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Kaboom

Michel Meis 4Tet

Kaboom

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917138825
Catnr: DMCHR 71388
Release date: 28 May 2021
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Label
Double Moon Records
UPC
0608917138825
Catalogue number
DMCHR 71388
Release date
28 May 2021

"... Kaboom is an album full of contemplation - that is, focused thinking, contemplation, reflection, self-absorption, improvisational art and big spaces. The musicality, the unique approach to the music, the sensitivity of the soloists are the great strengths of this album."

sk.jazz, 16-9-2021
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

“Kaboom” Behind this picturesque title lies the explosive mixture created by the 4tet of the Luxembourg drummer Michel Meis on his second album. This time the band has a guest on some of the songs: the French violinist Théo Ceccaldi.
“Théo Ceccaldi was brought to my attention by our pianist Cédric Hanriot,” Meis said. “His music and attitude really appealed to me. There is a lot of space between the violin and the trombone in terms of sound, which was a very experimental approach. Musically, it fit very well, because both are very flexible.”
Alisa Klein on the trombone merges as casually as unpredictably with the violin tone of Ceccaldi, and band leader Meis knows very well how much she is worth for the band. “Alisa Klein is the soul of the band,” a fact of which he is very aware. “Her sound is very warm and emotional and has a lot of space, but it still sounds very intimate. Such a deep-sounding wind instrument sound totally appeals to me.”
The well-structured pieces of the band leader have exactly the right mix of eclectic modern jazz and improvisational desire for experimenting. Meis can rely on his 4tet, which has grown into an unbeatable unity since the debut album “Lost in Translation”, which received excellent reviews. “No member of the band can be replaced and it would significantly affect the sound if one were missing,” Michel Meis stated.
Stephan Goldbach is on the bass, and he also plays in the Trio Village Zone of pianist Georg Ruby, for example. “Stephan also plays a lot of experimental music,” Meis knows. “For me, he's the punk attitude in the band. He is the base of the band. But he brings a lot of physical strength to the band and plays in a very solo-like manner.”
The 4tet is held together by the French pianist Cédric Hanriot. “Cédric Hanriot is a pianist the kind of which I haven’t heard many times in my life,” Meis said. “He has his Cédric moments, during which I recognize him immediately, but his solos are always surprising because he doesn't hesitate to leave his comfort zone. He always takes substantial risks, and we adapt to them.”
Between the longer pieces, Meis has included small miniatures on “Kaboom” where two musicians usually ester into conversation. However, the album is opened by the impetuous “Full Pedal Jacket”, which explores the abundance of possibilities in just under nine minutes that the 4tet and its guest have at their disposal. “’Full Pedal Jacket’ tends to go in the pop direction,” Meis believes. “It’s based on a riff that I experimented with.”
The whole band joined together to play “State of Uncertainty” which shifts between edgy rhythms and small melodic treats. “I wrote the piece during the first lockdown,” Meis recounted. “The beat is repeatedly broken up, whereby the piece is intended to describe the prevailing uncertainty.”
“She”, which is led into by “Coming Together”, is a ballad Meis wrote especially for Alisa Klein. Here, the 4tet is in its natural habitat and can play out all its lyrical strength.
The title song is a tour de force, in which the 4tet and its guest glide through an unprecedented variety of styles; the band simply bursts with energy and joy of playing. “’Kaboom’ combines all the styles I deal with,” band leader Meis summarized briefly and concisely, “hence the explosive title.”
"The album ends with the more quiet number “Re:build”, which nevertheless covers a large dynamic range. “’Re:Build’ is a commissioned composition about the economic and social reconstruction of destroyed Luxembourg after the Second World War" Meis stated. “I tried to portray this through substantial silence. The piece keeps going up and down dynamically.”
The white cat on the cover also has some significance, because it illustrates what is also the hallmark of the Michel Meis 4tet: “Cats do what they want and have a mind of their own,” Meis knows.

