upcoming hurricane

GERALD CLEAVER

drums

Gerald Cleaver is one of the New York jazz scene’s leading drummer/composers, who covers a wide range of stylistic ground. Having played with jazz masters Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris and Ray Bryant as well as the leading lights of the AACM, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith and Henry Threadgill, he is a product of many traditions within creative music.

Cleaver is best known for his associations with Roscoe Mitchell, Charles Gayle, Miroslav Vitous, Mario Pavone, William Parker, Michael Formanek, Joe Morris, Jeremy Pelt, Craig Taborn and Yaron Herman. He is also the leader of the bands Uncle June (a reflection on the personal and familial challenges of Black Americans during The Great Migration featuring TonyMalaby, Andrew Bishop, Mat Maneri, Craig Taborn and Drew Gress), Violet Hour (a tribute to Detroit featuring Jeremy Pelt, JD Allen, Andrew Bishop, Ben Waltzer and Chris Lightcap) and Farmers By Nature (a free-improvising collective co-led with bassist William Parker and pianist Craig Taborn).

Born 1963 and raised in Detroit, Cleaver is a product of the city’s rich music tradition. Inspired by his father, drummer John Cleaver, Jr. (whom Uncle June is named after), he began playing the drums at an early age. He later played violin in grade school and trumpet in junior high & high school. As a teenager he gained invaluable experience playing with Detroit jazz masters Ali Muhammad Jackson, Lamont Hamilton, Earl Van Riper, and Pancho Hagood. While attending the University of Michigan as a music education major he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Grant, to study with drummer Victor Lewis. He graduated in 1992 and began teaching in Detroit where he worked with Rodney Whitaker, Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, and with visiting musicians Hank Jones, Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Eddie Harris, Howard Johnson, Diana Krall and Don Byron.

In 1995 he accepted an appointment as assistant professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan, and in 1998 also joined the jazz faculty at Michigan State University. He moved to New York in 2002 and has since focused exclusively on playing. Cleaver has played and recorded with a cornucopia of artists including Franck Amsallem, Tim Ries, Lotte Anker, Reggie Workman, Marilyn Crispell, Matt Shipp, Kevin Mahogany, Ralph Alessi, Jacky Terrasson, Jimmy Scott, Muhal Richard Abrams, Dave Douglas, Roy Nathanson, Tim Berne, Jeremy Pelt, Ellery Eskelin, Charles McPherson, David Torn, Terje Rypdal and Lou Reed.

His 2001 recording Adjust (Fresh Sound New Talent) was nominated in the Best Debut Recording category by the Jazz Journalists Association. Gerald Cleaver's Detroit (Fresh Sound New Talent), is an homage to his hometown and to the late, great Detroit drummers Roy Brooks, Lawrence Williams, George Goldsmith and Richard "Pistol" Allen. His latest recording with Uncle June, Be It As I See It (Fresh Sound New Talent) represents Cleaver’s most personal statement with regard to his familial past and his experience as an Black American.

SIMON NABATOV

piano

His musical education began at the age of 3, his father, himself a musician, being the first teacher. The Central School of Music and Moscow Conservatory were the next steps. After the whole family emigrated and settled in New York in 1979, Nabatov continued his studies at the Juilliard School Of Music. By that time his interest and involvement in jazz and improvised music grew strong enough to make them his main activity.

Since then he performed and recorded with many fine musicians such as Paul Motian, Tony Scott, Sonny Fortune, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Skidmore, Herb Robertson, Louis Sclavis, Charles McPhearson, Billy Hart, David Murray, Paul Horn, Ricki Ford, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Dresser, Jim Snidero, Herb Geller, Dave Pike, Attila Zoller, Matthias Schubert, Barry Altschul, Vladimir Tarasov, John Betsch, Ed Schuller, Arto Tuncboyaci, Adam Nussbaum, Jay Clayton, Ron McClure, Mark Feldman, Drew Gress, Phil Minton, Michael Moore, Han Bennink, Misha Mengelberg, Wolter Wierbos and many others.

He enjoyed continuous work with Ray Anderson Quartet, Arthur Blythe Quartet, NDR Big Band (Hamburg,Germany), Steve Lacy - Simon Nabatov Duo, Perry Robinson Quartet, Nils Wogram Quartet, Nils Wogram - Simon Nabatov Duo, Matthias Schubert Quartet, Matthias Schubert - Simon Nabatov Duo, Klaus König Orchestra.

