Making a photo documentary of a concert by the Swiss AKKU quintet has been very high on my agenda ever since I read a rave review about their third album AEON in the Badische Zeitung. I had bought the CD the minute I finished the article and a few days later was completely drawn into the music which was coming out of my speakers. To me this is a preciously coherent contemporary jazz album. A real record, not just a collection of individual pieces; a cinematic and meditative soundscape comprised of beautiful minimalist propulsic grooves driven by bass and drums, poetic lines on the piano, a virtuosic and improvisatory sounding saxophone – insisting but not soloing, and a sharp, rocky guitar.
The Bernese quintet was formed in 2010 by drummer and composer Manuel Pasquinelli (also part of SONAR) and includes Michael Gilsenan (Tenor saxophone), Markus Ischer (Guitar), Maja Nydegger (Piano, Keyboards; also founder of BLAER) and Andi Schnellmann (Bass) on instruments. Another integral part of the quintet experience is Jonas Fehr, who is playing with photons. The liner notes for AEON by Sid Smith provide an excellent and more comprehensive description of what AKKU and AEON are all about, a highly recommended reading which can be found on their website. Once you are hooked on AEON I am sure you will also like the two prior albums.
So last Friday I finally had an opportunity to meet the band when it was playing a gig at the H95, a lovely cultural venue situated in an old industrial area of Klybeck in the North of Basel. The volunteer team around Nora Roth and Claudia Roth - who founded, owns and lives at the place - is doing a fantastic job opening a former factory building up for artists of all sorts, ranging from concerts to dance and performances. Concerts usually take place in the basement, called SALON, and this is where AKKU was giving their amazing performance.
As you can see in some of the images below, there was a lot of connection and empathy between the musicians and it was spilling over to a thankful audience which was experiencing a mesmerizing concert evening as the SALON had turned into a sanctuary of attentive calm and peace.
Klybeck:
Leading down into the SALON of the H95
From backstage to frontstage
to playing
