Reviews that mention Max Andrzejewski
November 16, 2020
Elias Stemeseder & Max Andrzejewski
light/tied
WhyPLayJazz WP J 054
SETT
First and Second
New Wave of Jazz nwoj033
Pierrick Hardy Acoustic Quartet
L’Ogre Intact
Émouvance emv 1041
Laura Schuller Quartet
Metamorphosis
Veto-Records 020
Jason Kao Hwang
Human Rites Trio
True Sound Recordings TS03
Something in the air: Flexible fiddles can feature much more than fundamentals
By Ken Waxman
Freed from the tyranny of section accompaniment, solo string concertos have long been a feature of notated music. A similar liberation for violins and violas happened years ago in improvised music. However it’s only during the past few years that use of these four-string instruments have been treated as more than a novelty. Sessions such as these which feature a violin or viola as part of different ensembles show how the prototypical instrument of so-called classical music is forging an equally impressive role creating freer sounds. MORE
August 17, 2020
Wherever You Roam
Tiger Moon Records TMR 008
With the number of Jazz releases given over to interpretations of the Great American Songbook as well as those recasting versions of more recent pop, rap and R&B tunes, why not use Bob Dylan’s oeuvre as the basis for instrumental improvisation? That’s why the Berlin based quartet Absolutely Sweet Marie (ASM) was formed and this fascinating but frustrating disc is its third release.
Wherever You Roam is fascinating because it provides a window onto how some of Berlin’s most accomplished youngish improvisers can move familiar and unfamiliar songs into new areas as they change our perception of them. The frustration arises though since each of the 16 interpretations lasts between a little less than two minutes to, in a couple of case, slightly more than five. Such abrupt performances don’t allow much room for agile transformation. Technical skill is proven since each player has a notable history. ASM’s chief architect, tenor saxophonist Alexander Beierbach works with Nicolas Schulze and Hannes Zerbe’s orchestra. Trombonist Matthias Müller has recorded with Frank Paul Schubert; drummer Max Andrzejewski works with Julien Desprez, while trumpeter Steffen Faul plays with Uli Jennessen. MORE
November 6, 2015
Anna Webber’s Percussive Mechanics
Refraction
Pirouet Records PIT 3079
By Ken Waxman
Audaciously extending her conceptual chops, composer Anna Webber has created a suite of sorts with Refraction, bookending the program with a prelude and postlude sonically coordinated but not copied, while those tracks and the other five subtly reflect motifs which swirl throughout. A British Columbian turned Brooklynite, Webber, who plays tenor saxophone and flute here, is joined on this journey by other musicians whose playing is neither overly percussive nor mechanical. MORE