The energy of free-bop harnessed into post -bop compositional miniatures in which the working quartet of Berliners find their voices and speak in synchronous monologues, make for the oxymoronic experience of some lighthearted, yet weighty jazz that is worth savoring over and over again.
The working quartet here has been devoted to the music of Monk for over a decade, having released Monk's Casino, the landmark complete works of Thelonious Monk, a few years back, with pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. The playful quality of Monk's tunes, in which the quartet was steeped, as well as the strangely contoured motivic themes, carry over into the 14 original compositions that make up this release.
Right out of the gate, the front line of Rudi Mahall, bass clarinet and Axel Dörner, trumpet, swirl and pivot in carefree lines while the endearingly mad bass of Jan Roder and the insouciant percussive perambulations of Uli Jennessen bubble along in tandem.
The spirit of modern jazz permeates these pieces, which don't take themselves overly seriously, in spite of the forbidding title, Die Enttäuschung, which translates as "the disappointment" in English. The existentialist subtext implied is lined with a thick coat of irony, one of the most subtle and delightful of all tropes. But, again, like Monk, who, as much as Parker and Gillespie, embodies the sophisticated and deceptively "off the cuff" qualities of modern jazz, this quartet delivers deep commentary on the human experience which can juxtapose the most disarming frivolity with the most poignant and disturbing tragedy — although the only hint of the tragic, sonorously speaking, comes at the end of the listen, when the delight is over. But you can always spin the disc again!
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