released September 1, 2023

Sebastian Piskorz - trumpet
Peter Van Huffel - alto saxophone
Gerhard Gschlößl - trombone
Meinrad Kneer - double bass, composition
Andreas Pichler - drums

01. Three and Four 05:39
02. Three possible answers to Ornette Coleman’s question “ When will the blues leave?” 08:38
03. Ferner 09:05
04. 1986 05:51
05. As close as it gets 07:24
06. Sad Thing 12:14
07. Pavlovian Dreams 05:41
08. Rhapsodie à la Bédouin 10:50

All compositions by Meinrad Kneer, ©BUMA/STEMRA

Recorded on November 22 & 23, 2021
by Christian Betz at Berlinaudio, Berlin
Mixing and mastering: Alexis Baskind
Producer: Meinrad Kneer
Executive Producer: Ulli Blobel
Band photo: Tommaso Revelant
Design: Herbert Weisrock

Funded by Musikfonds e.V. by means of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM), as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR recovery programme

Special thanks to the band, Christian Betz, Alexis Baskind, Julie Sassoon, Susanne Fröhlich, Tommaso Revelant, Ulli Blobel, Herbert Weisrock and the Jazzwerkstatt team.

In 2013, I fulfilled my long-desired wish to put together a quintet consisting of trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone, double bass and drums.
To my ears, the specific sound of this instrumentation is reminiscent of a micro-big band, but without a harmony instrument, in order to obtain more musical freedom. For me, it was important to bring together different personalities, each of them adding their own musical background to the band.
Long before the first rehearsal, I somehow knew what this combination of musicians and instruments would sound like, and the compositions I subsequently worked out, offered them – above all - room for improvisational freedom?
My compositions combine influences from jazz, rock, blues, free jazz, free improvisation, ethnic music and contemporary music and ultimately serve as a starting and landing point for improvisations. The fluent transitions between composition and improvisation on one hand, as well as between the individual improvisations on the other, are characteristic of the ensemble's concept. In addition, I’m very interested in - and give much room to - various forms of collective improvisation, either free or within a given framework. Furthermore my compositional style rarely repeats material one-on-one. It’s often kind of whimsical and therefore has more of a narrative nature.
The release of the quintet’s second album “Der zweite Streich” (*) marks 10 years for the ensemble, which has continued to grow together. Like all ensembles that work together long enough, the quintet has developed its own band sound, dynamics and style.

Meinrad Kneer

(*) “The second prank”, quote from Wilhelm Busch’s children book “Max and Maurice”