Sha's Banryu «» Chessboxing Volume One (2008) |
Sha's Banryu «» Chessboxing Volume One (2008)
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Album release: May 1, 2008/CH Release: 22. April 2008
Vertrieb CH: MV
LC: 15239, RON 007, EAN: 7640105942633
Record Label: Ronin Rhythm Records 007
Duration: 56:22
Tracks:
1. 012. 05:11
2. 050. 05:09
3. 030. 11:36
4. 042. 11:18
5. 031. 06:14
6. 044. 09:56
7. 045. 07:00
Members:
¤ Thomas Tavano: bass
¤ Isa Wiss: vocals
¤ Sha: Bassclarinet, Contrabassclarinet, Alto saxophone, Khen
¤ Julian Sartorius: drums
¤ Mik Keusen: piano
CREDITS:
¤ All music composed by Sha, lyrics by Isa Wiss, arranged by Sha and Banryu
¤ Album produced by Sha
¤ Recorded by Hanspeter Ehrsam at Radiostudio Zürich May 2007
¤ Mixed and Mastered by Andi Pupato and Sha
¤ Executive produced by Peter Bürli DRS 2, Stadt and Kanton Bern, Urs Haslebacher
Photography by Martin Möll, Cover Design by Marc Beekhuis, Publishing by Ronin Rhythm Productions
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mybanryu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shas-Banryu/73612498209
Press contact:
International press about Sha:
• "Sha takes alto saxophone solos of the most outspoken sort.“ — Nils Jacobson www.popmatters.com USA
• "Sha brillierte durch ein klanglich stupendes Solo auf der imposanten Kontrabass-Klarinette.“ — Ueli Bernays NZZ CH
• "Sha's bass clarinet haloed everything in mysterious ambient soundwashes“. — Stuart Nicholson The Observer UK
• "Whenever the monosyllabically named Sha steps into the spotlight, the reed player evokes the
modal improvisations of musicians like John Coltrane and Jan Garbarek." — Brent Burton Washington City Paper USA
• "Multi-reedist Sha is essential to the Ronin experience. He plays mostly bass and contrabass
clarinets, and his contribution is by and large almost subliminal: low rumbles and distance groans
that fill in the open spaces in tight textures. But on “Modul 45” he wails in on alto sax, like a
banshee trying to charm a cobra." — Dan McClenaghan www.allaboutjazz.com USA
Description:
• ”R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient”, is Sha’s (*1983) answer to the question about influences on his music. Isa Wiss (vocals), Mik Keusen (piano), Thomas Tavano (bass) und Julian Sartorius (drums) have been working with him in his band Banryu since 2004 and with 'Chessboxing Volume One' are now presenting their first album.
All the pieces of music were composed by Sha during the past few years, the lyrics of the first song being made up by Isa Wiss. They are titled with numbers only, and their poetic and energetic message unfolds with their sound, form and groove.
During the past years, Sha has gained a considerable amount of international experience playing bass and contrabass clarinets, especially with Nik Bartsch’s Ronin but also with Mik Keusen’s Blau. With his own band, he shows additional facets to his art of making music and plays more frequently alto sax and the Asian khen in addition to the bass clarinets. With the description ’Volume One’, Sha announces, with that ironic seriousness typical of him, that musical chessboxing could become a future discipline.
REVIEW
By JOHN KELMAN, Published: October 7, 2008
• With a group possessing as strong and unique an identity as Swiss pianist Nik Bartsch's Ronin—heard most recently on the remarkable Holon (ECM, 2008) and in performance in Kristiansand, Norway at Punkt 08—It's not surprising that the debut album by its reedman Sha possesses many of the same characteristics. Ronin, after all, is more than just a group; it's a musical philosophy combining minimalist tendencies with deep grooves and improvisation so subtle that it's at a near subconscious level. Chessboxing Volume One, by Sha's Banyru quintet, takes Ronin's "Ritual Groove Music" and moves it in a different direction, the result of a new combination of instruments and an approach more heavily weighted towards lean melody.
