MARKUS SOCKHAUSEN / FLORIAN WEBER - Alba
ECM 475 9358
Markus Stockhausen: flugelhorn, trumpet; Florian Weber: piano
Recorded July 2015
Trumpeter Markus Stockhausen is no stranger to ECM having appeared on the label for 1984’s “Continuum”, recording his father’s composition “Michaels Reise” (ECM New Series, 1992) and “Karta” (ECM, 2000) among several other recordings. However, “Alba” is the first recording of his duo with pianist Florian Weber despite performing together for six years, and it demonstrates in ample measure the seamless blend of composition and improvisation and absolutely egoless manner with which the duo perform.
At first Stockhausen and Weber experimented with using electronics in addition to their acoustic foundation, but when it came time to record the album, they settled on a purely acoustic setting. A smart choice because combined with extended techniques, they extend the traditional boundaries of their instruments at several points throughout the fifteen pieces. These enhancements are particularly effective such as Weber’s use of strummed strings and prepared piano on “What Can I Do For You?” written in memory of the recently departed pianist John Taylor, where the bed of sound created by Weber is the perfect canvas for Stockhausen to paint introspective melody with Harmon muted flugelhorn. “Reflections” finds Stockhausen’s gorgeous rounded tone made absolutely huge by the vibrations of the piano strings adding to the decay of the notes as he plays the horn into the body of the piano. Weber contributes most of the writing, the short solo pieces, “Barycenter”, “Possibility I” and “Today” are thought provoking, Stockhausen’s contribution of the wistful, child like “Mondtraum”, and the freely improvised “Ishta” based on the concept of his father’s “intuitive music” add further dimension to what the group is capable of.
“Alba” is a wonderful debut from a duo that exhibits tremendous trust in their musical conversation where that trust allows them to go wherever the music takes them. The sound in particular is superb benefitting greatly from the acoustics of RSI Studio Lugano that Manfred Eicher has favored for several releases over the past few years, and the album is a window into the seemingly endless possibilities that Markus Stockhausen and Florian Weber have to offer.
Reviewed by CJ Shearn
ECM 475 9358
Markus Stockhausen: flugelhorn, trumpet; Florian Weber: piano
Recorded July 2015
Trumpeter Markus Stockhausen is no stranger to ECM having appeared on the label for 1984’s “Continuum”, recording his father’s composition “Michaels Reise” (ECM New Series, 1992) and “Karta” (ECM, 2000) among several other recordings. However, “Alba” is the first recording of his duo with pianist Florian Weber despite performing together for six years, and it demonstrates in ample measure the seamless blend of composition and improvisation and absolutely egoless manner with which the duo perform.
At first Stockhausen and Weber experimented with using electronics in addition to their acoustic foundation, but when it came time to record the album, they settled on a purely acoustic setting. A smart choice because combined with extended techniques, they extend the traditional boundaries of their instruments at several points throughout the fifteen pieces. These enhancements are particularly effective such as Weber’s use of strummed strings and prepared piano on “What Can I Do For You?” written in memory of the recently departed pianist John Taylor, where the bed of sound created by Weber is the perfect canvas for Stockhausen to paint introspective melody with Harmon muted flugelhorn. “Reflections” finds Stockhausen’s gorgeous rounded tone made absolutely huge by the vibrations of the piano strings adding to the decay of the notes as he plays the horn into the body of the piano. Weber contributes most of the writing, the short solo pieces, “Barycenter”, “Possibility I” and “Today” are thought provoking, Stockhausen’s contribution of the wistful, child like “Mondtraum”, and the freely improvised “Ishta” based on the concept of his father’s “intuitive music” add further dimension to what the group is capable of.
“Alba” is a wonderful debut from a duo that exhibits tremendous trust in their musical conversation where that trust allows them to go wherever the music takes them. The sound in particular is superb benefitting greatly from the acoustics of RSI Studio Lugano that Manfred Eicher has favored for several releases over the past few years, and the album is a window into the seemingly endless possibilities that Markus Stockhausen and Florian Weber have to offer.
Reviewed by CJ Shearn
