Jürg Solothurnmann ts, as, ss
selected discography

 

Uepsilon: Head in the Clouds (Unit)
Alpine Jazz Herd: Swiss Flavor (Unit)
Urs Blöchlinger: Don't Call Back We Let You Know (Unit)

Nat's Limp Dance First Aid Band (Plainisphare)
 

Alpine Jazz Herd: Alpine Two (Unit)
John Fischer: Swiss Radio Days IV (ReEntry)

Gridlock Ended Agasul Orchester: No Turning Back (Unit Records)
A deeper Season than Reason

A Deeper Season than Reason.
Alive According To E. E. Cummings
(Unit Records)
UTR 4127 CD

Septemberwinds

Septemberwinds
Hans Anliker
Evan Parker
Peter A. Schmidt
Reto Senn
Jürg Solothurnmann
Double-CD
Creative Works Records
CW 1038/39

Parker and this Swiss improvising wind quartet first joined forces in 2000 for a three-day session in a disused water cistern above Zürich. Their reunion occurred two years later - again in September, as it happened - in the similarly resonant acoustic of the Kirche Erlenbach (a protestant church near Zürich)

Septemberwinds

Alder Brook (recorded 2002)
Leo Records CD LR 379
It's dynamite. September Winds consists of Peter A. Schmid (bass cl., contrabass cl., contrabass sax & taragot); Hans Anliker (trb.); Jurg Solothurnmann (alto & sop. sax); and Reto Senn (cl., bass cl. & taragot). The disc, recorded live at the highly resonant Kirche Erlenbach, is naturally lush and enveloping, and the music is unfailingly gorgeous. There are eleven improvised pieces here, ranging from about 2.5 minutes to over eleven, but the inspiration, perhaps because of the magnificent aural environment, perhaps because of the aggregation of tremendous talent (…) never flags… Each artist had that one day he'd been dreaming about all his life until then: the day when every passage danced like a thousand butterflies
Walter Horn, Bagatellen.com

There are eleven pieces here for the quintet, three trios and a duet. Much of these explorations sound partially composed since there is a great deal in intense listening and responding, hence very focused and inter-connected in the way they weave their tapestries together. There is a warm and suspense-filled spaciousness here, as they take their time, the textures become more dense….The quintet do a wonderful job of taking their time to stretch out certain resonant notes so that one can feel/observe their textures which often float on space, providing rich and haunting harmonies as they sustain sounds and drone together. Each musician appears to get a chance to lead and navigate the rapids, each shines in their own way. Another superb offering from the great Leo network.
Downtown Music Galery.com

Die Parkersche Mischung aus rasend schneller Artikulation und Obertönen ist unverkennbar, passt sich aber immer stärker jenen statisch wirkenden Klangflächen an, im Falle von September Winds, einem Bläser-Quartett mit Peter A. Schmid und Jürg Solothurnmann. Wie in Luftsäulen eingeschlossen tanzen und treiben die Tonstoff-Moleküle auf und ab, sie verändern ihre Farben, leuchten und verglimmen. Evan Parker nimmt sich zurück, und immer größer wird der Raum. Beschränkung führt zur Expansion.
Konrad Heidkamp, Die Zeit, 2003/51

The first two recordings were done in very resounding places - a disused underground water cistern and a church. The concept for the 3rd CD (2004) was quite different. It was recorded in the dryer environment of a professional recording studio and the improvisations were kept very short.

Shortstories

Short Stories (recorded 2004)
Leo Records CD LR 428

"September Winds" is a group of rare dimension. The chemistry is perfect. Short Stories represents a radical departure from the concept of the first CD. Recorded on the day following the tour of six concerts, the group goes for short takes - - 23 all in all - - sounding like highlights of more extended improvisations.
cityhallrecords.com
Significantly, Parker doesn't dominate the group; each player is simply so advanced that they comfortably settle into an exquisite balance with each other. From the Dixieland exuberance of the almost Hemphillian "Anton au gare (5)" to the faltering drone whispers of "Echoes & Shadows" and the splat-pulse tug-of-war of "Moorhuhnjagd", this disc has rare breadth and truly bursts from the seams with the limitless creativity of these musicians.
Michael Anton Parker, Downtown Music Gallery NYC

It's a startlingly hilarious blend of Boulez and jungle-era Ellington, the opening chromatic saxophone flourish and succeeding cadenza, dripping with vibrato and 1930s nostalgia, being complimented by growling muted trombone. A poignantly climactic moment of "harmony" drives the point home, and like many of the other tracks, this one simply stops, the space between pieces becoming as important as the music. The longest piece here is about five minutes, the shortest-also the last-is a 44-second romp through serialized Dixieland again, appropriately entitled "Fresh Ending". It is just that, but I was left wishing for more. This disc is tons of transcendental fun, impossible to absorb but never unapproachable, and I'm left hoping for a sequel.
Marc Medwin, onefinalnote.com

The album ends on a cheeky note: "Fresh Ending" is filled with delighted hoots and squeals, sending you on your way in delirious, exuberant fashion. September Winds' records always make for inviting listening, but brevity seems to have honed their chops even sharper. Short is definitely sweet on Short Stories.
Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine Online

Die wie aus einem Guss wirkenden Stücke sind aber nicht notiert, sondern haben trotz ihrer Kürze keinen Wiederholungscharakter, können also an anderer Stelle durchaus anders klingen. Das Zusammenwirken der klanglich so kontrastreichen Bläserinstrumente scheint derartig perfekt und konturenreich, dass in einigen Stücken binnen kurzem fast hypnotische Momente einstellen, die indische Musik, europäische Klänge und vor allem frei-improvisierten Jazz nahtlos miteinander verschmelzen lassen, ein Anliegen, dem sich Jürg Solothurnmann schon seit Jahren verschrieben hat.
Ulfert Goeman, Jazz Podium 2005/10

Potage du Jour Potage du Jour, recorded live at Alte Kirche Boswil, 2003, and at Theatre Nordbahnhof Basel, 2004
Leo Records CD LR 443

The first CD by the stalwarts of the Swiss new music scene: Jürg Solothurnmann - soprano and alto sax, Franziska Baumann - voice, Christoph Baumann - piano. The trio Potage du Jour was formed in 1999 after an exciting improvised session. Since then nobody can predict what the ingredients of their next soup will be when they start cooking. Their recipe is constantly changing and depends on their experiences in other "kitchens" such as modern classical music, jazz, salsa, film & theatre music, live-electronics and music performance. At every performance they strive for a coherent musical statement. Call it instant composing.



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