International avantgarde quartet with a recent reference to the Modern Jazz Quartet. Christian Lillinger + Christopher Dell "rising stars" at Downbeat

The DLW trio has been working together for twelve years now and is now setting the tone in the modern European music scene, as the trio has long since left the boundaries of jazz behind. DLW, that is the sound-painting vibraphonist Christopher Dell, the virtuoso Danish bassist Jonas Westergaard and the German star drummer Christian Lillinger. 'Supermodern' is the project that brings the three DLW musicians together with US pianist Bob Degen. This music is also unikal. It is a reference to the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ), which in the 1950s was the link between chamber jazz and European classical music. With 'Supermodern,' this reference to the MJQ is illuminated from the perspective of European avant-garde music, rather than its African-American roots, which nevertheless resonate respectfully throughout.

DLW has 'developed a concept based on repetition and difference. The starting point for a piece is always a single bar, which is rhythmically interlaced and repeated trance-like until the smallest irregularities occur, which are written down and creatively processed further. From this 'superimposed combinatorics' (Christopher Dell) a perpetuum-mobile-like sound movement develops, which is further radicalized on record by sound alienations and cut-up techniques.' Thus respectfully wrote the Neue Züricher Zeitung in August 2023.

Word has long since spread outside the German jazz scene that the DLW projects are always musically new. This is also the case with the double LP 'Supermodern 2', with recordings made in 2021 in analog at the MPS studio in the Black Forest. Together with US pianist Bob Degen, who has been one of the creative voices of the German jazz scene for about 50 years, they play high-energy music, with sparkling virtuosity and close communication. A musical treat, further enriched by the immensely present analog sound of this recording.

Media

Friedhelm Schulz · Supermodern 2

Track Listing

Disc 1:

turn IX
super freeloader
turn X
turn XI
turn XII
zeit ohne harmonie III
turn XIII
turn XIV
festival mood III

Disc 2:

turn XV
turn XVI
turn XVII
turn XVIII
turn XIX
turn XX
turn XXI
festival mood IV

Additional Details

Label: HGBS Blue

Genre: Jazz

Run Time: 62:40 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 12/08/23

UPC: 4260496410417

DownBeat Magazine December 2023

Michal Urbaniak Group - Sound Pieces (CD)

Bob Degen & Jonas Westergaard & Christopher Dell & Christian Lillinger - Supermodern Vol. II (Black Vinyl) (LP)