TRACK LIST:
1. A New Hymn 7:07
2. A First Line Afterwards 7:02
3. A So-Called Suite 6:50
4. A September Tune 5:50
5. A Symmetrical Scale 8:02
- Neolithicum Surprise
6. Strahlen Spezial 1:01
7. Improvisation B1, 0:25
8. Eisen 3, 0:57
9. Improvisation B2, 0:07
10. Eisen 5, 0:43
11. Improvisation A1, 0:15
12. Eisen 6, 0:55
13. Improvisation C1, 0:49
14. Eisen 7, 0:44
15. Rekonstruktion 1, 0:49
16. Eisen 8 & 10, 0:54
17. Eisen 9 & 11, 1:00
18. Eisen 12, 1:19
19. Rekonstruktion 2, 1:10
20. Improvisation C2, 1:27
21. For Jean, 1:21
22. Happiness IV Original, 2:07
LINE UP :
Markus Stauss - saxophones, percussion, electronics, loops
Remy Strauli - drums
Damien Campion - bass
Richard Koch - trumpet
Prolusion.
Swiss composer and musician Markus Stauss has a long career as a creator of music with more of an experimental and avant garde nature, approach and execution. With the saxophone as what seems to be his main instrument among many, he has a number of solo albums and collaborative efforts to his name. The album "5 Compositions 2017-19 / Neolithicum Surprise" dates back to 2019, and was released through Stauss own label Markus Stauss Music.
Analysis.
Of all the albums I have tried to describe in words over the years, this latest production of his is the most welcoming and approachable by far. On occasion a word like accessible actually comes to mind, although this will obviously have to be understood within the specific context of the matter at hand. The material here is still safely within an avant-garde tradition, the expressive features are still very much present, and you won't have to listen for long to encounter experimental details either. But the total experience here is one that is much more listener friendly.
We get whimsical instrument details on the opening 'A New Hymn' and melody lines and reverberations that gave me associations to Bavarian music, snippets of music that wouldn't have been out of place in a bierstube. Driving bass lines are a feature here and there, one of them with a beefy distorted tone to it that wouldn't have been out of place on a metal album. Solemn, mournful harmony surges of the kind that would have been a perfect lament in a funeral procession is a part of the total experience too. But in between those details as well as some more distinct traditional and melodic jazz runs we also get flamboyant and frivolous jazz of a more experimental nature. Sometimes adding a dramatic punch that enriches the composition, on other occasions as a more abrasive presence of the kind that will have a more limited appeal. This mix and blend as well as ebb and flow between more broadly appealing parts and more challenging escapades adds a new dimension to the landscapes explored by Stauss for me. If that is because I do not know enough about his past exploits or if this is a new development for him as a creator I don't know, but as a listener I do find this to be refreshing.
The second part of this album, "Neolithicum Surprise", is also a surprisingly approachable creation. For my sake I was most taken with the rhythm oriented parts of this performance due to the subtle tribal nature explored in these, combined with the development and subsequent unravelling of patterns and the light toned, cold tone reverberations that are central in these parts. But the focus on tones, moods and atmospheres in this performance, recorded at an art exhibition if I understand the liner notes correctly, also makes this a composition with a more accessible nature overall. Again with the word accessible used within the context of expressive and experimental music of course.
Conclusion.
The most challenging aspect of this album is possibly the name, as "5 Compositions 2017-19 / Neolithicum Surprise" is a title that sounds more like the name of a thesis than the name of an album, complete with some dry university style humor. But for those willing to look beyond a dry album title, they will discover a surprisingly approachable variety of expressive and experimental jazz. One that for me sounds like a good album to have a go at for those who want to start investigating the more challenging aspects of jazz and avant garde music, but want to take the first steps with a more welcoming and inviting aspect of this type of music.