His own projects and activities include solo recitals, trio with the bassist Mark Helias and the drummer Tom Rainey (both based in New York), quartet "Nature Morte" with the British vocalist Phil Minton, multi reed-player Frank Gratkowski and trombonist Nils Wogram (both from Germany), quintet including his trio plus the violinist Mark Feldman and the trumpet player Herb Robertson ( both residing in New York).

The most recent addition to the list is the formed in 2003 trio Nabatov - Reijseger - Vatcher. The current edition of it includes the Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger and the American drummer Michael Sarin.

As the co-leader Nabatov plays duos with Nils Wogram, Tom Rainey, Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger, German tenor sax player Matthias Schubert , Dutch drummer Han Bennink and with the Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg.

Simon Nabatov performed and recorded numerous pieces of chamber music, some of them written specially for him: "Piano Concerto "Baba" by the American pianist/composer Kenny Werner, "Sonata for violin and piano" by the Irish bassist/composer Ronan Guilfoyle,"Trumpet Sonata", "Cello Sonata", "Trio for flute,cello and piano" by the Swiss reed-player/composer Daniel Schnyder. He also performed and recorded some of the more known "crossover" works, such as "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin (NDR Symphony Orchestra Hannover,1998) or "Concerto for Jazz Ensemble and Orchestra" by Rolf Liebermann (NDR Symphony Orchestra and Big Band, Hamburg,1996).

Nabatov was among the winners of the 3rd "International Great Jazz Pianist Competition" in Jacksonville, USA (2nd prize) in 1985 and of the "Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition" in Paris, France (3rd prize) in 1989. In 1987 he was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Simon Nabatov made numerous radio productions for most major European broadcasting companies: WDR, NDR, HR, BR, SFR, Radio France, Radio Zürich, Radio Ireland etc.

A more recent and by far the largest radio production project (co - sponsored by WDR and Bayer AG) saw him write and record over 6 hours of music for solo piano, duo (with the American reed player Michael Moore), his trio, the quartet "Nature Morte" and the quintet. Beginning of 2000 the Swiss label HatHut Records brought out the first recording - the trio release "Sneak Preview". The next three recordings, quartet "Nature Morte", quintet "The Master and Margarita" and solo "Perpetuum Immobile" have been released by Leo Records . Two more CD´s - " Chat Room" ( duo with Han Bennink ) and "Autumn Music" ( trio with Ernst Reijseger and Michael Vatcher ) were brought out by this independent English label.

The most recent project produced by WDR was a 90 - minute piece " A Few Incidents" based on the texts of Russian writer Daniil Charms. The octet included Phil Minton, Frank Gratkowski, Nils Wogram, Ernst Reijseger, Cor Fuhler, Matt Penman, Michael Sarin and Simon Nabatov.

Simon Nabatov has taught at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen (1989-1991) and at the International Jazz and Rock Academy, Remscheid (1991-1993), both in Germany. From 1998 to 2001 he taught at the Musikhochschule Luzern, Switzerland.

Since 1989 he resides predominantly in Cologne, Germany, but keeps an apartment and a part of his heart in New York.

pascal niggenkemper

double bass

German-french bassist PASCAL NIGGENKEMPER played from early age on the violin and the piano. At the age of 17, he experienced the impact of improvised music and started to play the double bass.

In 1999 he moved to Cologne where he studied jazz and classical double bass at the Hochschule für Musik. He coleaded the audio visual dance project Turbo Pascale. This formation toured Germany, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and France, as well as appeared at Festivals such as the Moers Festival, Jazzmesse “Jazzahead Bremen“ and the "WDR Jazznight" with live radio broadcast on WDR Radio.

In 2005 Pascal Niggenkemper was granted the DAAD Award and moved to New York.

It is in NY that Pascal met Robin Verheyen and Tyshawn Sorey and formed the PNTrio. The trio recorded the CD "pasàpas" (Konnex 2008) and “urban creatures” (JazzHausMusik 2010). PNTrio toured extensively in Europe (Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria) They performed at the Jazzcologne Festival and the Jazzherbst Konstanz. Their performances were recorded for the WDR and the BR Radio. In June 2010 the Trio performed at the Kenedy Center in Washington.

With guitar player Scott DuBois and drummer Jeff Davis Pascal formed the group pascal’s newﬁeld, that explores an area where post-modern jazz aesthetic, rock music and contemporary classic music fuse together. The group toured in 2009 in Europe and will release the new CD 'metamorphose’, documenting this work soon.

Pascal is also coleading the groups BaLoNi and Rosco Paje. With Frantz Loriot and friends, Pascal curates in NY the house concert series ze couch, where every two weeks artits meet to present their work. He is a member of Thomas Heberer’s Clarino, Jean Carla Rodea’s Azares, Joe Hertenstein’s HNH (HNH on clean feed 2010) and Carlo Costa’s Minerva.