„Kaboom“: Hinter diesem lautmalerischen Titel verbirgt sich die explosive Mischung, die das 4tet des luxemburgischen Schlagzeugers Michel Meis auf seinem zweiten Album angerichtet hat. Diesmal hat sich die Band auf einigen Titeln einen Gast hinzugebeten - es ist der französische Geiger Théo Ceccaldi.
„Auf Théo Ceccaldi wurde ich durch unseren Pianisten Cédric Hanriot aufmerksam“, erzählt Meis. „Seine Musik und seine Attitüde hat mich sehr angesprochen. Zwischen Geige und Posaune ist vom Tonumfang her ja sehr viel Platz, das war ein sehr experimentelles Herangehen. Musikalisch hat es dann sehr gut gepasst, weil beide sehr flexibel sind.“
Alisa Klein an der Posaune verschmilzt so lässig wie unvorhersehbar mit dem Geigenton Ceccaldis und Bandleader Meis weiß sehr genau, was er an ihr hat. „ Alisa Klein ist die Seele der Band“, weiß er. „Ihr Klang ist sehr warm und emotional und hat viel Raum, wobei sie trotzdem sehr intim klingt. So ein tiefer Blech-Sound spricht mich total an.“
Die gut gebauten Stücke des Bandleaders haben genau die richtige Mischung aus eklektischem Modern Jazz und improvisatorischer Lust am Experiment. Dabei kann sich Meis auf sein 4tet verlassen, das seit dem Debüt-Album „Lost in Translation“, das hervorragende Kritiken erhalten hat, zu einer unschlagbaren Einheit zusammengewachsen ist. „Kein Mitglied der Band ist ersetzbar und es würde den Sound maßgeblich beeinflussen, wenn einer fehlt“, findet Michel Meis.
Am Bass findet sich Stephan Goldbach, der zum Beispiel auch im Trio Village Zone des Pianisten Georg Ruby spielt. „Stephan Goldbach macht auch viel experimentelle Musik“, weiß Meis. „Für mich ist er die punkige Attitüde in der Band. Er ist der Boden der Band. Er bringt aber viel körperliche Kraft in die Band und spielt sehr solistisch.“
Zusammengehalten wird das 4tet vom französischen Pianisten Cédric Hanriot. „Cédric Hanriot ist ein Pianist, wie ich ihn sonst noch nicht oft gehört habe“, schwärmt Meis. „Er hat seine Cédric-Momente, bei denen ich ihn sofort wiedererkenne, aber seine Solos sind immer überraschend, weil er nicht zögert, seine Komfortzone zu verlassen. Er geht immer ein hohes Risiko ein und wir stellen uns darauf ein.“
Zwischen die längeren Stücke hat Meis auf „Kaboom“ kleine Miniaturen gesetzt, auf denen meist zwei Musiker miteinander ins Gespräch kommen. Eröffnet wird das Album allerdings vom ungestümen „Full Pedal Jacket“, das in knapp neun Minuten die Fülle an Möglichkeiten auslotet, die das 4tet und sein Gast zur Verfügung haben. „‚Full Pedal Jacket‘ geht eher in die Pop-Richtung“, findet Meis, „es basiert auf einem Riff, mit dem ich experimentiert habe.“
In voller Besetzung erklingt auch das zwischen kantigen Rhythmen und kleinen melodischen Leckerbissen pendelnde „State of Uncertainty“. „Das Stück habe ich während des ersten Lockdowns geschrieben“, erzählt Meis. „Der Beat wird immer wieder gebrochen, wodurch das Stück die herrschende Unsicherheit beschreiben soll.“
„She“ schließlich, das von „Coming Together“ eingeleitet wird“, ist eine Ballade, die Meis speziell für Alisa Klein geschrieben hat. Hier ist das 4tet unter sich und kann seine ganze lyrische Stärke ausspielen.
Der Titelsong ist eine Tour de force, bei der das 4tet mit seinem Gast durch eine unerhörte Stilvielfalt gleitet - die Band birst hier schier vor Energie und Spielfreude. „‚Kaboom‘ vereint alle Stile, mit denen ich mich befasse“, fasst Bandleader Meis kurz und bündig zusammen, „deshalb auch der explosive Titel.“
Das Album klingt aus mit der ruhigeren Nummer „Re:Build“, das dennoch eine große dynamische Bandbreite in sich vereinigt. „‚Re:Build‘ ist eine Auftragskomposition und handelt vom wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Wiederaufbau des zerstörten Luxemburg nach dem Zweiten Weltkriege“, erzählt Meis.

