Hot lines

Bad Plus were in Berlin last week but I missed them. The Yellowjackets were at ZigZag for two shows on one night about a week later. Fusion is not so much my thing these days and then they were booked out. I went down anyway and got in for the last few tunes. Hot playing, lots of synths tones from keys and bass and ewi, lithe but firm drumming, solos and swapped eights (interestingly sax and bass), lots of smiles after tight lines falling nicely, not that we’d expect otherwise. These guys are tight and convoluted and get off on their solos. I only heard a few tunes, but one was all fast swing with e-bass twists behind. Bassist Dane is the youngest of the band and the newest member (this being a long-term outfit, Russell dating back to the start of the band in 1977, Bob and Will being long-term members and Dane the newbie) but he’s a big feature on stage, playing fast 6-string with all techniques and some devastatingly quick fingered and sharply toned lines. Bob and Russell took their share of solos but I missed any by drummer Will. A common approach is drum solo on the final tune, but not this time. I enjoyed the show, was blown out by the quick playing and tight lines, the audience was in raptures and I was glad to have caught one touring US jazz act in Berlin. And did I mention that bassist Dane was an Aussie?

Yellowjackets played at ZigZag jazz club in Berlin. The Yellowjackets are Bob Mintzer (tenor, Ewi), Russell Ferrante (keys, piano), Will Kennedy (drums) and Dane Alderson (bass).

Afters

It was after the Berlin Phil so late and we just caught two tunes. Back to ZigZag for a Miles Davis Tribute. We arrived to Freedom Jazz Dance that lasted a good while and that was to finish but we got an encore of So What. Even this was a generous bit of music, perhaps 20 min of playing. More excellent performers, two from the jam session host band a few days before, with different bass, trumpet and added sax. At least for these two tunes that we heard, this was all strength, harmonic and rhythmic freedom with driving pulse, intriguing solos. So What was all relentless speed; FJD all twisting melody. Solos for all players and all wonderful but I particularly noted the extended play on diminished triplets up and down the bass neck. Relentless, extended and a tour de force. I mentioned that one to bassist Igor and he’d obviously enjoyed it. I also chatted with drummer Tobias and his accent immediately surprised me. It turns out he’d lived in Melbourne and recently recorded in Berlin with Jeremy Rose, Jackson Harrison and Kurt Rosenwinkel. The recording is not yet released. Germans often observe the distance to Australia (and it’s annoying talking to European visitors to Berlin who can come for just a few days) but the world can seem small, too. Just a taste of Miles with some more wonderfully capable Berlin playing.

Christoph Titz (trumpet, flugelhorn), Marc Doffey (tenor), Uri Gincel (piano), Igor Spallati (bass) and Tobias Backhaus (drums) played a tribute to Miles Davis at ZigZag Jazz Club in Berlin.

Rings true, what they say

It’ a common refrain that the standard of musicians in Berlin is very high. I went to one of many jam sessions in Berlin, this one at the ZigZag club, and I can only confirm it. The host band was as good as I can even imagine! A trumpet tone to die for, soft and fat like a flugelhorn but not, playing some long devastating runs and lovely melodic snippets and space around them all. Astounding harmonic flexibility that saw the piano all over and outside the structure. I could follow most (with great pleasure) even if I felt one got beyond me (and perhaps the rest of the band). But this was hugely driving and infectious and an improvisational tour de force in the modern jazz vein. Bass was immensely strong, along with drums. No let off in intensity or commitment, but there were changes of feel and groove all over. Bass could lay out syncopated lines with firmness and power but also with dense improv, both embellishing the obligatos and laying out wonderfully expressive solos. This was a jam so I got up. The bass was strung with gut (and Spirocore E string) and I can confirm it was a handful, so there was plenty of strength in Paul’s hands as well as in his ideas. A later addition to the host band was guitar, and he, too, was strong as. Happy to sit out but wonderfully effective when he played, soloing idiosyncratically in short bursts or comping some interesting chords. Then the jammers. Mostly not in the ballpark of the hosts, but none-the-less worthwhile and skilled. I liked that no charts were allowed. Pianist and host band and jam leader, Uri, was colourfully damning of their use and it worked. We negotiated known tunes and sometimes just faked it and so learnt from the experience and grew confidence in our ears. A true jazz lesson learnt there. Then, the jokes and good-natured chatter and drinks after. This was a memorable night and perhaps the best exposure to jazz in Berlin that I could imagine. And there are numerous other jam sessions around this town, most nights, amongst a plethora of jazz venues, then there’s the experimental scene too. And, of course, the classical scene, Berlin Philharmonic and the rest.

ZigZag jazz club staged its weekly Tuesday night jam sessions. The host band was led by Uri Gincel (piano) with Sebastian Studnitzky (trumpet), Paul Kleber (bass) and Tobi Backhaus (drums). Igor Osypov (guitar) sat in with this band later.

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