Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917146820
Releasedate: 29-08-25
- The freedoms of a closely knit piano & sax duo
- Sought-after and found: multi-layered duo statement on an impressive level
- Piano & sax duo in fascinating congruence
There are numerous examples in jazz of this phenomenon, and yet every one fascinates us anew: Musicians who are so familiar with each other in such a special way that their interplay has a very special quality. In the case of pianist Andreas Feith and saxophonist Markus Harm, such familiarity has grown over the years. Their new duo album, created over the span of five years, documents a musical closeness that allows for anything. Compared to the remarkable debut "What's New", "Abstract Truth" is "an artistic statement on a completely different level,” as Andreas Feith formulated it, At the time, the two had taken a good opportunity to record quickly assembled material. "This time we composed, conceived, and prepared intensively", among other things in the context of a guest performance in the idyllic Schloss Elmau. Markus Harm can only confirm the feeling of his duo partner. "Our familiarity has really developed dramatically in recent years. Our interaction is extremely multi-layered and flexible. Such a constellation is worth its weight in gold!"
Feith and Harm have known each other for many years. They met in Nuremberg in one of the early large bands of clarinetist and composer Rebecca Trescher: Ensemble 11. To this day, they belong to Trescher's much-praised group, which has also received awards and now includes 10 musicians. In the ensemble, the two quickly felt they were on the same wavelength. They also met for casual duo performances and played in a loose quintet line-up. Feith also sometimes joined the Markus Harm Quartet as a pianist, when the regular guitarist was prevented, while Harm was in the Feith Quartet. The duo sessions intensified, especially in dealing with standards. Harm: "We tried out a lot and challenged each other. And in doing so, a mutual improvisation language was absorbed and developed." His own pieces only became the subject of their playing later. Feith: "The most fulfilling moments arose when we played standards!" Markus Harm seconded this view with a surprising explanation: "Then we are completely free."
Freedom is a term that one does not necessarily expect in connection with an ensemble based on classical jazz values. But it is precisely this feeling, this attitude, that is an important factor for the extraordinary in the collaboration of Andreas Feith and Markus Harm. Feith considers this aspect confidently: "We have the same freedom as unrestricted musicians in what we do, only combined with traditional skills and a great respect for tradition. A dialectic of freedom and the appreciation of tradition. This is rare on the German jazz scene." Freedom refers on the one hand to the handling of the originals, whether standards or our own pieces, on the other hand to improvisational exchange. It can also become a starting point, as in the spontaneously designed duo version of Harm's "Out in Space" (which he describes in his illuminating liner notes). By the way: "Out in Space" was the title track of the latest Markus Harm album, an excellent quartet recording with Feith on the piano (released on Double Moon in 2024). The saxophonist and experienced bandleader stated about that production: "How Andreas interpreted my songs was just fantastic. At that time, I immediately thought what we had always talked about in a relaxed way before; we absolutely have to do something with just the two of us again, there has to be another album!"
And Harm, who now lives in Vienna, added: "Every time we meet, Andreas has gotten even better. He is imaginative and always has something to contribute, no matter where it goes. He always follows, but he also demands and contributes something too. In this way, our interaction always remains fresh and exciting. In addition, he can think soloistic like a saxophonist or a singer. He has an extremely strong right hand and can always play the melodies too".
Even Feith, who is at home in Nuremberg (previously commuting between Nuremberg and Berlin for a while), is not sparing with compliments: factually and well-founded, not just due to friendship. "I have always appreciated Markus' lyrical qualities when playing melodies. There are few who can play melodies like him in the moment that touch your heart. We have always had a deep connection, and we are mutual catalysts. You always have this feeling with Markus: he is honest. You can always feel his heart in the polarity of emotional intuition and intellect. In addition, he has a huge range of sound such as hardly anyone else has: from large, focused radiance to very soft, more delicate and refined tones."
"Abstract Truth" is an extraordinary duo album in many ways. It begins with Feith's powerfully rolling, bluesy-tuned title track (although not intended, the title reminds one of Oliver Nelson's classic 1961 "Blues And The Abstract Truth" album). The atmosphere of "Calm", the elegant buoyancy of "Tune For K", the stirring finale in "Long Way Home": these are facets of a diverse statement in which Feith and Harm are completely at home. This is exactly what you can hear in the emotional versions of the selected standards right up to the nostalgic end: a magnificent version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". Also there: a duo in fascinating congruence.