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Miniatures and Fragments

Birgitta Flick Quartet

Miniatures and Fragments

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917141122
Catnr: DMCHR 71411
Release date: 24 June 2022
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Label
Double Moon Records
UPC
0608917141122
Catalogue number
DMCHR 71411
Release date
24 June 2022

"Contemporary jazz meets a fine improvisational improvisational feeling..."

Inmusic 11 12 2022, 01-12-2022
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About the album

The quartet of the Berlin saxophonist and composer Birgitta Flick is a band with a unique magic that has been playing together for 10 years. This familiarity, which is particularly important for a group that relies so heavily on improvisation, is also heard on the new, fourth album “Miniatures and Fragments” from the Birgitta Flick Quartet.

With the pianist Andreas Schmidt, the bassist James Banner and the drummer Max Andrzejewski, Flick has fellow musicians on board who are extremely subtle and sensitive. Banner comes from England, but lives in Berlin and is known for his own projects such as Usine, the duo with Stephanie Lamprea or the duo Practically Minded with Declan Forde. Max Andrzejewski has been one of the active members of the Berlin scene for years and also plays in Duo Training with the saxophonist Johannes Schleiermacher and the chamber music ensemble Stemeseder/Andrzejewski light/tied in addition to his large ensemble Hütte as well as having received numerous orders for compositions. "Max and James are closely attuned to each other’s playing," band leader Birgitta Flick stated in appreciation of the two, "and that benefits the band." Andreas Schmidt has been active in the German jazz scene for so long that he has already played or composed for a number of musicians: from Lisa Bassenge and Aki Takase to Lee Konitz and Rudi Mahall to Katja Riemann and Dave Liebman. Together with Birgitta Flick, this results in fundamental, solid unity. "It's as if I can just plunge into a space when we play together," the saxophonist stated happily. “The clairvoyance and sensitivity of Andreas, James and Max are the basis of our way of playing.”

With “Miniatures and Fragments”, the new album is titled unpretentiously as usual and contains eleven new pieces that invite you to listen carefully with their chamber music approach. Inspired by Alban Berg, the “Cycle”, which is introduced with a gentle saxophone line, thrives on subtle changes in tempo and a cool aesthetic, while the elegiac “Land of Gold” glides gently and “Hope” turns out to be a touching ballad that does not shy away from experimental detours. In addition to the traditionally named songs, the quartet also plays three "Color Studies", as they are known from the last album "Color Studies" and come from a series of compositions with which Birgitta Flick has been experimenting for years. "These pieces are even more sketch-like than my other pieces for this band," the tenor saxophonist explained, who otherwise also composes a lot of music for choir and contemporary chamber music ensembles such as LUX:NM, "and are therefore particularly suitable for our improvisational approach.” The “Color Studies #4” perhaps illustrate particularly well how this approach can lead to different music, because two different versions of the piece start and end the album.

In addition to eight pieces of their own, the Birgitta Flick Quartet has once again played their own versions of songs composed by others. On the one hand there is the Swedish chorale “Till dig ur hjärtegrunden” with its beautiful melody, which the band savors in its own way. Birgitta Flick studied in Stockholm and has numerous artistic connections to Scandinavia, from which “Dalama”, the second album of the quartet was produced with guest musicians Lina Nyberg, Silke Eberhard and Nico Lohmann. And then there are two of the best-known standards in jazz history, which the Birgitta Flick Quartet gives new, haunting perspectives: Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean", introduced to the jazz canon by Charlie Parker and excellently interpreted by protagonists such as Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Stan Getz and Billie Holiday, and Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are", which fascinated Lee Konitz so much that he played it all his life, for example. "The two standards have been with me for a very, very long time," Birgitta Flick said. "I could play them every day and wouldn't get tired of them. I love the melodies and the harmonic progressions. I just wanted to try this reharmonization in 'How Deep is the Ocean’, and I composed the line for 'All the Things You Are’ in the Stockholm subway as a composition study."

Das Quartett der Berliner Saxofonistin und Komponistin Birgitta Flick ist eine Band mit einer einzigartigen Magie, die nun schon zehn Jahre miteinander spielt. Diese Vertrautheit, die für eine Gruppe, die so stark auf Improvisation setzt, besonders wichtig ist, hört man dem Birgitta Flick Quartet auf seinem neuen, dem vierten Album „Miniatures and Fragments“ auch an.

