Michael Wollny & Joachim Kühn - Duo (2024)

Here is an excellent album, which for once you won’t hear on Bayou Blue Radio, and the reason is simple: when you’re in your car, the sounds need a constant impedance so that your ears don’t experience too pronounced high and low sound fluctuations. This work is meant to be listened to at home in perfect acoustic conditions to savor all its subtleties because we have here two of the greatest European composers and pianists, each very different in their style but perfectly compatible because they understand their respective music and easily find the sonic spaces to communicate.
Delicacy, beauty, and elegance in this requiem composed for Joachim Kühn’s brother, Rolf. None of them seems particularly interested in the old jazz question, “Is this still jazz?” We don’t hear a single “blue note” until they reach the fourth track (“Somewhere” by Ornette Coleman). But it’s not something we miss. These pieces are a condensed, virtuoso, and inspired interpretation of the concept of improvisation, or “fantasieren” in European piano music, which seems to have fallen into disuse for over a century. That’s why its resurrection, infused with the energy of jazz, feels so right. We hear two musicians whose paths constantly diverge, only to come together in the end.
The duo work began in October 2008 with the recording of the album “Piano Works IX: Live At Schloss Elmau.” And fifteen years later, the two pianists reunite at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt on January 23, 2023. No tricks, no editing, and the only difference from the actual concert is a change in the order of the pieces. The removal of applause posed no problem, as this audience – devoted, completely captivated, and very respectful.
For listeners with a good background in so-called “Classical” music, following the path traced by these musicians on these works is child’s play, even in the complexity of the improvisations that are felt and experienced like a breath. The very principle of these works that form the work is the talent of these two artists that transpires with every note. For those expecting a purely strict sense of jazz, you may be disappointed, but if the word “art” with a capital “A” means something to you, then you will be left breathless, enchanted, and in the end, you might, like me, take a second listen with headphones to feel the volume of the concert hall and the magic that ensues. Michael Wollny & Joachim Kühn also represent the vision of the European jazz label ACT, which has over time absorbed the entire European musical culture to offer a modern vision that fits perfectly in the twenty-first century. An album deemed “indispensable” by the unanimous vote of the editorial teams at Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move.

TRACKLIST

1. Michael Wollny - Vienna Pitch
2. Michael Wollny - Eclat
3. Michael Wollny - Fatigue
4. Michael Wollny - Somewhere
5. Michael Wollny - Aktiv
6. Michael Wollny - My Brother Rolf