• Perhaps it's because Sha's instruments—alto sax, bass clarinet and Vietnamese khen (a bamboo pipe-based wind instrument)—linear as they are, lend themselves to melody which, with Sha in the writer's chair, become a greater focus. Banryu also features vocalist Isa Wiss who, with the exception of the opening "012" where she creates lyrics on the fly, plays a wordless melodic foil to Sha's instruments. While repetition and percussion play a large part in Banryu's sound, they're generally less aggressive than Ronin's piano/bass/drums/percussion/reeds lineup. It's impossible not to feel the funk here, but drummer Julian Sartorius is less assertive than Ronin's Kaspar Rast, with a backbeat that's pervasive but doesn't share the same sharp snap.
• There's also an ethereal, atmospheric nature to Banryu that differentiates it from Ronin. At the end of "030," the reeds and voice are coated with reverb, as they move towards the stratosphere while Sartorius, bassist Thomas Tavano and pianist Mik Keusen play ever more delicately, ultimately fading to black. "042" begins with deep bass harmonics, again drenched in reverb and other electronics, creating lush chordal swells as Keusen enters with a single note in a repeated, shifting meter. As Tavano counters with a contrapuntal polyrhythm and Sartorius creates a delicate cymbal pulse, Sha joins with a dark, eastern-tinged melody that leads to one of his most delineated solos of the set. Still, as with Ronin, there's a focus here that avoids anything resembling reckless abandon, instead a more considered approach that blurs the line between form and freedom.
• Still, there's no denying Banryu's uncanny nexus of the hypnotic and the booty-shaking. "030" may fade to dark at the end of its 11-minute run, and it may begin softly, with Sha and Wiss wrapping soft, long lines around Keusen's iterative playing. But at its core, when Tavano enters, it's a visceral piece of odd-metered funk that's equally cerebral—music that finds the perfect balance between head and heart. Like trumpet icon Jon Hassell's search for the meeting place of The North and South of You, Sha's Chessboxing Volume One is music that appeals to both hemispheres, creating its own union that can be taken on a purely instinctive level while providing plenty of grist for those who like their music as food for thought.
Fortaken: http://www.allaboutjazz.com
Discography:
• A Flaw Of Nature, Apr 2012
• Greatest Hits, Apr 2012
• We Need To Repeat, Nov 2009
• Chessboxing Volume One, May 2008
• AER, May 2006
• Hishiryo Piano Solo, May 2006
• Live, May 2006
• REA, May 2006
• Randori, May 2006
• Ritual Groove Music, May 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------
• 'Moon and its clouds always guiding me through a life of lives...'
(Aus dem ersten Stück 012)
• 'He wails in on alto sax, like a banshee trying to charm a cobra.'
Dan McClenaghan at allaboutjazz.com about Sha.
• "R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient" entgegnet Sha (*1983) auf die Frage nach den Einflüssen seiner Musik. Seine Band Banryu mit Isa Wiss (Vocals), Mik Keusen (Piano), Thomas Tavano (Bass) und Julian Sartorius (Drums) arbeitet seit 2004 zusammen und präsentiert mit 'Chessboxing Volume One' ihr erstes Album. Die Bedeutung des japanischen Bandnamens 'Banryu' erklärt Sha wie folgt:
• "Banryu, der zum Sprung bereite Drache, lässt alles auf sich zukommen, an sich vorbeiziehen: in keinem Moment verliert er an Spannung und Haltung und kann jederzeit zuschlagen..."
• Die aufgenommene Musik beinhaltet einen Song mit einem Text von Isa Wiss sowie weitere Kompositionen von Sha aus den letzten Jahren. Sie sind allein mit einer Nummer versehen und entfalten ihre poetische und energetische Bedeutung in Klang, Form und Groove.
