fakejazz.com

Since the explosion of FMP, Brötzmann, and the crew that supported the Total Music Meeting, Berlin hasalways been a city with a strong tradition in avant-garde jazz. The more recent crops of musicians have yielded players like Annette Krebs, Andrea Neumann, and Axel Dörner. Schraum, a label founded by Merle Ehlers, Axel Haller, and Torsten Papenheim, is a new voice in the documentation of Berlin’s contemporary sound. Their debut release features Kainkwatett,a trio of Papenheim (guitar), Haller(bass), and fellow Berliner Antoine Chessex (saxophone). The group step carefully, with well-tempered improvisation that focuses on the understated and unrefined. Though it sounds as though every musical gesture made by the trio is the product of planning and intent, Kainkwatett are able to leave their music sounding rough, almost industrial. It’s not all that far from the output of the Berliner contemporaries mentioned above, though this disc isn’t simply a rehash of ideas previously stated by others. With seven untitled tracks in forty-five minutes, Kainkwatett isn’t always able to avoid re-treading their own musical paths, though their sense of nuance is a frequent savior when things could be found too monotonous. Some significant shifts in momentum might, to the listener, seem rather minute, but, in the terms of Kainkwatett’s rather suppressed style, they’re as blatantly eventful as things are going to get, and that’s not a bad thing. More blustery improv can be full of missteps and unintentional expulsions, and though these aren’t necessarily negatives, Kainkwatett’s music and its deliberate nature make musical economy quite attractive. Whether these three will find the success and distribution some of their city-mates have has yet to be seen, though, this disc is a more than adequate start.

Kainkwatett at Amazon & Insound