Festival presece includes: Vision Festival, Viersen Jazz Festival, Strade del Cinema, Jazzcologne, NewAdits, Font, Moers etc...

He has played with musicians such as Louis Sclavis, Wolfgang Puschnig, Henning Berg, Claudio Puntin, Frank Gratkowski, Robin Verheyen, Scott DuBois, Gunther Schuller, Rudi Mahall, Terrence N’Gassa, Lionel Loueke, Phil Woods, Arve Henriksen, Frantz Loriot, Hans Lüdemann, Jeff Davis, Billy Harper, Thomas Heberer, Kris Davis, Beñat Achiary, Eddie Daniels, Jean-Paul Dessy, Daniel Carter, Joachim Badenhorst, Maria Schneider, Simon Nabatov, Gerald Cleaver, Steve Slagle, Tyshawn Sorey.

UPCOMING HURRICANE is a new group in a traditional form, a particular concatenation of musicians that gelled with remarkable speed and which brings its own strong personality to the idea of the piano trio. It has a layered rhythmic dynamism that comes directly from the tradition and the exploding, unfettered energy of free improvisation. It was the young bassist Pascal Niggenkemper’s idea to put together this band with the brilliant veterans Simon Nabatov and Gerald Cleaver, and it’s a sign of both Niggenkemper’s skills and his prescience that the group possesses the depth, vitality and vision that it has.

For his part, Niggenkemper emphasizes the importance of this recording for his own voice: “This recording was important for me. It is a step to free myself up and to give the listener something that can't be measured or evaluated, with no pre-thoughts or compositions or grids. I need to go beyond that. This is a record that follows intuition. It’s a rite--a communication that is very direct, avoiding preconceived ideas, patterns or cliché. That's why it is related to something mystical, personal. If you take out the musical vocabulary, the trio plays music that could have been played by our ancestors.”

Listening to the playbacks, Niggenkemper kept coming back to the group’s special sense of movement, finding in the idea of wind a force that “reflects the spirit of our recording, a natural power that can be found in the trio’s communication. It’s a metaphor that reflects the way we communicate: sometimes very dense and strong over long passages, sometimes light, changing the texture. Furthermore we’re all from different continents and cultures: wind can be seen as a vehicle or link that connects us. It’s also a universal metaphor for freedom which we aim for in the improvisations. The idea of the wind corresponds to my aspiration to communicate freely with other musicians.”

Each of Niggenkemper’s striking titles invokes another element of wind and the closely related idea of flight, until one realizes that this afternoon of improvised dialogues is in itself a coherent suite, a set of inspirations passed back and forth as three remarkable improvisers become a band. “Pusteblume,“ which grows from Niggenkemper’s beautiful arco introduction (his tone hints initially at a soprano saxophone), is the blow-ball of a dandelion, the sudden explosion in air of new seed. “Upcoming Hurricane” may be self-explanatory, but the extended improvisation goes to the core of this group’s identity, first suggesting to this reviewer the parallel of Money Jungle, by the singular trio of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Here there’s a similar energy and a similar sense of dialogue, growing to a mounting tempest of musical lines with Niggenkemper’s almost vocal bass (“Mingus is my hero,” he exclaims, when I mention the resemblance) chewing through the thunder and lightning of the piano and drums.

“Arbol de PIedra” refers to a startling rock formation in Bolivia in which the wind has blown away the surrounding sand to reveal a rock that bears remarkable resemblance to a tree. “Aeolus”, invoking the god of the winds in Greek mythology, is the sole composed figure here. Nabatov takes the initial phrase and builds it into a vast edifice that ultimately collapses at once into chaos and lyricism. “Fighting the Mill,” referring to Don Quixote’s adventure with the windmill, shows the trio’s talent for extended timbral development, a looming resonance joining piano strings, bowed bass and the light-filled touch of Cleaver’s cymbals in which all is a kind of anticipation.

“Rahonavis,” named for a small and bird-like dinosaur, may suggest flight in the very spaciousness that the three manage to develop, parts developing in isolation then suddenly converging, one musician’s phrase suddenly spinning into collective movement. “Mongolfière” refers to the French balloon and the dawn of manned flight, fitting metaphor for the way the trio takes flight here, and fitting image for the way the group is able to play at the limits of control—making sustained flights that continue to develop a sense of expanding coherence.

Listening to the sparks ignited in the group’s first meeting that afternoon in Köln testifies both to the group’s creative spontaneity and its special potential.

Stuart Broomer