• Sha sammelte in den letzten Jahren viel internationale Erfahrung und spielte vor allem Bass- und Kontrabassklarinette bei Nik Bärtsch's Ronin und bei Mik Keusen's Blau. Jetzt zeigt er mit seiner eigenen Band weitere Facetten seiner Bläserkunst und spielt neben den Bassklarinetten vermehrt Altosax und das asiatische Khen. Mit der Ansage 'Volume One' kündigt Sha mit der ihm eigenen ironischen Seriosität an, dass musikalisches Schachboxen eine Disziplin der Zukunft werden könnte.
Text: Kim Longin, Ronin Rhythm Records
• RONIN RHYTHM PRODUCTIONS GMBH HAFNERSTRASSE 47 CH-8005 ZÜRICH TEL/FAX +41 44 272 16 06
WWW.RONINRHYTHMRECORDS.COM
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bios:
Sha bassklarinette, kontrabassklarinette, altosax, khen, komposition
geboren: 1983 in Bern
studien bei: don li, nik bärtsch, bänz oester, sujay bobade, nat su
bands: nik bärtsch's mobile, nik bärtsch's ronin, mik keusen blau
diskografie:
• 'hans' zimouns momental (ammoniac redcords 2000)
• 'aer' nik bärtschs mobile (ronin rhythm records 2004)
• 'rea' nik bärtschs ronin (ronin rhythm records 2004)
• 'blau' blau (tonus-music records 2005)
• 'stoa' nik bärtsch's ronin (ecm-records 2006)
• 'holon' nik bärtsch's ronin (ecm-records 2008))
festivals & konzerte: jazzfestival portland (USA), jazzfestival san francisco (USA)
jazzfestival novara (I), north sea jazz (NL), berlin jazzfest (D),
london jazzfestival (UK), motives festival (B), jazzfestival saalfelden (A),
jazzfestival stuttgart (D), factory festival paris (F), enjoy jazz (D),
jazzfestival vancouver (CAN), traumzeit duisburg (D), jazz em agosto lisboa (POR)
jazzfestival kopenhagen (DAN), jazzfestival tampere (FIN),
jazznojazz zürich, stanser musiktage, cully jazz, jazzfestival willisau
Isa Wiss vocals, *1978 in Winterhur
studien: 2005 diplom der musikhochschule luzern, unterricht ua bei Susanne Abbühl, Lauren Newton
bands: beginning to end mit Christy Doran, dashes mit Marco Agovino, nacktmull,
schlafes schwestern, schnozgroup, steinboldt, ingupin
Mik Keusen piano, *1977 in Bern
studien: 2004 diplom der musikhochschule Luzern. unterricht ua bei Chris Wiesendanger, Hans Feigenwinter
bands:
• mik keusen blau, davis-keusen-sartorius-trio, trummer
diskografie:
• 'zimoun na feat. don li and philipp schaufelberger' (tonus-music 2004)
• 'Mik Keusen - BLAU' - blau (tonus-music records 2005)
• 'prepared p' zimoun & mik keusen (leerraum 2007)
• 'im schatte vo däm bärg' – trummer (fazerecords 2007)
Thomas Tavano bass, *1978 in Sarnen
studien: 2002 diplom an der musikhochschule Luzern, unterricht ua bei Heiri Känzig,
Wolfgang Zwiauer
bands: Tratosphäre, Octopus'call, Reggies doo, Blackfridge
Julian Sartorius drums, *1981 in Thun
studien: 2006 diplom an der musikhochschule Luzern, unterricht u.a. Bei Fab Kuratli, Norbert Pfammater, Pierre Favre
bands: Lila, Erb_gut, Jean-Paul Bourelly's motion, erb's veto, Davis-Keusen-Sartorius-Trio
diskografie:
• 'cut motion' - Jean-Paul Bourelly (Jpgotmangos, 2007)
• 'lila' – lila (unit-records, 2007)
• 'im schatte vo däm bärg' – trummer (Fazerecords, 2007)
• 'veto' christoph - erb's veto (Vetorecords 2007)
• ’sounds of lucerne’ (altrisuoni 2007)
• ’i never ate that bird’ - electric blanket (Bussi records 2008)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Also: Moors Magazine
Link: http://www.moorsmagazine.com/muziekspecials/shas/banryu.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sha's Banryu «» Chessboxing Volume One (2008) |
Sha's Banryu «» Chessboxing Volume One (2008)
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Album release: May 1, 2008/CH Release: 22. April 2008
Vertrieb CH: MV
LC: 15239, RON 007, EAN: 7640105942633
