Joe Lovano, Anthony Jackson and Branford Marsalis at Jazzkeller and otherwise. No slouch. This was a mature master at his best. Wonderful. There were others too, and some who were seriously impressive. I didn’t get all names. I played but shouldn’t have. This was powerful and out. Our Work song disintegrated into free (how could that happen?) and felt more comfortable there. Drums were busy and driving as hell and piano out anywhere but hugely impressive. Then after I was amused to see the pianist had a bandaged hand. A stunner that I should perhaps have expected.

Jazzkeller Frankfurt held a jam session to celebrate Albert Mangelsdorff. Jammers included Nico Hering (piano), Hanns Hohn (bass), Mathis Grossmann (drums), Peter Klohmann (tenor), Tony Lakatos (tenor) and Dennis Sekretarev (trumpet).

Reunions

We met up with old friends for a night at Jazzkeller in Frankfurt and the musos were also having a reunion. Sagmeister / Spendel were guitar / piano. They met at this club in 1979, have played together variously since and one or both were given professorships at the Frankfurt Conservatory in 2001. Our mates suggested at least Spendel had NYC history. That wouldn’t surprise me. He was the pianist and by far my favourite. Piano anyway allows for invention by its nature, but his approach was not just virtuosic but harmonically and intellectually rich. I heard fourths and diminisheds and whole tones and chromaticism and generally a rich and thoughtful freedom from the keys so he impressed. But the style of the night was mainstream, standards, swing, latin, Stella, Wine and roses, You don’t know what love is, Black Orpheus, rather than NYC contemporary. The others did this well, but I missed the harmonic colours and substitutions and polyrhythms and the other players did little of this. But they were hot. The feel was faster, fastest, fastest+ with avid drum solos and fluid, quick e-bass (with a great tone down low), and long, long 16-note runs scalar runs and the like from guitar. Not so much colour or rest or contemplation. Very capable and hard swinging and very mainstream. Bensonesque. But this was history beyond the meet-up. The Jazzkellar dates from 1952, there’s pic on the wall of Dizzy playing there. Louis gigged there and Johnny Hodges, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Archie Shepp too. Sinatra and Dean Martin visited. It’s tiny but they lay claim to being Frankfurt’s Village Vanguard.

Christoph Spendel (piano), Michael Sagmeister (guitar), Thomas Heidepriem (bass) and Michael Küttner (drums) performed at the Jazzkeller, Frankfurt.