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The Roving Jewel

Katie Cruel

The Roving Jewel

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917117820
Catnr: DMCHR 71178
Release date: 13 January 2017
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Label
Double Moon Records
UPC
0608917117820
Catalogue number
DMCHR 71178
Release date
13 January 2017

"... this album is more mature, honest and deeper"

Music Emotion, 05-5-2017
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

Who is Katie Cruel? A real person? The pseudonym of an artist? Neither. This is the title of a folk song from the last century, which came to America via Scotland during the period of the Civil War. It deals with a mysterious woman whose social behavior did not necessarily coincide with social norms. However, that is precisely the reason why it is unique and difficult to define. The musical liaison between the American guitarist Geoff Goodman and the Albanian singer Fjoralba Turku is also called 'Katie Cruel' now. As a result, fruitful and successful collaboration of many years has finally foun dan appropriate name. Not like those jazz bands who call themselves after the initiator of the respective project and then add a conservative term such as 'Quartet', 'Trio' or 'Duo' behind it. Or those who want to appear smart, trendy and modern and give their ensemble a peppy, ganish name. No, simply Katie Cruel. It fits. It directs you neither to this nor that pigeonhole, because Goodman and Turku are also actually unique in their own way, do not fit into any pre-conceived pattern and their musical philosophy is even more difficult to define than previously, especially just after their debut album 'The Roving Jewel'.
Wer ist Katie Cruel? Eine real existierende Person? Das Pseudonym einer Künstlerin? Weder noch. So lautet der Titel eines Folksongs aus dem vergangenen Jahrhundert, der über Schottland während der Zeit des Bürgerkriegs nach Amerika kam. Darin geht es um eine geheimnisvolle Frau, deren soziales Verhalten nicht unbedingt mit der gesellschaftlichen Masse übereinstimmt. Gerade deshalb ist sie aber einzigartig und schwer zu definieren.

Auch die musikalische Liaison zwischen dem amerikanischen Gitarristen Geoff Goodman und der albanischen Sängerin Fjoralba Turku heißt jetzt „Katie Cruel“. Damit hat eine langjährige, fruchtbare und erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit nun endlich den passenden Namen gefunden. Nicht etwa einen wie jene Jazzbands, die sich nach dem Anschieber des jeweiligen Projektes nennen und dann noch wahlweise ein konservatives „Quartett“, „Trio“ oder „Duo“ dahinter setzen. Oder solche, die sich pfiffig, trendig und modern geben möchten und ihrem Ensemble einen peppigen, schrillen Namen verpassen. Nein, einfach Katie Cruel. Das passt. Es lenkt einen weder in diese noch in jene Schublade. Denn Goodman und Turku sind auf ihre Art ebenfalls tatsächlich einzigartig, passen in kein einziges Raster und ihre musikalische Philosophie lässt sich gerade nach ihrer Debüt-CD „The Roving Jewel“ noch schwerer als bisher definieren.

Moment mal? Debüt-CD? „Im gewissen Sinn schon“, blinzelt Geoff Goodman, wohl wissend, dass beide mit „At The Middle“ (Tutu) bereits einen gemeinsamen Silberling in den Plattenregalen stehen haben. „Aber das ist ja drei Jahre her“, erklärt Fjoralba Turku. „Seither ist viel geschehen. Ich habe mich als Sängerin weiterentwickelt, gehe wesentlich unbefangener an die Musik heran und kann dadurch mehr Farben und Geschichten einbringen als bisher.“ Goodman ahnt, dass einige Menschen „Katie Cruel“ wahrscheinlich als Abschied von seinem bisher eingeschlagenen Weg als Jazzgitarrist sehen könnten. „Aber genau das Gegenteil ist der Fall! Für mich bedeuten diese Songs eine Art Nach-Hause-Kommen. All die darin enthaltenen musikalischen Einflüsse sind ganz tief in mir verwurzelt.“ Der Blick in das Innerste offenbart zunächst eigentlich unverträgliche Rezepturen, die sich aber nach kurzer Zeit erstaunlich gut miteinander vertragen, ineinander fließen, zu munden beginnen, irgendwann sogar begeistern, überwältigen und in den Bann schlagen. Klassische amerikanische Folksongs oder Blues aus dem Süden platzieren Turku und Goodman wie selbstverständlich neben europäischer Folklore. Mit einem Schauer auf dem Rücken registriert der verblüffte Hörer, wie sich sanft perlende Pop-Harmonien, kraftvolle Rock-Metren oder Jazz ähnliche Schleifen in sämtlichen offenen Strukturen einnisten. Dabei hilft der fein austarierte Einsatz des Violinisten Max Grosch, der mit seinem Instrument vier Titeln eine melancholische Tiefe verleiht.

