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Knochenmann - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 85

Zuzana Leharova Quartet

Knochenmann - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 85

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917137729
Catnr: DMCHR 71377
Release date: 02 October 2020
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Label
Double Moon Records
UPC
0608917137729
Catalogue number
DMCHR 71377
Release date
02 October 2020

"Whether in the studio orchestra of Jan Böhmermann in his TV magazine on ZDF or as a sidewoman in the Cologne jazz scene: Zuzana Leharová is a celebrated violinist...  "

Kultur Topp CH, 27-1-2021
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

The violin and jazz: despite outstanding protagonists such as Stéphane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty and Regina Carter, it has always been a not-so-fervent love affair. With violinist Zuzana Leharova, however, for the first time a member of the Jazz thing Next Generation is now trying to make the carefully cultivated prejudices vanish into thin air with a stroke of her bow. The means she uses could hardly be more authentic. Born in Slovakia, Leharova has Austrian citizenship, but lives in Cologne. An unorthodox, extremely exciting mix of origins and stylistic influences, of identity search and belonging, of adventure and resoluteness that shapes her music and violin playing every second.

“Since violinists generally have a classical education background, to quote jazz violinist Mic Oechsner it is not so easy to 'throw all values of violin music overboard',” Zuzana Leharova believes. For example, this would include a “big” sound or vibrato, but above all the generation of tones. To get away from the traditional state of affairs, a different bow technique is needed. And above all, courage. Zuzana Leharova proves this with her debut CD “Knochenmann”, the title of which was borrowed from the detective film of the same name starring Josef Hader and adapted from the Brenner book series. The bizarre, typically Austrian atmosphere of the film, marked by a lot of black humor, had a lasting influence on the ten songs that Leharova recorded with trumpeter Bastian Stein, pianist Constantin Krahmer, bassist Joscha Oetz and drummer Nils Tegen. The result is a whirring, eccentric, brightly colored collection in which the violinist created a platform for her personal sources of inspiration: Wayne Shorter, Carla Kihlstedt, Zbigniew Seifert, Mark Feldman, Bach, Eugène Ysaÿ, Beriot, Arvo Pärt or the grunge of the 1990s, which could easily be located at the Vienna Central Cemetery. The reason for the latter is that the Knochenmann (trans: “boneman”) is known to enjoy celebrating wild parties with the living and the dead. “Extremely oriented to home,” Zuzana Leharova laughed.

For the violinist, however, the pieces also build a bridge to another of her countries of origin, namely Slovakia. This is reflected in some song names as well as in the melodic, folkloristic themes. For example, “Páslo Dievca Pávy” means “peacock girl belt”, “Pokúšenie” can be translated as “temptation”, while the sad morbid “Rozlúcka” can in principle only be called “farewell” even without knowledge of the Slovak language. It is equally obvious that her current Cologne domicile has also had a lasting influence on the sound of “Knochenmann”. “The scene has a strong influence on me because I am involved in new projects here time and again, playing in band line-ups that have to do with jazz, but not necessarily so. Again and again, I meet well-known or unknown musicians from different fields such as free improvisation or sound art. These encounters inspire me and broaden my horizons. I then think less in categories, but simply incorporate ideas and experience.”

Three influences that could hardly be more different. And yet they produce a conclusive checksum, which, when you are enjoying the CD, increasingly points to the unmistakable personality style with which the newcomer wants to stage herself and her exotic instrument. At some point, Zuzana Leharova hopes that no one will turn their nose up any more when a violin appears in the line-up of a jazz band. There are far more technical possibilities nowadays to use the instrument in such a way that it sounds good or creates a sound that you can be satisfied with. A significant difference from the past, because many of the old violin recordings did not sound so great, technically speaking.

