Ideas explode, burn and collapse quickly on this live album – but the next firebolt is never far behind. Five tracks swallow almost 80 minutes of playing time. The listener never gets a chance to settle. Twists and turns mark every beat. There’s a jam-session spirit, with five musicians side-by-side in the spotlight. Anything can happen. And it does.
The album is the 52nd instalment of the SWR NEWJazz Meeting. Since 1966, the broadcaster Südwestrundfunk has offered selected musicians free rein for a series of concerts in south-west Germany. Vibraphonist Sascha Berliner was 23 years old when she did these performances in 2021. The band features Kalia Vandever on trombone and Matt Sewelon guitar, with bassist Max Gerl and drummer Michael Shekwoaga.
A four-minute vibraphone solo launches The Year Of Wishful Thinking. Dreamy long notes ring and rapid runs bubble. Berliner frequently pivots, shifts direction and changes the subject. The composition, when it finally arrives, is laidback and faintly spooky.
Trombone provides the long intro for Arrhythmia. It’s another track that lopes along, investigating each side-path and possibility. During the vibraphone solo, the bass and drums launch a blues progression with swing feeling. Listeners may wonder how they ended up in this familiar place. But it’s an intriguing opportunity to observe Berliner in a less chaotic harmonic and rhythmic context.
The final track is the shortest on the album – and a special treat. The vibraphone is all alone for Mallards And Sea Turtles: For Neel Foon. Berliner scatters sonic droplets and crystalline chords. Ideas emerge and dissipate, with the next flurry always ready to rise.
This record showcases a rich bounty of pulses, impulses and imagination. It’s another spellbinding performance within this long-running series. Anything can happen when Sascha Berliner is around. And it does.
Discography
Are You, Am I?; The Year Of Wishful Thinking; Reasons; Arrhythmia; Fives; A Deeper Blue; Mallards And Sea Turtles: For Neel Foon (77.39)
Berliner (vib); Kalia Vandever (tb, elec); Matt Sewell (g); Max Gerl (b, elb); Michael Shekwoaga (d). Mannheim, Germany 2021.
SWR Jazzhaus JAH-480
