Whygold’s Weekend


Whygold’s Weekend

… under this motto I present you my music tip for the weekend.
Maybe one or the other discovers something new.

Consciously listening to music is, in my opinion, as important as reading a good book.

Today: Till Brönner & Dieter Ilg – Nightfall

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n0cNXLIOBWjk0X_yZSTueJDN6FqSddK1Y

There are musical constellations that are so obvious that the question arises as to why they have not long since become reality. And when they finally do come into the public eye, they seem so familiar, as if we’ve known them for decades. One of these constellations is the duo of trumpeter Till Brönner and bassist Dieter Ilg. They are – as hackneyed as this term may sound – kindred spirits in the truest sense of the word, who on their very contrasting instruments often want the same thing, even if they express it in quite different ways, which in turn makes them complement each other excellently. This osmosis can now be heard on their first joint album Nightfall.

A few have already enjoyed the privilege of seeing Brönner and Ilg live as a duo in recent years. Both musicians have long been among the protagonists of German and European jazz. Brönner has recorded albums in a wide variety of lineups, has been active as a producer for artists such as film diva Hildegard Knef and baritone Thomas Quasthoff, has exposed himself to spontaneous live situations with free jazzers such as Günther Baby Sommer and Christian Lillinger, and played at the White House at the personal invitation of Barack Obama. In the 1990s Ilg discovered the German folk song for jazz, strengthened musicians like Randy Brecker, Charlie Mariano or Nguyen Le with his sonorous, level-headed but always immensely open manner and was a member of the legendary quintet of Albert Mangelsdorff and Wolfgang Dauner. When Ilg and Brönner meet, a lot of jazz history and stories come together, but also a lot of future.

For despite all their personal renown, at no point do the two lapse into the attitude of two superstars at a summit meeting. They are two musicians who always have a lot to talk about. That’s why they took their time going into the studio, and they take their time playing. A good story wants to be allowed to unfold and breathe. It wants to be told, filled with life, but also heard. Brönner and Ilg do not rush from one playful climax to another, but let their stories come. What matters most to them is what they have to say and how they say it. Instead of lead voice and accompaniment, they rely on a balanced dialogue at eye level at all times. The nature of the instruments means that Brönner’s part is perhaps a bit more agile and supple, and Ilg’s enters with more force in return. But each tone has weight, stands entirely for itself and is at the same time a reflection of the other.

The selection of pieces is evidence that the musicians do not want to commit themselves to any classification or categorization. If jazz was ever an expression of individual freedom, then this independence manifests itself here, free of all myths, in the access to the material as well as in the spontaneous realization. Everything is doable if you only want it, and Brönner and Ilg want it. Songs by Leonard Cohen, the Beatles and Britney Spears, pieces by Jerome Kern, Johnny Green and Ornette Coleman, compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and Melchior Vulpius, but also some of Ilg’s and Brönner’s own creations demonstrate an almost unprecedented range of intentions and influences. In each of these songs, the two partners find new angles of incidence and perspectives. There are no solos in the classical sense of jazz. As in any good conversation that unfolds naturally, sometimes the argument lies on one side, sometimes on the other. The flow of thoughts is completely free. It squeezes through a narrow bed here, only to flow into a wide delta the next moment.

(Source: jpc)

This album was presented some time ago in the culture magazine “Titel, Thesen, Temperamente”. I saw this post by chance and immediately got the recording. Very nice arrangements, and fantastic interplay.

Have fun listening to this album !

Your Chris Weigold

P.S.: Maybe you enjoy the listening pleasure together with a glass of wine from our “Orchester der Kulturen Edition”.