“I have the impression that nowadays many more violinists are underway and are looking for new musical or compositional ways to focus on the instrument in jazz.” It is quite possible that Zuzana Leharova and her “Knochenmann” have opened a door for them.
Die Violine und der Jazz – trotz herausragender Protagonisten wie Stéphane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty oder Regina Carter von jeher ein nicht gerade allzu inbrünstiges Liebesverhältnis. Mit der Geigerin Zuzana Leharova versucht nun erstmals ein Mitglied der Jazz thing Next Generation, die sorgfältig gepflegten Vorurteile mit einem Bogenstrich in Luft aufzulösen. Die Mittel, die sie dabei verwendet, könnten authentischer kaum sein. In der Slowakei geboren, besitzt Leharova die österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft, lebt aber in Köln. Ein unorthodoxer, extrem spannender Mix aus Herkünften und stilistischen Einflüssen, aus Identitätssuche und Zugehörigkeit, aus Abenteuerlust und Entschlossenheit, der in jeder Sekunde ihre Musik und ihr Violinspiel bestimmt.

„Da Geiger*Innen in der Regel eine klassische Vorbildung genossen haben, ist es nicht so einfach, um den Jazzgeiger Mic Oechsner zu zitieren, ´alle Wertvorstellungen von Geigenmusik über Bord zu werfen`“, meint Zuzana Leharova. Dazu würde zum Beispiel ein „großer“ Ton gehören, oder das Vibrato, aber vor allem die Tonerzeugung. Um von den traditionellen Gegebenheiten wegzukommen, braucht es eine andere Bogentechnik. Und vor allem Mut. Den beweist Zuzana Leharova mit ihrer Debüt-CD „Knochenmann“, deren Titel dem gleichnamigen Kriminalfilm aus der Brenner-Roman Reihe mit Josef Hader in der Hauptrolle entliehen ist. Die skurrile, typisch österreichische, von jeder Menge schwarzem Humor geprägte Atmosphäre des Streifens beeinflusste die zehn Titel, die Leharova mit dem Trompeter Bastian Stein, dem Pianisten Constantin Krahmer, dem Bassisten Joscha Oetz und dem Schlagzeuger Nils Tegen einspielte, nachhaltig. Dabei entstand ein flirrendes, exzentrisches, knallbuntes Sammelsurium, in dem die Geigerin ihren persönlichen Inspirationsquellen Wayne Shorter, Carla Kihlstedt, Zbigniew Seifert, Mark Feldman, Bach, Eugène Ysaÿ, Beriot, Arvo Pärt oder dem Grunge der 1990er eine Plattform zimmert, die problemlos auf dem Wiener Zentralfriedhof angesiedelt sein könnte. Denn dort feiert der Knochenmann bekanntlich gerne wilde Partys mit Lebenden und Toten. „Sehr heimatlastig“, lacht Zuzana Leharova.

Für die Violinistin bauen die Stücke aber auch eine Brücke in ein anderes ihrer Herkunftsländer, nämlich die Slowakei. Das spiegelt sich sowohl in einigen Titelnamen wie in den melodiebetonten, folkloristisch anmutenden Themen wider. „Páslo Dievca Pávy“ zum Beispiel bedeutet so viel wie „Pfauenmädchengürtel“, „Pokúšenie“ lässt sich mit „Versuchung“ übersetzen, während das traurig-morbide „Rozlúcka“ auch ohne Kenntnis der slowakischen Sprache im Prinzip nur „Abschied“ heißen kann. Dass ihr aktuelles Kölner Domizil ebenfalls nachhaltig den Sound von „Knochenmann“ prägte, liegt genauso auf der Hand. „Die Szene übt einen starken Einfluss auf mich aus, weil ich hier immer wieder in neue Projekte eingebunden bin, in verschiedenen Formationen spiele, die mit Jazz zu tun haben, aber nicht zwangsweise. Dabei treffe ich immer wieder auf bekannte oder unbekannte Musikerpersönlichkeiten aus verschiedenen Sparten wie der freien Improvisation oder der Klangkunst. Diese Begegnungen setzen Impulse und erweitern meinen Horizont. Ich denke dann weniger in Kategorien, sondern lasse Ideen und Erfahrung einfach mit einfließen.“