Record Label: Ronin Rhythm Records 007
Duration: 56:22
Tracks:
1. 012. 05:11
2. 050. 05:09
3. 030. 11:36
4. 042. 11:18
5. 031. 06:14
6. 044. 09:56
7. 045. 07:00
Members:
¤ Thomas Tavano: bass
¤ Isa Wiss: vocals
¤ Sha: Bassclarinet, Contrabassclarinet, Alto saxophone, Khen
¤ Julian Sartorius: drums
¤ Mik Keusen: piano
CREDITS:
¤ All music composed by Sha, lyrics by Isa Wiss, arranged by Sha and Banryu
¤ Album produced by Sha
¤ Recorded by Hanspeter Ehrsam at Radiostudio Zürich May 2007
¤ Mixed and Mastered by Andi Pupato and Sha
¤ Executive produced by Peter Bürli DRS 2, Stadt and Kanton Bern, Urs Haslebacher
Photography by Martin Möll, Cover Design by Marc Beekhuis, Publishing by Ronin Rhythm Productions
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mybanryu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shas-Banryu/73612498209
Press contact:
International press about Sha:
• "Sha takes alto saxophone solos of the most outspoken sort.“ — Nils Jacobson www.popmatters.com USA
• "Sha brillierte durch ein klanglich stupendes Solo auf der imposanten Kontrabass-Klarinette.“ — Ueli Bernays NZZ CH
• "Sha's bass clarinet haloed everything in mysterious ambient soundwashes“. — Stuart Nicholson The Observer UK
• "Whenever the monosyllabically named Sha steps into the spotlight, the reed player evokes the
modal improvisations of musicians like John Coltrane and Jan Garbarek." — Brent Burton Washington City Paper USA
• "Multi-reedist Sha is essential to the Ronin experience. He plays mostly bass and contrabass
clarinets, and his contribution is by and large almost subliminal: low rumbles and distance groans
that fill in the open spaces in tight textures. But on “Modul 45” he wails in on alto sax, like a
banshee trying to charm a cobra." — Dan McClenaghan www.allaboutjazz.com USA
Description:
• ”R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient”, is Sha’s (*1983) answer to the question about influences on his music. Isa Wiss (vocals), Mik Keusen (piano), Thomas Tavano (bass) und Julian Sartorius (drums) have been working with him in his band Banryu since 2004 and with 'Chessboxing Volume One' are now presenting their first album.
All the pieces of music were composed by Sha during the past few years, the lyrics of the first song being made up by Isa Wiss. They are titled with numbers only, and their poetic and energetic message unfolds with their sound, form and groove.
During the past years, Sha has gained a considerable amount of international experience playing bass and contrabass clarinets, especially with Nik Bartsch’s Ronin but also with Mik Keusen’s Blau. With his own band, he shows additional facets to his art of making music and plays more frequently alto sax and the Asian khen in addition to the bass clarinets. With the description ’Volume One’, Sha announces, with that ironic seriousness typical of him, that musical chessboxing could become a future discipline.
REVIEW
By JOHN KELMAN, Published: October 7, 2008
• With a group possessing as strong and unique an identity as Swiss pianist Nik Bartsch's Ronin—heard most recently on the remarkable Holon (ECM, 2008) and in performance in Kristiansand, Norway at Punkt 08—It's not surprising that the debut album by its reedman Sha possesses many of the same characteristics. Ronin, after all, is more than just a group; it's a musical philosophy combining minimalist tendencies with deep grooves and improvisation so subtle that it's at a near subconscious level. Chessboxing Volume One, by Sha's Banyru quintet, takes Ronin's "Ritual Groove Music" and moves it in a different direction, the result of a new combination of instruments and an approach more heavily weighted towards lean melody.
