Fritz Novotny (musician)

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Fritz Novotny (2013)

Fritz Novotny (born November 21, 1940 in Vienna-Döbling ; † May 7, 2019 in Vienna ) was an Austrian jazz and improvisation musician ( soprano saxophone , flute ) and composer .

He was considered the enfant terrible of the Austrian jazz scene.

Live and act

Fritz Novotny grew up with the children of the American liberators and the children of the then Indian ambassador couple, which gave him early access to jazz, but also to Indian music. Although he was forced to take piano lessons from the age of seven, after his mother had died, from the age of eight he spent a lot of time with his grandfather, a violinist of professional level who practiced Paganini and practiced house music with symphonic orchestras also played his own compositions. The grandfather not only brought the grandson closer to European chamber music, but above all conveyed his love for music and awakened the feeling of playing “from within”. Foregoing academically required “technical perfection” was not a taboo for the child from the start.

As a teenager, however, Novotny initially devoted himself to boogie dancing: He was awarded in several Viennese competitions.

Novotny describes his first attempts on the bamboo flute as "tempting", but mentions the folkloric and abstract moments in Yusef Lateef's Jazz And The Sounds Of Nature (1958) and the LP Mulligan meets Monk (1957) as pointing the way for his further development; later he became enthusiastic about John Coltrane . His friend Claus Mayrhofer , who lived a few streets away , was particularly impressed by Sonny Rollins at the time .

The Circle of Friends

The meeting with Rolf Schwendter in a youth camp in Cavallino-Treporti in the summer of 1958 initially resulted in membership of Schwendter's circle of friends . In this context, at Novotny's instigation, the club "Les Terribles" was founded in the same year , in which records were listened to, poems and literary texts (also by Schwendter and Novotny) were performed and often accompanied by improvising acoustics - on instruments such as cheap flutes and guitars, to to the saucepan. These meetings initially took place in private apartments or student halls; the friendship with Schwendter lasted until his death in 2013.

At the end of 1960, Novotny founded the jazzroom rocking chair in the back room of what was then Café Strauss , Alserstraße 16. In 1964, he first learned the clarinet, but, to the displeasure of his teacher, switched to the soprano saxophone in the same year. whereupon he had to train himself self-taught.

Novotny with RAU, Porgy & Bess 2010.

reformARTunit

Around 1965 Novotny founded a Free Jazz working group within the Freundeskreis , whose members occasionally appeared as the Danube Art Group or as the Reform Unit . In the same year he seems to have recruited members for a permanent formation through a newspaper advertisement. The year is therefore considered to be the year the Reform Art Unit (RAU; later written reformARTunit ) was created. "Hard core" that was Reform Art Trio : ( Fritz Kotrba ;, drums Sepp Mitterbauer , piano and trumpet; Novotny, soprano saxophone, flute and small percussion), but were in the unit from the outset 7-8 musicians "more or less constantly “There. The first documented media attention attracted the RAU (and thus the Viennese jazz avant-garde as a whole) in the Arbeiterzeitung on December 15, 1967 with the announcement of a concert on the 19th and brief information.

From autumn 1968 Kotrba, who had been drafted for military service, was represented by Walter Malli , who then remained loyal to the formation until the end of his life. In the same year he made contact with trumpeters Don Cherry and Ambrose Jackson , bassist Kent Carter and drummer Sunny Murray , who then worked until 2007.

From 1970 Giselher Smekal is to be mentioned as an essential member of the RAU, in 1975 Paul Fields joined, later Linda Sharrock and 1997 also Milo Fine .

In collaboration with Novotnys, Fields, Krbavac, Mitterbauer and Smekal, albums such as Homages to Bela Bartok, John Cage and John Coltrane were created. This concept was followed by: Homage to Arnold Schönberg and Anton von Webern (1997), Suite Prague (1998), Homage to Josef Matthias Hauer (1999) and Thelonious Monk, Salvadore Dali, Alban Berg (1999). These musicians studied with Victor Sokolowski as did the younger RAU members such as Raoul Herget and Rudolf Ruschel .

Groups around Fritz Novotny, in this spirit and under his leadership, appeared under a number of names: Danube Art Group (mid-1960s); Reform Unit (quoted once by Schwendter ~ 1965); Nature Music Ensemble (1970); KEYS (1984); Wide Fields (1982, 1985, with Paul Fields ); Styrian Improvising Ensemble (1986); improvising orchestra (1987) ;; Acting four; Acting Seven (both 1988); world music orchestra (1990); reform art orchestra (~ 2009). Since the end of 2012, new recordings and compilations of earlier recordings have been released under reformARTmusic.

Novotny died in May 2019 at the age of 78 from complications from a heart attack.

He was buried at the Neustift cemetery .

