"Descriptions" Leo Records 2013
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Jazz Word May 2014 „Descriptions“ ... captures the newest chapter of interactions between Schubert and Russian-American pianist Simon Nabatov. Working on-and-off together for years, often in bands with other participants, the two have also been playing as duo since the mid-1980s.“ „... acoustic piano and saxophone sequences ... sort themselves into 10 duos or descriptions on the Nabatov-Schubert session. Each track appears to have a precise function, demonstrating the outstanding improvisational excursions of each and/or appropriate ripostes to the other performer’s notions. Endlessly fascinating, Nabatov’s inside string plucking or keyboard caressing brings forth Schubert’s decision to confront staccato piano timbres with Aylerian harshness or mirror measured chording with Getzian smoothness. Broken tones radiate from each man’s playing whether melodious or stark timbres define the tracks. A tune such as “Obliqueness” can mutate from low-key inner-horn breaths plus piano soundboard slices and plucks, to a unique interface that excitedly matches shofar-like tones with hard-handed keyboard thumps. In contrast a piece such as “Accordance” ends the recital with tones so wispy they figuratively blow away after Nabatov’s sympathetic chording dissolves Schubert’s initial sharp tones.“
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AllAboutJazz January 2014
Descriptions marks the initial alliance of venerable European improvisers, tenor saxophonist Matthias Schubert and pianist Simon Nabatov. Recorded live at a venue in Cologne, Germany, the musicians plan their modalities on descriptive nouns, which is an interesting proposition that tenders food for thought on a per-track basis. They mold song forms based on ephemeral or lengthy interpretations of a descriptive word. Nonetheless, the program is a composite of penetrating and forward-looking dialogues complete with asymmetrical sensibilities framed on introspection, oscillating or rumbling movements and incongruent tonal swashes. They even mimic the sounds of nature in a few spots, while occasionally delving into microtonal terrain. Glenn Astarita |
Bad Alchemy December 2013 Der Kasseler Saxophonist MATTHIAS SCHUBERT und der aus Moskau stammende Pianist SIMON NABATOV lernten sich 1984 kennen, fern ihrer Heimat, in New York. In den 90er spielten sie in Manfred Bründls Basslab und in Schuberts Quartett zusammen, und neuerdings dann wieder in Nabatovs 'Roundup'-Projekt und im Trio mit Ernst Reijseger. Ihre Duette blieben jedoch bislang undokumentiert, so dass Descriptions (LR 686) da eine Lücke schließt. Eingefangen ist ihr launiges Miteinander am 14.5.2012 im Kölner LOFT, wo sonst. Zuerst fächern sie in kurzen Skizzen ihr Klangspektrum auf. Um dann bei 'enrichment' erst geräuschverliebt mit nahezu tonlosem Hauch und Innenklaviereffekten und dann mit gedämpfter Poesie tiefer in medias res zu gehen. Nabatov leitet mit kristallin schimmernden Einzelnoten über in das ausgedehnte 'expansion', mit silbern quirliger Tonleiterakrobatik und Luftschlangen des Tenors. Aber doch auch mit Niedrigwasser, bei der Nabatov mit der Linken Grundberührung hat, während die Rechte schon ganz auf dem Trockenen liegt, und Schubert aus 'tonlosen' Untiefen nur allmählich wieder in Fahrt kommt. Dann aber gleich in große, mit strudelndem Kielwasser. 'Obliqueness' trägt introspektive Züge, die Nabatov mit elegischen Noten unterstreicht, um plötzlich wild um sich zu schlagen. Doch der rebellische Gestus versinkt wieder nachdenklich, aber mit unverzagt schweifendem Tenor. 'Inhibition' wird lange von bruitistischem Geschlürfe, Geschrille und Gezülle und einfallsreichem Klimbim bestimmt, und Schubert 'seufzt-singt' sogar urmelig ums Mundstück rum, wobei ihn Nabatovs Linke dunkel betupft. Umso lauthalser hummelt, umso spritziger perlt danach 'brashness', bevor 'accordance' ein letztes Mal den Klangraum auslotet - mit Saxophonecholot und Phantomdröhnwellen, denen sich Schubert angleicht, während Nabatov feine Töne perlt und im Klavierinnern dongt. Ganz sublim. [BA 80 rbd] Rigobert Dittmann |
JazzViewsCdReviews March 2014 The ten tracks of this album are given seemingly obscure names, Discretion, Brashness, for example, but are indicators of an approach to creating a structure in which each title is fashioned around the sense of the word. Their vividly creative, musical imaginations see them envisioning the implications of their efforts, revisiting them and using their new perceptions to extend their descriptions. There is mutual association and understanding between the two musicians which generates a strange calligraphy that discloses a familial resemblance between the aural interpretations and the words as Ken Cheetam |
All About Jazz Italy March 2014 Si conoscevano e frequentavano da quasi trent'anni ma, sino a oggi, nonostante i tanti concerti, non avevano mai avuto la possibilità di incrociare i propri strumenti registrando anche un disco insieme. Per fortuna loro e nostra il signor "risolvo i problemi" Leo Feigin, strabiliante mente operativa e produttiva di una buona metà della musica di ricerca del pianeta da mezzo secolo a questa parte, ci metta la pezza e pubblica questo Descriptions che traduce in pensiero digitale la particolare energia e la forza espressiva di Simon Nabatov e Matthias Schubert.
