Michael Wollny - Nachtfahrten (2015) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

This release owes its original inspiration to a book published in 2013 entitled 'Nachtmeerfahrten' (Sea Journeys by Night), which takes the reader over to the dark side of romanticism, to a world of fantasy, of eerie shadows, and things that go bump in the night. Producer Siggi Loch edited the 'Meer' (sea) part out of the title, which therefore became 'Nachtfahrten' (Night Journeys), which suits this pianist, who is a creature of the nocturnal realm. He feels very much at home in a world of grey cats and blurred outlines, where the contrasting emotions of the moment can leave all rational expectations behind; this is a backdrop which is alive with possibility, but also with trepidation.

Michael Wollny, who was described by FAZ as a 'complete piano master' and by Die Welt as 'the most exciting German Jazz pianist of our time', has been taking the communicative games of action, inter-action and reaction in his trio in all kinds of interesting directions and new levels over the past ten years. To give just one example, he and drummer Eric Schaefer have fine-tuned the way they create intense energy, making their ways of working together more and more intuitive. Last year, however marked a watershed, as Wollny achieved considerable public success with the album 'Weltentraum', without sacrificing one iota of the virtues of his playing. All his refinement is still there, as is the stylistic breadth of his playing. Wollny draws on a deep well of inspiration, from Coldplay to Schubert or Messiaen. Jazz greats such as Monk and Bill Evans are also right under his fingers. He clearly respects and values the Jazz canon with its singable melodies and its song forms, but he isn't confined to that, he is also capable of laying down a hypnotic groove. It is an irresistible combination, and has for the first time enabled him to engage with a large audience.

His popular success with 'Weltentraum' has also brought awards in its wake, notably three ECHO Jazz prizes. Nevertheless, Wollny is too big a musical talent either to get comfortable or to rest on his laurels. He has ventured into new musical territory in this new album. In fact, the means to do it came to him in one fell swoop, without him being fully aware of the implications at the time. His method is reductive.

Wollny worked with Eric Schaefer to identify fragments, ideas and motifs. He combined old sounds with new, his own material with borrowings from film, literature, painting, philosophy, aesthetics. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, with the help of producer Siggi Loch.

Wollny takes the listener to recognizably fictitious locations. Each one becomes the pretext for a new 'Nachtfahrt' (Night Journey): Twin Peaks, the Bates Hotel from Hitchcock's Psycho, the valley of the castles from Edgar Allan Poe's early story 'Metzengerstein'. Making this disconnect from reality is a subtle way to prepare the listener for the discontinuities. What drives Wollny here is a conscious desire to create complex ambivalence, as he juxtaposes what appear on the surface to be quite simple motifs. This is a process which Wollny has discovered and developed for this album.

Tracklist:
01. Questions in a World of Blue
02. Nachtmahr
03. Der Wanderer
04. Motette No. 1
05. White Moon
06. De desconfort
07. Metzengerstein
08. Feu follet
09. Ellen
10. Nocturne
11. Marion
12. Au clair de la lune
13. Odile et Odette
14. Nachtfahrten

Personnel:
Michael Wollny, piano & harpsichord (on track 14)
Christian Weber, upright bass
Eric Schaefer, drums

Recorded by Adrian von Ripka, September 24 & 25, 2013 at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg
God Is A DJ recorded by Sound Studio n, March 21, 2013 live at Philharmonie Cologne
Mixed and mastered by Adrian von Ripka
Produced by Sigge Loch