Artist(s)

Michel Meis (drums)

Born in 1989, Michel Meis belongs to the new generation of Luxembourgish jazz musicians and regularly proves his versatility and openness through numerous projects.   After years of style shaping and sound experiments, his 4tet is about to make its mark on the European jazz scene with a sonic vocabulary that skillfully blends the traditional palette of drums, trombone, piano and double bass with the fresh approach and the broad musical background of open-minded and fearless musicians. The result is an exciting modern jazz where free and experimental improvisations meet well-crafted compositions. Where a rhythm, bursting with energy and vivacity, meets introverted and lyrical melodies. Where conventional jazz elements meet a clever and subtle use of jungle beats and electronic sound effects....
more
Born in 1989, Michel Meis belongs to the new generation of Luxembourgish jazz musicians and regularly proves his versatility and openness through numerous projects.
After years of style shaping and sound experiments, his 4tet is about to make its mark on the European jazz scene with a sonic vocabulary that skillfully blends the traditional palette of drums, trombone, piano and double bass with the fresh approach and the broad musical background of open-minded and fearless musicians. The result is an exciting modern jazz where free and experimental improvisations meet well-crafted compositions. Where a rhythm, bursting with energy and vivacity, meets introverted and lyrical melodies. Where conventional jazz elements meet a clever and subtle use of jungle beats and electronic sound effects. Although a true powerhouse drummer, Michel Meis gives enough room for the other instruments to unfold, thus emphasizing the cohesiveness and harmony of the project.

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Alisa Klein (trombone)

Stephan Goldbach (double bass)

Theo Ceccaldi (violin)

Composer(s)

Michel Meis (drums)

Born in 1989, Michel Meis belongs to the new generation of Luxembourgish jazz musicians and regularly proves his versatility and openness through numerous projects.   After years of style shaping and sound experiments, his 4tet is about to make its mark on the European jazz scene with a sonic vocabulary that skillfully blends the traditional palette of drums, trombone, piano and double bass with the fresh approach and the broad musical background of open-minded and fearless musicians. The result is an exciting modern jazz where free and experimental improvisations meet well-crafted compositions. Where a rhythm, bursting with energy and vivacity, meets introverted and lyrical melodies. Where conventional jazz elements meet a clever and subtle use of jungle beats and electronic sound effects....
more
Born in 1989, Michel Meis belongs to the new generation of Luxembourgish jazz musicians and regularly proves his versatility and openness through numerous projects.
After years of style shaping and sound experiments, his 4tet is about to make its mark on the European jazz scene with a sonic vocabulary that skillfully blends the traditional palette of drums, trombone, piano and double bass with the fresh approach and the broad musical background of open-minded and fearless musicians. The result is an exciting modern jazz where free and experimental improvisations meet well-crafted compositions. Where a rhythm, bursting with energy and vivacity, meets introverted and lyrical melodies. Where conventional jazz elements meet a clever and subtle use of jungle beats and electronic sound effects. Although a true powerhouse drummer, Michel Meis gives enough room for the other instruments to unfold, thus emphasizing the cohesiveness and harmony of the project.

less

Press

... Kaboom is an album full of contemplation - that is, focused thinking, contemplation, reflection, self-absorption, improvisational art and big spaces. The musicality, the unique approach to the music, the sensitivity of the soloists are the great strengths of this album.
sk.jazz, 16-9-2021

... With this second album (after Lost in Translation released in 2019, already with the German neighbors of Double Moon), the drummer asserts his style, proposing a post-modern jazz with pop sounds mixed with electro...
Citizen Jazz, 10-6-2021

Dynamite from Luxembourg ... Here one hears a perfectly tuned band in which all parts together add up to more than the mathematical sum. Besides Meis and Ceccaldi, they are the wonderful trombonist Alisa Klein, the agile pianist Cédric Hanriot and the extraordinary bassist Stephan Goldbach. ...
Concerto, 09-6-2021

jazz-fun.de says: Kaboom is an album of contemplation, improvisational art and large spaces. Musicality, unique approach to music, sensitivity of soloists are the great assets of this album. Highly recommended.
Jazz-Fun, 30-5-2021

... But the center is above all the flirt with changing forms of energy, bound in the jazz setting, but carried by the crossover of attitudes. Meis can do that, Ceccaldi too, matching the force of his violin to the esprit of the vehemence. Together with the quartet, this results in a mixture rich in contrasts, melodic, chamber-jazz modern and fierce at the same time....
Jazzthing, 26-5-2021

... Just like the feline, the quartet allows itself the freedom to do what it wants... a luminous music with an unheard-of singularity that is both disorienting and delightful to the ear...  
Latins de jazz, 26-5-2021

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