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Percorsi Musicali Italy January 2014 Se l'obiettivo della musica è quello di fornire anche un'aspetto visivo o rappresentare un sentimento, allora niente di meglio che cercare di renderlo esplicito attraverso procedimenti descrittivi tali da potersi insinuare nella psicologia dell'ascoltatore. Il duo tra il pianista russo Simon Nabatov e il sassofonista tedesco Matthias Schubert ha molto da corrispondere a questo principio: i due, singolarmente, sono da considerarsi allo stato attuale, due dei più profondi esploratori dei loro strumenti in chiave improvvisativa: Schubert ha condotto studi comparativi allo scopo di coniugare l'improvvisazione libera con le tecniche compositive di Lachenmann, per contro Nabatov ha cercato di approfondire i legami dell'improvvisazione libera (con tutti i suoi crismi) con la capacità immaginativa della letteratura scritta.
Ettore Garzia |
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Monsieur Delire January 2014 Premier disque en duo de Matthias Schubert (saxo ténor) et Simon Nabatov (piano), mais ils se fréquentent depuis 30 ans. Enregistré au LOFT à Cologne en mai 2012, ce set touche à toutes les cordes de ces deux musiciens: énergie, tendresse, jazz, improvisation non idiomatique. Les pièces plus courtes sont les plus réussies, et la finale “Accordance” nous ramène délicatement sur terre.
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CultureJazz France 2014 Un autre duo réunit deux maîtres de l’improvisation, le pianiste Simon Nabatov (Leo Records Panorama 1) qu’on ne présente plus, et le saxophoniste allemand Matthias Schubert. Alors qu’ils ont commencé à jouer ensemble il y a près de 30 ans, ils enregistrent en duo pour la première fois. Les dix Descriptions improvisées permettent d’apprécier le discours sinueux du saxo-ténor et le piano enveloppant, orchestral, de Nabatov. Leurs jeux réciproques, contrôlés, voire opposés mais parfaitement complémentaires vont à l’aventure avec une rare maîtrise. |
London Jazz News 2014 German saxophonist Matthias Schubert met the Russian pianist Simon Nabatov in New York in 1984, when they were in their mid-20s. They worked together in various groups over the years, but Descriptions – recorded live at Loft in Cologne in May 2012 – is their first duet release. The concert bears the hallmarks of a pair who know each other well (Nabatov has been based in Cologne since 1989), and Nick Duvidowski’s liner essay astutely observes that Schubert and Nabatov avoid “the clichés of improvised music, that of tending to behave like a flock of birds, always flying and turning together”. And so it is that some of the session comes across as more of a kerfuffle than a conversation, making a variously fascinating and challenging experience. The ten improvisations vary in length from less than two minutes to almost 17. Schubert displays a wide spectrum of expression: gruffness on Insistence, kissing and spluttering during Inhibition, and “normal” tone production on Obliqueness. The piano’s capability for variety may be more restricted, but Nabatov creates koto-like passages, odd muffled effects, creaking and knocking as he manipulates the strings, keyboard and woodwork. Enhancement begins with a rising arpeggio by Nabatov that is reflected in a falling figure from Schubert. A harnessed vamp is interrupted by an interlude that sets a repetitive saxophone riff against hard hitting, Don Pullen-like piano, before it dissolves towards conciliation. During Enrichment, the tenor is hissy and urgently slap-tongued, while the piano is muted and its strings are carefully plucked and strummed. There are tinkling chords, moments of stasis, and a few odd noises that seem as if they couldn’t possibly have been produced by the tools at hand. The longest track, Expansion, is relatively straightforward at first - and almost pretty at times - although it remains jolly difficult to see exactly how the players are relating to each other. The clicking of the saxophone’s levers is pitted against the rumbling piano; then there’s a section in which “avant garde fours” are exchanged as Schubert alternates conventional and whooshing sounds between Nabatov’s phrases. The sax fixes on lengthy notes that become unsteady and turbulent as the piano tumbles underneath, and together they build to a loud and violent climax. Common ground is eventually found, and calm prevails at the conclusion. It’s unlikely to impress your girlfriend’s parents when they come over for dinner, but this is demanding, thought-provoking stuff from two leading exponents of European free jazz.
Andy Boeckstaens |
Improjazzmag France May 2014 Le ténor de l’un pourrait-il être plus rauque, plus éraillé? Le piano du deuxième pourrait-il être plus sensible, plus médiateur? Matthias Schubert et Simon Nabatov enregistrent en duo pour la première fois et leur complicité semble durer depuis des siècles. Leurs courtes improvisations étonnent : une figure est énoncée, rarement cultivée. On entre dans le vif du sujet et on l’abandonne rapidement. Il y a frustration mais il y a aussi présence et impact. Leurs plus longues improvisations ravissent : on navigue entre microtonalité et essences salivaires. Le sax est guilleret, ludique. Le piano fait acte de tendresse et de violence. On se déleste et on s’abandonne. On passe du bourdon au cri. On engage un motif, on le répète et on le décline en plusieurs tonalités-couleurs. On imite on ne sait quel volatile et on lui invente un nouveau charivari. On bouscule le contrepoint et l’entretoise. Et puisque l’on aime étonner, on se quitte en notes lentes et anxieuses. Et on se dit alors que le meilleur est avenir.
Luc Bouquet |