Das Songbook von Katie Cruel umfasst unter anderem „I See You“, den Sechziger-Jahre Klassiker der Byrds, der nach behutsamer Behandlung wie eine frisierte Jazznummer klingt. Als Kontrast dazu fungieren das wunderbar „Red Is The Color Of My Car“, eine frische, intensive Folknummer oder „MʼKa Mar Malli Per Nenen Time“, in dem Fjoralba sich an einen Gesang ihres albanischen Vater erinnert, als die Familie ihre Heimat verließ, um nach Deutschland überzusiedeln. Im Titelsong singt sie: „When I first came to town, they called me the roving jewel. Now theyʼve changed their tune. They call me Katie Cruel.“

Seit gut zehn Jahren verlaufen die musikalischen Wege von Fjoralba Turku und Geoff Goodman weitgehend parallel. Der gebürtige New Yorker, der seit 1979 in Europa und seit den 1980er Jahren in München lebt, gilt als Prototyp des scheuklappenfreien Jazzmusikers. Ohne Effekthascherei entwickelte er sich stets weiter, sei es in der Zusammenarbeit mit Kollegen wie Chris Hirson, Charlie Mariano, Mal Waldron, Tony Lakatos, Nicolas Simion, Ed Schuller, Larry Porter, Allan Praskin, Bill Elgart, Thomas Zoller, den Krautrock- und Avantjazz-Pionieren von Embryo oder Matthieu Bordenave („Inverted Forest“; Double Moon), sei es als Dozent am Jazz Projekt des Freien Musikzentrums München oder mittels eines Musikstipendiums der Landeshauptstadt München 2012 für „Metal, Wood and Wire“. Fjoralba Turku, ebenfalls eine Wahl-Münchnerin, holte Goodman erstmals 2007 in seine Weltmusikband Tabla & Strings. Mit ihrem weichen, geigenähnlichen Timbre vertonte sie in verschiedenen Sprachen die gesamte emotionale Palette.

Im ständigen Dialog entwerfen die beiden Köpfe von Katie Cruel musikalische Spiegelbilder ihrer kulturellen Herkunft und ihrer biografischen Reisen. Die dabei entstehenden knalligen Farbtöne und Klangbilder fern jeder Doktrin sind alles andere als grausam, sondern einfach nur betörend schön.

Artist(s)

Katie Cruel

Fjoralba Turku – vocals  Geoff Goodman –guitar, banjo, mandocello  „Katie Cruel“ is a traditional song from America dating from the last century. It’s about a mystical woman whose social behavior doesn’t necessarily fit into the mainstream of  society. She is unique and hard to define. „Katie Cruel“ is also a vocal-guitar duo with the Albanian singer Fjoralba Turku and the American guitarist Geoff Goodman. Their music is also unique. The best way to define it, is to call it their own. The duo draws heavily upon both their roots,  which is evident in every note. Their sound  is a mix of genres and musical colors– original and tradition compositions; jazz, folk, blues, and world music as well as classical and free improvisation...
more
Fjoralba Turku – vocals Geoff Goodman –guitar, banjo, mandocello „Katie Cruel“ is a traditional song from America dating from the last century. It’s about a mystical woman whose social behavior doesn’t necessarily fit into the mainstream of society. She is unique and hard to define. „Katie Cruel“ is also a vocal-guitar duo with the Albanian singer Fjoralba Turku and the American guitarist Geoff Goodman. Their music is also unique. The best way to define it, is to call it their own. The duo draws heavily upon both their roots, which is evident in every note. Their sound is a mix of genres and musical colors– original and tradition compositions; jazz, folk, blues, and world music as well as classical and free improvisation – Turku’s Balkan vocals juxtaposed with American blues and banjo - Albanian Chanson accompanied by mandocello and violin. Unique and definable only as „Katie Cruel.“ Ten years of playing together, touring and friendship gives the duo a musical trust and understanding which is seldom heard : American and Albanian influences all blend together to give „Katie Cruel“ it’s sound.

