The Silent Jazz Ensemble

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The Silent Jazz Ensemble is a German music group that moves in the border area of jazz . Initially a quintet , the group now operates as a trio .

history

The ensemble was founded in 1984 by the musicians Helmut Engel-Musehold (fl, sax, key), Gebhard Ullmann (fl, sax, bcl) and Volker Heller (fl, sax, key). In 1989 the first record of the same name, The Silent Jazz Ensemble , was released on the Biber Records label , with the musicians Helmut Engel-Musehold, Gebhard Ullmann, Volker Heller, Martin Lillich (b) and Ulrich Moritz (dr, perc); This album was produced by Friedemann Witecka , who also played the ukulele . Under the direction of Helmut Engel-Musehold, two more albums followed, initially with the same, then partly changing line-up with several guest musicians, Kashina (1991) and Birds of Passage (1996). In total, over 25,000 copies of the three CDs were sold in Germany. The Silent Jazz Ensemble thus advanced to become one of the most commercially successful German jazz music groups in those years, touring Germany and Europe as well as making numerous radio and television appearances.

In 2014, after a break of almost 15 years, Engel-Musehold decided to revive the successful band and released the new CD Nightwalker on Double Moon Records , together with the musicians Roberto Badoglio (b) and Ray Kaczynski (dr). At the same time, another CD was released by Biber Records under the title Retrospective Images , a "best-of" compilation of the three previously released records that are no longer on sale.

reception

In a review of the album Birds of Passage , MusikWoche / mediabiz wrote :

“ The beautiful melodies that Helmut Engel and Gebhard Ullmann play with a whole arsenal of flutes and other wind instruments pass by like migratory birds. … Mysterious chorales rough up the harmonic flow. "

Awards

  • 1985 winner of the jazz competition of the Berlin Senate
  • 1990 “Jazz CD of the month” in the specialist magazine HiFi-Vision
  • 1991 "Headphone Record of the Year" by HiFi-Vision magazine
  • 2015 “Audiophile Jazz CD of the Month” by Stereoplay magazine

Discography

  • CD / LP The Silent Jazz Ensemble , Biber / in-akustik 66401 (1989)
  • CD, Kashina , Biber / in-akustik 66471 (1991)
  • CD, Birds of Passage , Biber / in-akustik 66631 (1996)
  • CD, Nightwalker , Double Moon DMCHR 71145 (2014) In the Jazz Podium 02/2015, however, it is meant: The musicians in the trio are “far more than just a rhythm group with a soloist.” Their music also lives on the new sound carrier “with tension , Multifaceted and joyful playing and combines romantic with modern, chamber music with impressionistic influences. It is folkloric, rhythmically melodic and jazzy at the same time. The musical pictures are painted with strong colors. Handmade music in this clarity is not that common today. "
  • CD, Retrospective Images , Biber / in-akustik 76851 (1989–1996; ed. 2014)

former members

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Meeting (MusikWoche)
  2. ↑ Meeting ( Musikexpress ; in the archive for subscribers)
  3. ↑ Meeting (stereoplay) ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.audio.de
  4. ↑ In the Jazz Podium 12/2014 it was judged that it was “a far too good, unambitious sounding album… These eight songs leave no impression. They tell no stories, convey no casualness - and also no depth. "