• Perhaps it's because Sha's instruments—alto sax, bass clarinet and Vietnamese khen (a bamboo pipe-based wind instrument)—linear as they are, lend themselves to melody which, with Sha in the writer's chair, become a greater focus. Banryu also features vocalist Isa Wiss who, with the exception of the opening "012" where she creates lyrics on the fly, plays a wordless melodic foil to Sha's instruments. While repetition and percussion play a large part in Banryu's sound, they're generally less aggressive than Ronin's piano/bass/drums/percussion/reeds lineup. It's impossible not to feel the funk here, but drummer Julian Sartorius is less assertive than Ronin's Kaspar Rast, with a backbeat that's pervasive but doesn't share the same sharp snap.
• There's also an ethereal, atmospheric nature to Banryu that differentiates it from Ronin. At the end of "030," the reeds and voice are coated with reverb, as they move towards the stratosphere while Sartorius, bassist Thomas Tavano and pianist Mik Keusen play ever more delicately, ultimately fading to black. "042" begins with deep bass harmonics, again drenched in reverb and other electronics, creating lush chordal swells as Keusen enters with a single note in a repeated, shifting meter. As Tavano counters with a contrapuntal polyrhythm and Sartorius creates a delicate cymbal pulse, Sha joins with a dark, eastern-tinged melody that leads to one of his most delineated solos of the set. Still, as with Ronin, there's a focus here that avoids anything resembling reckless abandon, instead a more considered approach that blurs the line between form and freedom.
• Still, there's no denying Banryu's uncanny nexus of the hypnotic and the booty-shaking. "030" may fade to dark at the end of its 11-minute run, and it may begin softly, with Sha and Wiss wrapping soft, long lines around Keusen's iterative playing. But at its core, when Tavano enters, it's a visceral piece of odd-metered funk that's equally cerebral—music that finds the perfect balance between head and heart. Like trumpet icon Jon Hassell's search for the meeting place of The North and South of You, Sha's Chessboxing Volume One is music that appeals to both hemispheres, creating its own union that can be taken on a purely instinctive level while providing plenty of grist for those who like their music as food for thought.
Fortaken: http://www.allaboutjazz.com
Discography:
• A Flaw Of Nature, Apr 2012
• Greatest Hits, Apr 2012
• We Need To Repeat, Nov 2009
• Chessboxing Volume One, May 2008
• AER, May 2006
• Hishiryo Piano Solo, May 2006
• Live, May 2006
• REA, May 2006
• Randori, May 2006
• Ritual Groove Music, May 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------
• 'Moon and its clouds always guiding me through a life of lives...'
(Aus dem ersten Stück 012)
• 'He wails in on alto sax, like a banshee trying to charm a cobra.'
Dan McClenaghan at allaboutjazz.com about Sha.
• "R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient" entgegnet Sha (*1983) auf die Frage nach den Einflüssen seiner Musik. Seine Band Banryu mit Isa Wiss (Vocals), Mik Keusen (Piano), Thomas Tavano (Bass) und Julian Sartorius (Drums) arbeitet seit 2004 zusammen und präsentiert mit 'Chessboxing Volume One' ihr erstes Album. Die Bedeutung des japanischen Bandnamens 'Banryu' erklärt Sha wie folgt:
• "Banryu, der zum Sprung bereite Drache, lässt alles auf sich zukommen, an sich vorbeiziehen: in keinem Moment verliert er an Spannung und Haltung und kann jederzeit zuschlagen..."
• Die aufgenommene Musik beinhaltet einen Song mit einem Text von Isa Wiss sowie weitere Kompositionen von Sha aus den letzten Jahren. Sie sind allein mit einer Nummer versehen und entfalten ihre poetische und energetische Bedeutung in Klang, Form und Groove.
