Saturday, September 8, 2012

New From Nils

Nils Wogram Septet, Complete Soul
NWog Records

Nils Wogram - trombone
Stephan Meinberg - trumpet
Claudio Puntin - clarinet
Frank Speer - alto sax
Tilman Ehrhorn - tenor sax
Steffen Schorn - bass clarinet, baritone sax
John Schröder - drums

An unusual lineup from Nils, 4 reeds, 2 brass plus drums. From the description on the site of his new self-owned label, I gather he wrote and arranged all the selections. As he puts it, "...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."

The compositions on Soul have a circular feel to them, like you're hearing a different facet each time a section comes back into view. Some reminded me of the way Mingus arranged for horns, with the prominent trombone and the languid bluesy feel. Other compositions had more of a Balkans influence to them. There are sections where the drums lay out that emphasize the wind ensemble, and other sections that have a lot of rhythmic drive. It's a record that I immediately played again after it finished, because I wanted to figure out what was going on.

This is one of the strongest albums I've heard from Wogram, and it could be the start of a new chapter in his career, as I haven't heard arrangements this complex and engaging from him before.

Nils Wogram & Simon Nabatov, Moods & Modes
NWog Records

Nils Wogram - trombone
Simon Nabatov - piano

No one brings out the best in Nils Wogram's playing like Simon Nabatov. This is at least the third duo album the two have recorded, and it's a little jem. Rather than being freely-improvised, Moods & Modes splits compositional duties between the two of them, with 4 selections from Wogram and 5 from Nabatov. It's a joy to hear two artists so closely in sync, whether playing themes in unison or engaging in spirited back- and- forth exchanges in the improvised sections.

No comments:

Post a Comment