Major guest soloists

1968: Kent Carter , Don Cherry, Ambrose Jackson , Sunny Murray ; 1970-1981: Ram Chandra Mistry ; 1972: Carla Bley , Michael Mantler , JR Monterose , Barre Phillips ; 1974–76 Peter Kowald ; 1976: Evan Parker , Alexander von Schlippenbach ; 1978: Anthony Braxton , Clifford Thornton ; 1980-85 Linda Sharrock ; 1981-84: Andrew Cyrille ; 1982; Burton Greene , Glen Hahn ; 1985: Louis Moholo ; 1989-95: Leena Conquest ; 1990: Brian Abrahams , Rabih Abou-Khalil , Jim Pepper - in short: the who's who of the international scene of creative free jazz musicians.

Novotny also performed internationally with the RAU, for example with concerts in Yugoslavia (Hvar 1967, Jazz Festival Ljubljana 1972), Germany (New Jazz Meeting Altena 1973, Konstanz 1987), Greece (Ios and Athens, 1985), Hungary (Budapest and Veszprém 1987) , Budapest 2003), the Czech Republic (Prague 1998; 2004), Russia (Ski Festival St. Petersburg 2002; Moscow, 2002), and Slovakia (Presov 2011).

Acting

The "impro-composer" also appeared in two feature films:

  • Get out of your balloon (Jörg A. Eggers, 1985; 100 min)
  • Sunny's time now (documentary about Sunny Murray. Antoine Prum, 2008; 108 min).

Sound recordings

The earliest recorded recording is from April 1967: Zwei Minuten, published on the occasion of Novotny's 50th birthday in 1990 on MC. This is the oldest sound document of Austrian free jazz that has appeared so far.

Sound recordings worth mentioning were made from 1969 onwards, namely at the first of a series of RAU concerts in Vienna's “ 20er Haus ” (Museum of the 20th Century); this concert marks the group's national breakthrough. Individual numbers from it were published later, namely for the first time in Darjeeling (1970), most recently in For John Coltrane and Pablo Picasso, 1996. The sitar player Ram Chandra Misty , who played until 1981, was highlighted by the criticism .

In 1968 the Reform Art Trio also appeared on the radio for the first time, namely in Hubert Gaisbauer's youth program on Ö3. Walter Richard Langer's broadcast on Ö3, 1970, presented the record Darjeeling and John Coltranes India together under the title Jazz meets India - a “ knighthood ” , as it were .

The following year, the double LP Vienna Jazz Avantgarde , considered a milestone in Austrian jazz history, was released together with the Masters of Unorthodox Jazz . Lothar Knessl brought excerpts from it in the Studio New Music , a program that was actually reserved for concert music, after he had recognized the classical potential of the formation RAU: Due to the classical training of almost all members (only Novotny excepted), also in twelve-tone playing , turned namely, the group is noticeably moving towards free tonal play, which was already beginning to be seen in Vienna Jazz Avantgarde, but clearly in metallic structures .

Novotny's affection for folk music , which has existed since childhood, was initially evident in his oriental sounds and culminated in 1980 at the Wiesen jazz festival on the Pannonian Flower theme , which has remained the RAU's “program” and leitmotif ever since.

There was collaboration with visual artists from the start, as both RAU and the Masters, many of which were soon also involved in RAU, developed in the creative environment of the Viennese art scene at the time and some of the musicians (such as Malli) also painted. This is reflected in the design of the cover, from Franz Ringel (1971) to Adolf Frohner (2011).

Discography (selection)

From 1968 onwards, Novotnys and RAU produced more than 50 recordings (MCs / LPs / CDs), but most of them are out of print.

  • Reform Art Unit: Darjeeling (1970)
  • Masters of unorthodox jazz / Reform Art Unit: Vienna Jazz Avantgarde (1971)
    This second LP from RAU is considered a milestone in the history of Austrian jazz.
  • Three Motions Pannonian Flower (1982)
  • Paul Fields / Fritz Novotny To James Joyce (1983)
  • Reform Art Unit: BABEL (LP, 1987)
  • Reform Art Unit: Clan Music Overdrive (1988)
  • Reform Art Unit: Future Here and Now (CD, 1991)
  • Reform Art Unit: For John Coltrane and Pablo Picasso (1996; Voves CD 9001 / RAU 1002; with 2 takes from 1969).
  • Reform Art Unit: 55 steps (CD, 1993)
  • Reform Art Unit: Vienna U-Bahn Art - Subway Performance (double CD and book, 2011).
  • Reform Art Orchestra: The Garden - Suite for Drago Prelog , (LP and CD, 2012)
  • reformARTmusic: it is written - Homage, for Walter Malli; (CD AR 20105, 2012)

TV documentaries

The following ORF documentations deal with the RAU:

  • ARENA 70
  • Jazz workshop 1972
  • Counterpoint 1976
  • To James Joyce (1985)

Quotes

  • " Novotny succeeded for the first time consistently in the context of the CD Future Here and Now from 1991" in the feat of associatively approaching the sound of the Second Viennese School in a freely improvising way .
  • "The totally improvised music of the Reform Art Unit is inspired by the new forms of jazz, but not dependent" Kronenzeitung , Walter Vogel 1972.
  • "From the quietest bamboo flute to the electric inferno, there are unwritten rules [...]: Drafts for stylistic and meditative interweaving are released without using solos." (Fritz Novotny on the term improcomposing )

literature

  • Andreas Felber : The Viennese free jazz avant-garde. Revolution in the back room Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-205-77256-3 .
  • Novotny, Fritz. In: Bernhard Günther, Andreas Vejvar: Lexicon of contemporary music from Austria. Music Information Center Austria, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-901837-00-0 , pp. 790-794.
  • Novotny, Fritz. In: Harald Goertz : Austrian contemporary composers. A manual. Doblinger, Vienna, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-900035-58-X , p. 66.

