HerbstReise Gianni Mimmo & Nicola Guazzaloca

• 1 A Silver Lining 02:25
• 2 Unsailed Ship 01:37
• 3 However Negligible 01:19
• 4 Those Rainy Days 02:16
• 5 Late Rain 02:05
• 6 Just Below (Down to The Ground) 01:07
• 7 The Rain of The Last Few Days 02:58
• 8 The Japanese Lady 03:25
• 9 Early Birds 02:34
• 10 Twin Windows 03:08
• 11 I Didn’t See You At All 01:45
• 12 Second Longing 02:56
• 13 The Sycamores 04:19
• 14 First Longing 04:44
• 15 Tensive 02:57
• 16 More Then Before 04:45
• 17 Herbst-Reise 07:39
• Total Runtime 51:59

Info for HerbstReise

The meaning of "cadenza del crepuscolo" ("dusk cadenza") can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The most profound is the one corresponding with the implicitly slow flux of thoughts and reflections that emerge as we sense the day fading away, possibly in a moment of somewhat regretful oscillation between an unknown tomorrow, what we have already experienced and now miss, and the unexpressed potential of what we long for, but have not yet achieved (and perhaps never will). The sympathetic musicians contributing to this recording came seriously close to a flawless synthesis of such subtle, if excruciatingly painful individual circumstances. The organic development of their spontaneous interaction adheres to an intuitively composed logical thread: certain structures appear predetermined even if they’re not at all, the variable instrumental undercurrents directed toward a rather rational ideal of event sequence. Through vivid improvised signals, the instrumentalists involuntarily rescue the audience from any possibility of meditative torpor, still highlighting a vague perception of sheer immensity. The environment that drives all evolutionary processes, whether strictly musical or unfathomably transcendental, is one of a nearly overwhelming awareness of the aggregate resonance around which the universal laws revolve. In that regard, it’s nice to recognize Gianni Mimmo's impactful viewpoint when he refers to dusk as "a parting gift of light", although selected textural convergences may conjure remote associations with other composers of the ineluctable - think Gavin Bryars, William Basinski, or even the Brian Eno of "Fullness Of Wind'' - in the listener's mind. As the record ends, we’re under the impression of having received an equally wondrous present: a modest beauty that struggles to get out of its protective shell, but which one smiles at without hesitation or fear.

"Cadenza del Crepuscolo is, as its title suggests, a recording that has a twilight feeling—it is the audio analogue of an abstract painting of predominantly dark colors. The ensemble that recorded it is a quartet of John Hughes on double bass; Gianni Mimmo on soprano saxophone; Peer Schelechta on pipe organ; and Ove Volquartz on bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet. Already, the instrumentation betrays a bias toward the lower end of the sound spectrum, with the single high-register instrument paradoxically emphasizing the tonal heaviness of the other three. And the pipe organ, double bass, and bass clarinets do often play in a bloc of low-pitched, densely dissonant harmonies laid out in long sustained notes. These thick washes of sound are punctuated by single lines alternating between the languid and the knotty; at those moments when individual voices break out into an animated polyphony, the music takes a dramatic and rather unexpected turn. Herbstreise, a duet recording featuring Mimmo once again on soprano saxophone as well as Nicola Guazzaloca on piano, is tonally and in terms of pacing a much brighter affair. The seventeen short tracks present an improvised abstract impressionism that tends toward the nimble and astringent, with extended technique from both players adding a well-honed edge to a number of the performances." (Daniel Barbiero, Avant Music)

Gianni Mimmo, soprano saxophone
John Hughes, double bass
Ove Volquartz, bass, double bass, clarinets
Peer Schlechta, pipe organ

Gianni Mimmo
has built an international reputation for his unique treatment of musical timbre and his exploration of the advanced techniques on the soprano saxophone. His peculiar work is mainly focused on the relationship among distant artistic declinations and his style is based on a deep knowledge of the instrument and on a sound consciousness which is the constitutional element of his voice.

Gianni has developed a unique blend of abstract lyricism and contemporary flavours. His projects have been excellently reviewed by international magazines and webzines.

In the last few years some features of his music have shifted to unsuspected directions and his personal curiosity led him to new connections adding some fresh subtleness to his instrumental tone and developing a more compositional attitude to his improvisation.

As composer he often works with graphic scores where elements coming from different musical languages find a new form where fragments and more unbound ideas ask for a fresher interpretation and performing responsibility.

His pantheon is pretty crowded and includes several names coming from art, music and philosophy: painters like Jackson Pollock, John McLaughlin, Toti Scialoja, Mario Sironi, Felice Casorati; adventurous jazz musicians like Steve Lacy, Roscoe Mitchell, contemporary souls like John Cage, Robert Ashely, Earle Brown, philosophers and beautiful minds like Giorgio Agamben and John Berger, writers like Yasunari Kawabata and Herman Melville, poets like Marina Cvetaeva and Wisława Szymborska.