Drei Einflüsse, wie sie unterschiedlicher kaum sein könnten. Und doch ergeben sie eine schlüssige Quersumme, die beim Genuss der CD immer klarer auf den unverkennbaren Persönlichkeitsstil hinweist, mit dem die Newcomerin sich und ihr exotisches Instrument in Szene setzen will. Irgendwann, so hofft Zuzana Leharova, wird niemand mehr die Nase rümpfen, wenn eine Geige in der Besetzungsliste einer Jazzformation auftaucht. Es gebe heutzutage weit mehr technische Möglichkeiten, das Instrument so abzunehmen, das es gut klingt beziehungsweise man mit dem Sound zufrieden sein könne. Ein wesentlicher Unterschied zu früher, denn viele der alten Violine-Aufnahmen hätten, rein technisch gesehen, nicht so toll geklungen.

„Ich habe den Eindruck, dass heutzutage viel mehr Geiger*Innen auf dem Weg sind und nach neuen musikalischen beziehungsweise kompositorischen Wegen suchen, um das Instrument im Jazz in den Fokus zu rücken.“ Gut möglich, dass ihnen Zuzana Leharova und ihr „Knochenmann“ dabei eine Tür geöffnet haben.

Artist(s)

Bastian Stein (trumpet)

Bastian Stein was born in Heidelberg into an artist and musician family, but grew up in Vienna where he still lives today. He was already allowed to audit classes at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, when he was 10 years old, and he began his trumpet studies there when he was 15. He continued his studies in Amsterdam for several years where he studied under Ack van Rooyen, among others. In 2005, he received a New York scholarship as prizewinner of the Hans Koller Prize, and he had one year of private lessons from the internationally renowned trumpet instructor Bo Nilsson in Sweden in 2006. With such a solid education from childhood, it is obvious: this young...
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Bastian Stein was born in Heidelberg into an artist and musician family, but grew up in Vienna where he still lives today. He was already allowed to audit classes at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, when he was 10 years old, and he began his trumpet studies there when he was 15. He continued his studies in Amsterdam for several years where he studied under Ack van Rooyen, among others. In 2005, he received a New York scholarship as prizewinner of the Hans Koller Prize, and he had one year of private lessons from the internationally renowned trumpet instructor Bo Nilsson in Sweden in 2006. With such a solid education from childhood, it is obvious: this young man has no limits with respect to technique. Individualism and creativity in music developed over the years while he toured with various bands, including a longer time in the German Jazz Orchestra under the recently deceased conductor Peter Herbolzheimer, who said that he had "an outstanding gift for composing" and "an outstanding degree of artistic creativity". Consequently, the band members playing with Bastian have to meet high demands, and they do this brilliantly. There are also prizewinners among them. Peter Kronreif was recently awarded the Hans Koller Prize as Newcomer of the Year 2010, and Matthias Pichler has already won a whole slew of prizes. Philipp Jagschitz is a pianist very much in demand in Austria, resulting in a very solid and multifaceted rhythm group. The classic jazz quintet is complete with Christian Kronreif, former student of Harry Sokal and Alan Praskin and a solid member of the Austrian jazz scene in the meantime.

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Nils Tegen (drums)

Composer(s)

Press

Whether in the studio orchestra of Jan Böhmermann in his TV magazine on ZDF or as a sidewoman in the Cologne jazz scene: Zuzana Leharová is a celebrated violinist...  
Kultur Topp CH, 27-1-2021

... Nevertheless, the jazz idiom is well audible, and the violin with the penetrating sound in the higher registers impressively represents the title: bone man. Scary-beautiful without being too scary.
Concerto, 27-1-2021

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Often bought together with..

Reflex - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 86
Phillip Dornbuschs Projektor
Dykyi Lys - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 84
Ganna
Leiblich - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 82
Alexej Malakhau
Liquid Circle - Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 81
Hans Anselm Big Band

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