USA: Daniel Erdmann's Velvet Revolution- A Short Moment Of Zero G (2016)

Daniel Erdmann, active as a member and co-leader of many bands, had the sound of this trio in his ear, and looked for and finally found the musicians who would allow the inner sound to become a reality. Here is a band that totally bears his stamp, that of the tenor saxophonist and composer. At the same time, in the ensemble playing there is lots of leeway for the participants. Music of this kind is about freedom, about the freedom to improvise in relation to the composition, freedom of feeling, thinking, and desire. What initially makes you sit up and take notice and draws you in, is the gesture, the closeness to speech, the narrative and rhapsodical manner. Daniel Erdmann's pieces are compact, sometimes even complex, and within their forms the participants can roam freely. Daniel Erdmann is a self-confessed melodist. And this is often much harder than hiding yourself behind a material exegesis, because the ideas and the statements have to be strong. In this skein of voices with violin, viola and vibraphone, he weaves together a trio that makes it possible for the parts to share rhythmic or harmonic aspects, to cross over or develop one another. French violinist Théo Ceccaldi contributes something from the grand French string tradition, as well as jazz references and something very contemporary: he can wallow in melody, but also provide abstract, percussive action. The luminous sound of Jim Hart's vibraphone reinforces the chamber music like magic of the trio. Jim Hart brings with him that rhythmic competence that here enables him to dispense with drums, brilliantly. Daniel Erdmann's Velvet Revolution is free from intent, the desire to illustrate, although it does contain a number of allusions. The music draws from the confrontation with reality and bubbles from the imagination. It has something poetic and something anecdotal; something picturesque and something abstract.