• Sha sammelte in den letzten Jahren viel internationale Erfahrung und spielte vor allem Bass- und Kontrabassklarinette bei Nik Bärtsch's Ronin und bei Mik Keusen's Blau. Jetzt zeigt er mit seiner eigenen Band weitere Facetten seiner Bläserkunst und spielt neben den Bassklarinetten vermehrt Altosax und das asiatische Khen. Mit der Ansage 'Volume One' kündigt Sha mit der ihm eigenen ironischen Seriosität an, dass musikalisches Schachboxen eine Disziplin der Zukunft werden könnte.
Text: Kim Longin, Ronin Rhythm Records
• RONIN RHYTHM PRODUCTIONS GMBH HAFNERSTRASSE 47 CH-8005 ZÜRICH TEL/FAX +41 44 272 16 06
WWW.RONINRHYTHMRECORDS.COM
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bios:
Sha bassklarinette, kontrabassklarinette, altosax, khen, komposition
geboren: 1983 in Bern
studien bei: don li, nik bärtsch, bänz oester, sujay bobade, nat su
bands: nik bärtsch's mobile, nik bärtsch's ronin, mik keusen blau
diskografie:
• 'hans' zimouns momental (ammoniac redcords 2000)
• 'aer' nik bärtschs mobile (ronin rhythm records 2004)
• 'rea' nik bärtschs ronin (ronin rhythm records 2004)
• 'blau' blau (tonus-music records 2005)
• 'stoa' nik bärtsch's ronin (ecm-records 2006)
• 'holon' nik bärtsch's ronin (ecm-records 2008))
festivals & konzerte: jazzfestival portland (USA), jazzfestival san francisco (USA)
jazzfestival novara (I), north sea jazz (NL), berlin jazzfest (D),
london jazzfestival (UK), motives festival (B), jazzfestival saalfelden (A),
jazzfestival stuttgart (D), factory festival paris (F), enjoy jazz (D),
jazzfestival vancouver (CAN), traumzeit duisburg (D), jazz em agosto lisboa (POR)
jazzfestival kopenhagen (DAN), jazzfestival tampere (FIN),
jazznojazz zürich, stanser musiktage, cully jazz, jazzfestival willisau
Isa Wiss vocals, *1978 in Winterhur
studien: 2005 diplom der musikhochschule luzern, unterricht ua bei Susanne Abbühl, Lauren Newton
bands: beginning to end mit Christy Doran, dashes mit Marco Agovino, nacktmull,
schlafes schwestern, schnozgroup, steinboldt, ingupin
Mik Keusen piano, *1977 in Bern
studien: 2004 diplom der musikhochschule Luzern. unterricht ua bei Chris Wiesendanger, Hans Feigenwinter
bands:
• mik keusen blau, davis-keusen-sartorius-trio, trummer
diskografie:
• 'zimoun na feat. don li and philipp schaufelberger' (tonus-music 2004)
• 'Mik Keusen - BLAU' - blau (tonus-music records 2005)
• 'prepared p' zimoun & mik keusen (leerraum 2007)
• 'im schatte vo däm bärg' – trummer (fazerecords 2007)
Thomas Tavano bass, *1978 in Sarnen
studien: 2002 diplom an der musikhochschule Luzern, unterricht ua bei Heiri Känzig,
Wolfgang Zwiauer
bands: Tratosphäre, Octopus'call, Reggies doo, Blackfridge
Julian Sartorius drums, *1981 in Thun
studien: 2006 diplom an der musikhochschule Luzern, unterricht u.a. Bei Fab Kuratli, Norbert Pfammater, Pierre Favre
bands: Lila, Erb_gut, Jean-Paul Bourelly's motion, erb's veto, Davis-Keusen-Sartorius-Trio
diskografie:
• 'cut motion' - Jean-Paul Bourelly (Jpgotmangos, 2007)
• 'lila' – lila (unit-records, 2007)
• 'im schatte vo däm bärg' – trummer (Fazerecords, 2007)
• 'veto' christoph - erb's veto (Vetorecords 2007)
• ’sounds of lucerne’ (altrisuoni 2007)
• ’i never ate that bird’ - electric blanket (Bussi records 2008)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Also: Moors Magazine
Link: http://www.moorsmagazine.com/muziekspecials/shas/banryu.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------