Mit dem Pianisten Andreas Schmidt, dem Bassisten James Banner und dem Schlagzeuger Max Andrzejewski hat Flick Mitmusiker an Bord, die extrem feinsinnig und sensibel agieren. Banner stammt aus England, lebt aber in Berlin und ist für eigene Projekte wie Usine, das Duo mit Stephanie Lamprea oder das Duo Practically Minded mit Declan Forde bekannt. Max Andrzejewski zählt seit Jahren zu den Aktivposten der Berliner Szene und unterhält außer seinem Großensemble Hütte noch das Duo Training mit dem Saxofonisten Johannes Schleiermacher und das Kammermusikensemble Stemeseder/Andrzejewski light/tied und erhielt bereits zahlreiche Kompositionsaufträge. „Max und James sind eng aufeinander eingespielt“, weiß Bandleaderin Birgitta Flick die beiden zu schätzen, „und das kommt der Band einfach zugute.“ Andreas Schmidt ist schon so lange in der deutschen Jazz-Szene aktiv, dass er schon mit einer ganzen Reihe von Musiker*innenn zusammengespielt oder für sie geschrieben hat - von Lisa Bassenge und Aki Takase über Lee Konitz und Rudi Mahall bis zu Katja Riemann und Dave Liebman. Zusammen mit Birgitta Flick ergibt das eine verschworene Einheit. „Es ist, als ob ich mich einfach in einen Raum fallen lassen kann, wenn wir miteinander spielen“, freut sich die Saxofonistin. „Die Hellhörigkeit und Sensibilität von Andreas, James und Max sind die Grundlage unserer Arbeitsweise.“

Mit „Miniatures and Fragments“ ist das neue Album gewohnt unprätentiös betitelt und enthält elf neue Stücke, die mit ihrer kammermusikalischen Attitüde zum genauen Zuhören einladen. Das mit einer behutsamen Saxofonlinie eingeleitete „Cycle“ - inspiriert von Alban Berg - lebt von subtilen Tempowechseln und einer coolen Ästhetik, während das elegische „Land of Gold“ sanft dahingleitet und „Hope“ sich als berührende Ballade entpuppt, die experimentelle Abstecher nicht scheut. Neben den herkömmlich benannten Songs spielt das Quartett auch drei „Color Studies“, wie sie vom letzten Album „Color Studies“ bekannt sind

und aus einer Kompositionsreihe stammen, mit der Birgitta Flick seit Jahren experimentiert. „Diese Stücke sind noch skizzenartiger angelegt als meine anderen für diese Band“, erklärt die Tenorsaxofonistin, die sonst auch viel Musik für Chor und zeitgenössische Kammermusikensembles wie aktuell LUX:NM schreibt, „und eignen sich daher für unseren improvisatorischen Ansatz besonders gut.“ Welch unterschiedliche Musik dieser Ansatz entstehen lassen kann, verdeutlichen die „Color Studies #4“ vielleicht besonders gut, denn zwei verschiedene Fassungen des Stücks rahmen das Album ein.

Neben acht eigenen Stücken hat das Birgitta Flick Quartet auch wieder Fremdmaterial verarbeitet. Da ist zum einen der schwedische Choral „Till dig ur hjärtegrunden“ mit seiner wunderschönen Melodie, die von der Band ausgekostet wird - Birgitta Flick hat unter anderem in Stockholm studiert und unterhält zahlreiche künstlerische Verbindungen nach Skandinavien, aus denen auch „Dalarna“, das zweite Album des Quartetts mit den Gästen Lina Nyberg, Silke Eberhard und Nico Lohmann hervorgegangen ist.