Web links

Commons : ReformARTmusic  - Collection of Pictures

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Saxophonist Fritz Novotny has died. In: derstandard.at . May 8, 2019, accessed May 8, 2019.
  2. ↑ Der Standard 2002, Stachel im scene meat
  3. ↑ "Virtuosity is the expression of the uncreative." (Fritz Novotny; the almost autodidact did not always make friends among professional musicians with such announcements.)
  4. ↑ The abbreviation AF_ used in the following refers to a page of the work by Felber, who deals with the RAU on pages 215–393; a number after the slash means a footnote for the respective page (footnotes from AF_432). Note: Novotny has been friends for many years with the frequently quoted musicologist Andreas Felber , author of the anthology Die Wiener Free-Jazz-Avantgarde , but the views of the free spirit often differ from those of the critic.
  5. ↑ With his partner, who had ballet experience, he managed, for example, with Charlie Parker and Count Basie numbers, a pace with which "ordinary" rock'n rollers could hardly keep up. AF_220 / 5.
  6. ↑ Rolf Schwendter's circle of friends initially emerged from the classmates of his high school graduation, was a loose clique of almost the same age and is later often referred to as an informal group , which deliberately never joined the association . However, due to Schwendter's enthusiasm for networking, the circle grew from an initially good dozen members to around 3000 sympathizers at the time of its dissolution in 1971. It was not until 1967 that Schwendter formulated 19 points that were to be understood as “guidelines”, but clearly distanced themselves from the statutes and the association . AF_223f.
  7. ↑ AF_228 / 34 (Long since a bank branch;)
  8. ↑ With a military bandmaster!
  9. ↑ Appearances on December 28, 1966 are documented; AF_237. However, in an interview with Felber , Rolf Schwendter said about a listening session in 1963: "... according to my current understanding they would deserve the title Free Jazz." AF_227 / 31.
  10. ↑ It said, “Free jazz musicians wanted. Password Ornette. […] It must have been like that in '65. ” (Mitterbauer in an interview with Felber; AF_236 / 5); also Novotny, AF_231 / 3.
  11. ↑ The name says it all . Furche Nr. 37, September 13, 1969, Claus Pack interviews Novotny.
  12. ↑ AF_241 / 42.
  13. ↑ Not identical to the group of the same name that was later created around Michael Fischer.
  14. ^ Friedrich Novotny in the search for the deceased at friedhoefewien.at
  15. ↑ This word, coined by Novotny, expresses that the composition is created in improvisation (discussed in advance, but ultimately spontaneous) . Furrow No. 37, September 13, 1969.
  16. ↑ Also as a double DVD, 290min, at FMP, Berlin.
  17. ↑ AF_245 / 25
  18. ↑ Interview with Claus Prack in Die Furche No. 37, September 13, 1969.
  19. ^ Die Presse 13./14. February 1971; KURIER February 22, 1971 (Igor Sicka).
  20. ↑ AF_315ff on googlebooks.
  21. ↑ "Back to the Roots" - music that is played from within cannot deny its roots, and these are inevitably also in the geographical area of ​​the respective musician. The international and interdenominational composition of the group (it is the first and possibly the only one in which Christians, Muslims, Mosaics, Buddhists and Hindus, non-denominationalists and followers of the Baha'i appear together and incorporate their roots into their music) results in their enormous musical range.
  22. ↑ This cover was considered so obscene in some record stores that the record was displayed with the reverse side, see p. Cover.
  23. ^ Cover design for albums of the Masters or the RAU: 1969 - Arnulf Rainer; 1969/75/99 - Fritz Novotny; 1970/77/78 - Walter Malli; 1971 - Franz Ringel; 1987 - Othmar Zechyr; 1991 - Margot Pilz; 1992 - Katharina Struber ; 1993 - Adolf Frohner; 2011/12 - Drago Prelog.
  24. ↑ (googlebooks) Felber, Die Wiener Free-Jazz-Avantgarde, pp. 465–496.
  25. ↑ Discography 1967–2010, PDF, 137 kB.
  26. ^ Musical interpretation of the 25 works of art in the Vienna underground stations; 25 tracks. Distribution exclusively through Wiener Linien. KULTUR magazine, PDF, 2.5 MB.
  27. ^ ORF 2 , broadcast on October 25, 1972; Directed by Günther Schifter .
  28. ^ TV report for "Contacts" by Walter Vogel, 1972. AF_287 / 1 (google books).
  29. ↑ September 15, 1976 , Südost-Tagespost .
  30. ↑ The nomad who has settled down (PDF; 126 kB) Der Morgen 2/2008 cited by Felber, 2005.
personal data
SURNAME Novotny, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 2019
Place of death Vienna