STUDER / FREY - Zurich Concerts – 15 years of Kontrabassduo Studer-Frey
Leo Records CD LR 750/751 (2CD)
Peter K Frey and Daniel Studer with guests John Butcher, Jacques Demierre, Gerry Hemingway, Harald Kimmig, Hans Koch, Magda Mayas, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Jan Schlegel, Michel Seigner, Christian Weber and Alfred Zimmerlin in various configurations.
Various recording dates between September 1st 2013 and March 22nd 2014
What a wonder! Somehow I was expecting to hear two bass players, simply. I hadn’t read the sleeve-notes. Instead, Studer-Frey indulged me with more than two and a half hours of improvised music executed by a variety of combinations of musicians, with instruments chosen from bass and electric bass, bass clarinet, cello, electric guitar, percussion, piano, tenor saxophone, trombone and violin. In short, a most enjoyable concert of improv that was jam-packed with the most musical of surprises.
Such is the gamut of sounds generated that even if improvised music is your thing, you may find that it takes time to fully embrace the riches on offer here, because it is truly penetrating music, no one piece seemingly having anything in common with any other. Possibly due to vagaries of my copy of the CDs or the recordings, I found the whole more pleasing when played at a higher volume than I would normally employ, but it was not excessive and not a problem. Many thanks to Kontrabassduo for a truly remarkable experience.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Leo Records CD LR 750/751 (2CD)
Peter K Frey and Daniel Studer with guests John Butcher, Jacques Demierre, Gerry Hemingway, Harald Kimmig, Hans Koch, Magda Mayas, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Jan Schlegel, Michel Seigner, Christian Weber and Alfred Zimmerlin in various configurations.
Various recording dates between September 1st 2013 and March 22nd 2014
What a wonder! Somehow I was expecting to hear two bass players, simply. I hadn’t read the sleeve-notes. Instead, Studer-Frey indulged me with more than two and a half hours of improvised music executed by a variety of combinations of musicians, with instruments chosen from bass and electric bass, bass clarinet, cello, electric guitar, percussion, piano, tenor saxophone, trombone and violin. In short, a most enjoyable concert of improv that was jam-packed with the most musical of surprises.
Such is the gamut of sounds generated that even if improvised music is your thing, you may find that it takes time to fully embrace the riches on offer here, because it is truly penetrating music, no one piece seemingly having anything in common with any other. Possibly due to vagaries of my copy of the CDs or the recordings, I found the whole more pleasing when played at a higher volume than I would normally employ, but it was not excessive and not a problem. Many thanks to Kontrabassduo for a truly remarkable experience.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
