claudio puntin - clarinet; tilman ehrhorn - tenorsax; stephan meinberg - trumpet; steffen schorn - bassclarinet, baritonsax; frank speer - altosax; john schröder - drums; nils wogram - trombone
"Nils Wogram is a master of small formats – duos, trios and quartets are his domains. But eleven years ago he proved that he has quite a bit to say in the sextet and octet on the CD Odd and Awkward. Back then, the multi-reed player Steffen Schorn was along for the ride. He is on board again on Wogram’s newest CD, Complete Soul, this time in a septet. In addition, clarinetist Claudio Puntin, trumpeter Matthias Schriefl, the saxophonists Frank Speer and Tilman Ehrhorn as well as drummer John Schröder have also made this rendezvous.
Wogram’s approach on Complete Soul stands out in strong contrast to that of bands such as Roots 70 or Nostalgia. Normally, he writes the parts for his co-players, into their instruments; in other words, he sets their strengths to music, tailor-made. This time, however, he had a complex overall sound in his head, assembled like an organ made up of many horns, and then searched for the people who could fill out this sound with their personalities. “The larger the band is,” acknowledges Wogram, “the more each individual has to blend into the overall sound. For this project I looked for people whose sound-ideal is similar to mine. In this way, the horns mix such that one attains these organ-like sounds. The chords function as a whole and do not simply result in six tones that somehow blend together. When the musicians have space to solo, however, I do try to emphasize their personal strengths.” NWOG Records