Und dann sind da noch zwei der bekanntesten Standards der Jazzgeschichte, die vom Birgitta Flick Quartet neue, eindringliche Perspektiven verliehen bekommen: Irving Berlins „How Deep is the Ocean“, das von Charlie Parker in den Jazz-Kanon eingeführt wurde und von Protagonisten wie Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Stan Getz und Billie Holiday herausragend interpretiert wurde, und Jerome Kerns „All the Things You Are“, das zum Beispiel Lee Konitz so sehr fasziniert hat, dass er es sein Leben lang gespielt hat. „Die beiden Standards begleiten mich schon sehr, sehr lange“, erzählt Birgitta Flick. „Ich könnte sie jeden Tag spielen und würde nicht müde davon. Ich mag die Melodien und die harmonischen Verläufe. Bei ‚How Deep is the Ocean‘ wollte ich einfach diese Reharmonisierung ausprobieren und die Line zu ‚All the Things You Are‘ habe ich als Kompositionsetüde in der Stockholmer U-Bahn geschrieben.“

Artist(s)

Birgitta Flick Quartet

Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP...
more
Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP productions and has been supported by a.o. the Berlin senate, the country of Berlin/UdK, Initiative Musik gGmbH, Musikfonds, JazzBaltica Förderpreis and the Goethe-Institut.
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Birgitta Flick (tenor saxophone)

Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP...
more
Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP productions and has been supported by a.o. the Berlin senate, the country of Berlin/UdK, Initiative Musik gGmbH, Musikfonds, JazzBaltica Förderpreis and the Goethe-Institut.

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Composer(s)

Birgitta Flick (tenor saxophone)

Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP...
more
Birgitta Flick is a Berlin based improviser and composer. Educated as saxophonist at Jazz-Institut Berlin (UdK/HfM „Hanns Eisler“) and in composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, she works internationally as a freelance musician with her own groups based in a.o. Berlin, Stockholm and New York City. As a sidewoman she works right now with e.g. Pål Nyberg's ensemble in Stockholm. As a composer she writes for her own groups as well as choir music and instrumental and vocal works for ensembles such as LUX:NM (DE) or Aulus Duo (GB). Since 2015 she serves as artistic director for the concert series InSpirit at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin. Her artistic work is documented and presented on numerous CD and LP productions and has been supported by a.o. the Berlin senate, the country of Berlin/UdK, Initiative Musik gGmbH, Musikfonds, JazzBaltica Förderpreis and the Goethe-Institut.

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Press

Contemporary jazz meets a fine improvisational improvisational feeling...
Inmusic 11 12 2022, 01-12-2022

... Birgitta Flick's saxophone voice soars as if winged to the highest regions.
Jazzpodium, 28-10-2022

... On "Miniatures and Fragments" the four-piece, which has been rehearsing for ten years, once again proves its sensitivity in improvisation. An album with a chamber music touch that invites you to listen closely.
Concerto, Austria, 12-10-2022

... Conclusion: A collection of melodic-delicate to freely interlocking small sound studies that is worth listening to.
Fono Forum, 01-9-2022

... The album is an extremely intimate collection of eleven tracks that immerse the listener in a world of beauty, delicacy, interplay and exquisite melodic techniques...
skjazz, 04-10-2022

... The expression is both bound and free, somewhat restrained but charged. Beautiful, aesthetic and artful...
Orkesterjournalen, 01-10-2022

I didn't mention her versions of the classics "How deep is the ocean" and "All the things you are" yet, they are perfect interpretations, very lovingly and convincingly delivered, especially the version of the latter makes a big impression. The extremely subtle interplay and the soulful bass playing of James Banner are a bull's eye! But that also applies to the rest of the album, the previous one was already a hit, but this is bingo, what a wonderful music
Rootstime, 05-8-2022

... Small melodies, discreet rhythmic structures and the sensitive interplay ... let these 11 new pieces of the saxophonist ... never sound like free jazz, although that's exactly what they are. Compliments!  
NaDann, 28-7-2022

The album title is program here. Things are often fragmentary here. Minimalistic too...
nrwjazz, 01-7-2022

... Flick's tenor sax rings out casually and with wisdom of age, and her band takes on that serenity.  
Virgin Jazzface, 01-7-2022

Thoughtful and intelligently played music. Birgitta Flick is an outstanding saxophonist: one can only admire her technique, articulation, phrasing and improvisational flair...
jazzfun, 24-6-2022

... On "Miniatures & Fragments" this unagitated attitude is transferred to the whole band and also lets pianist Andreas Schmidt, bassist James Banner and drummer Max Andrzejewski play as if they belonged to the generation of jazz modernist ancestors. That has a lot of charm...
Jazzthing 06 2022, 27-5-2022

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