Kunsthaus NEXUS, Otto Gruber-Halle, CONGRESS Saalfelden
Sunday, the last day of the festival, brought a program full of stars who clearly graced this year’s anniversary edition.
Before we get to their presentation, here are a few photos of the festival’s Congress Center and views from the terrace on its top floor to give you an idea of the beautiful mountain setting in which the festival is held every year.
Our Sunday program kicked off in the industrial hall with a very successful quartet called:
Nothing causes anything, Otto Gruber-Halle
Yvonne Moriel – saxophone, Alex Kranabetter – trumpet, electronics, Vincent Pongracz – bass clarinet, electronics, Christian Lillinger – drums. Christian Lillinger again in an interesting lineup. At first, he didn’t play ultra-fast transitions, but rather mechanically like a robot, which created a kind of feeling of alienation, and the trumpeter further muddied it with electronics. An intricate musical landscape flowed from the stage with more lyrical, expansive passages that served as transitions between different parts of the concert. However, I was unable to connect deeply with this music, even though some passages were sufficiently interesting and engaging.
Sun-Mi Hong Bida Orchestra, CONGRESS Saalfelden
Jozef Dumoulin – piano, Fender Rhodes, John Edwards – double bass, Mette Rasmussen – alto saxophone, John Dikeman – bass & tenor saxophone, Alistair Payne – trumpet, Sun-Mi Hong – drums is a wild bunch, and at first I wondered why they call themselves an orchestra when they are actually just a sextet. However, they soon showed that even in this formation they can sound quite like a big band. Sun-Mi kept things nicely under control, allowing the others to float freely. The second piece developed very slowly, starting with just the trumpet and piano, then gently adding percussion and double bass, until finally only Sun-Mi remained, playing solo with felt mallets. She then took the floor and explained the origins of this project to us. Bimhuis asked her to compose some pieces. At first, she had no idea how to approach it, but in the end she was inspired by her dreams, and this interesting ensemble was born.
Kalle Kalima´s Detour with Leo Genovese and Christian Lillinger, CONGRESS Saalfelden
Kalle Kalima – guitar, Leo Genovese – keyboards, Christian Lillinger – drums. Leo introduced himself to us for the fourth time, Christian probably too, and I must say that this was the most entertaining of Christian’s performances (but not of Leo’s). The rock energy of the trio, at times almost overwhelming, took me by surprise at the beginning, and I thought to myself that I was going to really enjoy this. The next song, however, was definitely not so straightforward. Christian literally levitated behind the drums, but still managed to adjust his hairstyle with his typical gesture. It was music that kept you on the edge of your seat, well-composed and at times even overly complicated. Leo entertained me by switching between piano, keyboards, and Rhodes, once again proving his immense flexibility. I take my hat off to him for showing so many different faces at the festival. Kalle came up with a pretty apt remark when he asked us if we were having fun. Apparently, sometimes only the musicians are having fun. It’s true that it was quite a challenging piece.
Ancient To The Future, CONGRESS Saalfelden
Ava Mendoza – guitar, vocals, Majid Bekkas – gimbri, oud, vocals, Xhosa Cole – saxophone, flute, Hamid Drake – drums. This was a great success and the festival couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. This lineup came together for only the second time, but I believe it will become a regular band because the music deserves it. With Majid’s vocals, this group sounded like desert blues with a touch of Hendrix, but with saxophone on top of that. Trance-like but captivating, because it wasn’t monotonous or uniform. I completely forgot to take notes, I was in such a trance, so let yourself be lulled by our video clip. At the end, it was clear that the musicians would have liked to add more when they saw the enthusiastic response from the audience, but in Saalfelden, there are simply no encores (unless you’re The Bad Plus in a special lineup and you’re playing at the end).
The Bad Plus, Chris Potter & Craig Taborn, CONGRESS Saalfelden
Chris Potter – saxophone, Craig Taborn – piano, Reid Anderson – double bass, Dave King – drums – this is the lineup that had been exciting us long before we arrived in Saalfelden, and we suspected that it would be the grand finale of the entire festival. And that it would be the best after all? Probably yes! The gentlemen jumped into it like they were off the leash, as if they wanted to prove that they really belonged in the Saalfelden festival program. Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King, who co-founded The Bad Plus more than twenty years ago, paid tribute to the music of Keith Jarrett and his American Quartet. Jarrett’s quartet with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and Dewey Redman from the late 1960s and early 1970s was more than just an inspiration to them, and they admitted that it had a huge influence on them as young musicians and that they think it’s a shame that this music isn’t played very often. It was simply a great finale and an extremely successful end to the festival!
As we left the convention center, we experienced something truly incredible. The organizing team formed a corridor at the exit and applauded the departing audience, who applauded them in return. We really did not expect such a powerful and moving moment, and it only served to underline the uniqueness of this festival and its audience, which was praised more than once during the festival by both the organizers and the musicians.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Saalfelden Jazz Festival and will definitely be back again…