Achim Seiffarth

Am 28. Januar 2024 feiert Achim Reichel seinen 80. Geburtstag und blickt dabei auf eine beispiellose Karriere zurück, die in Deutschland ihresgleichen sucht.

During the last years, Kalle and I had the opportunity to work on original duo music without much pressure from outside and finally recorded this program in September 2022.I have always enjoyed listening to and exploring ensemble music that uses multiple instruments being capable of providing harmonic information.This certainly requires deep listening on various levels - pitch-wise, chord-wise, register-wise, rhythmically and texturally.The duo combination of piano and acoustic guitar puts these possibilities and challenges under a magnifying glass. The analogy of a "meta-instrument" seems especially fitting for this combination which showcases two instruments with very different properties that still make a lot of textural overlaps possible. Ideally their sounds blend into each other, one seems like an extension of the other.

Achim Kaufmann and Yorgos Dimitriadis present their duo for piano and drums/microphones… 'For many years, Achim Kaufmann has been one of the most inspiring and exciting personalities of the European jazz and improvisation scene. His music bears witness to great harmonic subtlety and structural depth. A brilliant pianist and composer, his reflected exploration of tradition has led him to a nuanced, contemporary sound language that encompasses poetry, energy and abstraction in equal measure.' - Julia Neupert, SWR Radio Yorgos Dimitriadis is a Berlin based percussionist, improviser, active in the fields of improvised music and contemporary jazz. In his original solo work he uses drums, cymbals and microphones to compose in real time sonic landscapes, with the emphasis in timbre, sound color and long durations.

"The new album is an approach to my Turkish roots. From several hundred pieces, I then selected these five and arranged them."

Der Klang des Jazz in einer außerordentlich farbenreichen Form. Das ACHIM KIRCHMAIR TRIO begibt sich auf seinem neuen Album „Going to Ladakh“ (O-Tone Music/VÖ: 6.4.) auf eine musikalische Reise, die auf aufregende und stilistisch grenzüberschreitende Weise durch die weite Welt des Jazz führt.

Wer mit Trilok Gurtu durch Europa getourt ist, hat vertrackte Rhythmen im Blut. Durch seinen Schlagzeug spielenden Vater kam der deutsch-türkisch stämmige Bassist Achim Seifert schon als Kind mit Einflüssen orientalischer Musik in Berührung. Er studierte Bass in Hannover und im Rahmen eines Stipendiums auch am legendären Berklee College of Music in Boston. Auch auf seinem neuen Album „VERSUS“ sind Einflüsse von Fusion, Drum´n Bass und kleine Anleihen an Jaco Pastorious zu hören. 2016 wurde er für den „ECHO-JAZZ“- Award „Bester Bassist National“ nominiert.

"On the first listen to this album I sensed that it would be a strong contender for 5 stars. It's an album that covers everything interesting and important in improvised music. It explores, swings, uses dissonance, melody, it surprises and delights you. In fact it's a lesson in what's not being taught in jazz conservatories world wide, how to make individual music that blurs boundaries and shows a sense of tradition. (…) In part the success—of the trio and the CD—is in the groups ability to play music which although rhythmically complex sounds so natural, almost like a magician who makes the impossible look so easy. The album is also very musical, not at all distant, making for very enjoyable but stimulating listening. An excellent album which is highly recommended, and possibly my choice of album of the year?"

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper called him the most daring of the German pianists, and Jazz Podium magazine extolled, He conjures up new visions in sound. Born in Aachen, Germany and now living in Berlin, pianist Achim Kaufmann is a seeker and discoverer whose music is a continual adventure. It doesnt matter whether he and his trio spin musical reflections on the experience of surviving a tornado, as was the case on his earlier Pirouet CD Kyrill, or, as in this solo recording, he ranges through diverse worlds, creating a unique musical intensity. Later deals subtly with the various influences, from Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett (Dominoes) and Bob Dylan (Its All Over Now Baby Blue), a piece Kaufmann handles with repose and spare tonalities. Jazz piano tradition flows through interpretations of Ellington, Monk and Herbie Nichols tunes, and, in five original compositions, Kaufmann browses through his own fascinating musical world.

Am 28. Januar 2024 feiert Achim Reichel seinen 80. Geburtstag und blickt dabei auf eine beispiellose Karriere zurück, die in Deutschland ihresgleichen sucht.