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Geoff Goodman (guitar)

Geoff Goodman was born in New York City and studied music at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. His teachers included John Abercrombie and Archie Shepp, among others. After a trip to Europe in 1979, Goodman moved to Germany and has lived in Munich since 1986. His career in music has been formed via collaboration with Mal Waldron, Tony Lakatos, Charlie Mariano and the group Embryo. He has already released 15 CDs and given numerous concerts in Germany and other countries (among others, in France, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland and Tunisia) with his jazz and world music bands ('Geoff Goodman Quintet', 'Misery Loves Company', 'Tabla and Strings', 'Curiosities of Nature' as well as the 'Hirson-Goodman Duo'). He has...
more
Geoff Goodman was born in New York City and studied music at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. His teachers included John Abercrombie and Archie Shepp, among others. After a trip to Europe in 1979, Goodman moved to Germany and has lived in Munich since 1986. His career in music has been formed via collaboration with Mal Waldron, Tony Lakatos, Charlie Mariano and the group Embryo. He has already released 15 CDs and given numerous concerts in Germany and other countries (among others, in France, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland and Tunisia) with his jazz and world music bands ("Geoff Goodman Quintet", "Misery Loves Company", "Tabla and Strings", "Curiosities of Nature" as well as the "Hirson-Goodman Duo"). He has also been teaching in Munich since 1990. In addition to the Albanian singer Fjoralba Turku (who had a successful debut with her own quartet on the label Traumton in 2010) and the Japanese narrator Kiyomi, his group "Curiosities of Nature" is composed of leading European musicians. These include Bill Elgart on drums, another US American who lives in Germany and who has accompanied innumerable great musicians from Paul Bley to Karl Berger and Marion Brown to Kenny Wheeler. Till Martin is a saxophonist with an unmistakable style who has also performed internationally many times, received many awards and can be heard on more than two dozen CDs in the meantime. Henning Sieverts is one of the best bass players in Europe, and not just since receiving the Echo Jazz award in 2010 as the best bassist in Germany.

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Max Grosch (violin)

Composer(s)

Geoff Goodman (guitar)

Geoff Goodman was born in New York City and studied music at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. His teachers included John Abercrombie and Archie Shepp, among others. After a trip to Europe in 1979, Goodman moved to Germany and has lived in Munich since 1986. His career in music has been formed via collaboration with Mal Waldron, Tony Lakatos, Charlie Mariano and the group Embryo. He has already released 15 CDs and given numerous concerts in Germany and other countries (among others, in France, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland and Tunisia) with his jazz and world music bands ('Geoff Goodman Quintet', 'Misery Loves Company', 'Tabla and Strings', 'Curiosities of Nature' as well as the 'Hirson-Goodman Duo'). He has...
more
Geoff Goodman was born in New York City and studied music at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. His teachers included John Abercrombie and Archie Shepp, among others. After a trip to Europe in 1979, Goodman moved to Germany and has lived in Munich since 1986. His career in music has been formed via collaboration with Mal Waldron, Tony Lakatos, Charlie Mariano and the group Embryo. He has already released 15 CDs and given numerous concerts in Germany and other countries (among others, in France, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland and Tunisia) with his jazz and world music bands ("Geoff Goodman Quintet", "Misery Loves Company", "Tabla and Strings", "Curiosities of Nature" as well as the "Hirson-Goodman Duo"). He has also been teaching in Munich since 1990. In addition to the Albanian singer Fjoralba Turku (who had a successful debut with her own quartet on the label Traumton in 2010) and the Japanese narrator Kiyomi, his group "Curiosities of Nature" is composed of leading European musicians. These include Bill Elgart on drums, another US American who lives in Germany and who has accompanied innumerable great musicians from Paul Bley to Karl Berger and Marion Brown to Kenny Wheeler. Till Martin is a saxophonist with an unmistakable style who has also performed internationally many times, received many awards and can be heard on more than two dozen CDs in the meantime. Henning Sieverts is one of the best bass players in Europe, and not just since receiving the Echo Jazz award in 2010 as the best bassist in Germany.

less

Press

... this album is more mature, honest and deeper
Music Emotion, 05-5-2017

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