His current projects include collaboration with musicians as Harry Sjöström, Alison Blunt, John Russell, Daniel Levin, Hannah Marshall, Elisabeth Harnik, Clementine Gasser, Gianni Lenoci, Cristiano Calcagnile, Lawrence Casserley, Martin Mayes, Vinny Golia, Garrison Fewell, Benedict Taylor, Gino Robair, Jean-Michel van Schouwburg, Nicholas Isherwood, Ove Volquartz, Nicola Guazzaloca, Xabier Iriondo, Michele Marelli, Teppo Hauta-hao ,Mario Arcari, Peter Brötzmann, Achim Kaufmann, Matthias Bauer, Veli Kujala, Enzo Rocco, Angelo Contini, Stefano Pastor, Stefano Giust, Alessio Pisani, with dancers Marcella Fanzaga, Norontako Bagus Kentus, Sebastian Prantl, photographer Elda Papa, video artists and poets as well.

He extensively tours in Europe and USA invited by international festivals and venues and runs the indie label Amirani Records.

John Hughes
is an American doublebassist, currently residing in Hamburg. He is an active member of the jazz and improv. community in Hamburg, performing regularly both in Hamburg and in Germany. John has worked with numerous groups and projects, dancers, poets, artists and light technicians. John has been organizing the occasional improv. concert in Hamburg since his arrival in 1998. In Nov. 2004, John curated the first , annual "Phenomorphonic" festival in the Christianskirche, Hamburg. This festival for experimental accoustic and electronic music brought together musicians from New York, Berlin, Switzerland, Italy, and Hamburg.

Johns' current associations include the improv. groups, "Tripwire"(L.Scherzberg , J.Arnal , J.Hughes) , "fünf" (L.VanHaussen , C.Ogiermann , H.Neumann , L.Scherzberg , J.Hughes), the electro/accoustic "HSW trio"(L.Scherzberg, N.Wiese, J.Hughes), "Immortal Vommiting Sound"(H.Wienert, C.Popple, J.Hughes), and duo colloborations with Italian pianist Alberto Braida, German saxophonist Lars Scherzberg, trumpeter Helmuth Neumann, American percussionist Chad Popple, and contrabass clarinetist Chris Heenan. John also composes and performes with the free jazz trio"CHIMERA" (R.Pifnitzka , C.Popple , J.Hughes). In 2005, John formed "Rocket No.9" together with Chad Popple, and M.Pfleiderer, a jazz group which focuses on presenting the music of the great composers of the past, such as Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk, and others.

Ove Volquartz
Player, improviser and composer in the fields of jazz and improvised music since the 70's. He originates from the German free jazz scene but developed to the more open field of improvised music. The treatment of musical timbre and the advanced techniques on deep clarinets, have become the distinguishing features of his style.

He worked with many important musicians like Cecil Taylor, Roscoe Mitchell, Peter Kowald, Gunter Hampel, Barre Phillips, Sabu Toyozumi, Perry Robinson, Peeter Uuskyla, Gianni Mimmo, Gianni Lenoci, among others.

On the other hand he works with pipe organ player Peer Schlechta and contemporary composers like Daniel Ott. Furthermore he more and more works in interaction projects with dancers like Tadashi Endo, painters, poetry or films. Volquartz played at many festivals like Moers, Leipzig, Leverkusen etc.

He toured as far as to Africa where he worked with drummer Kojo Samuels in Liberia. He recorded with Annexus Quam, Gunter Hampel, TAG Trio, Second Exit, and Cecil Taylor among others.

As a musicologist he worked about flow experiences in improvisation.

Peer Schlechta
regularly gives concerts as a performer and improviser. He received important inspiration for his artistic organ playing from working with historical instruments of various instruments of various provenance as well as from Hans-Ola Ericsson, Bernhard Ericsson, Bernhard Haas and Jean Guillou.

In addition, Peer Schlechta devotes himself to important technical questions as an organ and bell expert. important subject-specific questions.

One focus of his work is research into the history and the instruments of the organ instruments of the organ-building dynasty Kohlen-Heeren-Kuhlmann-Euler from Gottsbüren and Hofgeismar.

He is equally concerned with the further development of keyboard instruments, especially in the field of organ building.

keyboard instruments, especially in the field of organ building. A further field of work lies in questions relating to the inventory and documentation of organ works.

Since 2006 Peer Schlechta has also been on the board of the International Association for Organ Documentation (IAOD) e.V. active.

This album contains no booklet.