MICHAEL WOLLNY - Modenkind
ACT Records ACT 9765-2
Michael Wollny (piano)
This is the first solo piano recording by Michael Wollny, after a dozen albums as a leader and very many more as one of first call sidemen in European contemporary jazz. The forty two year old German is a truly phenomenal musician whose stunning exuberance, imagination and composing skills have elevated him to a stature as one of the piano masters of his generation. This album has allowed him to fully relax in his own company to produce a recording that transmits his personality upon the listening audience.
There are fifteen tracks here over the forty six minute playing time of which eleven are written by the pianist. Some pieces are only around one minute long but each and every one of them has a strong theme and with this artist's communication skills through the instrument never fail to connect firmly with the listener. The profound title track Modenkind, the longest piece just under five minutes duration may have been the standout piece on any other recording, but here it just sets a standard that remains throughout. There are four compositions with an astronomical theme, the mysterious and edgy Lunar Landscape, the speedy run through the cosmos of Spacecake, the vivid musical pictured that is painted on The Rain Never Stops On Venus plus the calming ambience of Mercury. They are separated on the disc but would have worked equally as well in a mini suite mode. Sagee, a fine Wollny original allows the pianist to explore the whole keyboard in a way that only he can, while Cyrano is full of deep and dark meaning and Animal explores the writer's feline imagination. There really is not one single dull moment on this album with the Sonatine by Rudolf Hindemith providing a great example of how to convert a classical piece into the jazz idiom without losing any of the composer's original intentions. Overall, this is a masterful work that will make an excellent addition to anyone's collection of modern music.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
ACT Records ACT 9765-2
Michael Wollny (piano)
This is the first solo piano recording by Michael Wollny, after a dozen albums as a leader and very many more as one of first call sidemen in European contemporary jazz. The forty two year old German is a truly phenomenal musician whose stunning exuberance, imagination and composing skills have elevated him to a stature as one of the piano masters of his generation. This album has allowed him to fully relax in his own company to produce a recording that transmits his personality upon the listening audience.
There are fifteen tracks here over the forty six minute playing time of which eleven are written by the pianist. Some pieces are only around one minute long but each and every one of them has a strong theme and with this artist's communication skills through the instrument never fail to connect firmly with the listener. The profound title track Modenkind, the longest piece just under five minutes duration may have been the standout piece on any other recording, but here it just sets a standard that remains throughout. There are four compositions with an astronomical theme, the mysterious and edgy Lunar Landscape, the speedy run through the cosmos of Spacecake, the vivid musical pictured that is painted on The Rain Never Stops On Venus plus the calming ambience of Mercury. They are separated on the disc but would have worked equally as well in a mini suite mode. Sagee, a fine Wollny original allows the pianist to explore the whole keyboard in a way that only he can, while Cyrano is full of deep and dark meaning and Animal explores the writer's feline imagination. There really is not one single dull moment on this album with the Sonatine by Rudolf Hindemith providing a great example of how to convert a classical piece into the jazz idiom without losing any of the composer's original intentions. Overall, this is a masterful work that will make an excellent addition to anyone's collection of modern music.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
