Posted by Ken Pickering
Part Two: Ken Pickering goes to Nickelsdorf “Konfrontationen”
After a brief pit stop in Amsterdam (and then I found the hotel and plaque where Chet Baker met his untimely death!) for some meetings and a hang with Danielle Oosterup (agent/manager Michiel Braam, The Thing) and other Dutch friends I reconnected with my Coastal Jazz colleague Rainbow Robert (who had just arrived in Europe) who would then join me for the next leg of the journey to Nickelsdorf, Austria for the legendary KONFRONTATIONEN 2010 still going strong at 31 years.
The plaque on Prins Hendrik outside the hotel where Chet Baker tragically fell to his death.
This year’s event was extraordinary because Mats Gustafsson was first of all, getting married the week before the festival and secondly because he was assisting Hans Falb with the program’s curation. I joked that I’d have to miss the wedding but would be able to make the honeymoon (the festival was the honeymoon! ahh - the life of a musician).
Mats Gustafsson & Rainbow Robert (Coastal Jazz)
Now you’ve got to imagine the scene – this festival is the polar opposite of Northsea; Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen is a small radical, avant-garde event that takes place in a small town about a half hour from Vienna and surprise; the hotel just might be in Hungary!
Rainbow Robert outside the Hotel Paprika (Hungary)
Michel Levasseur (Victoriaville Festival), Danielle Oosterup & Rainbow Robert
The music is performed outdoors and the venue is in fact the back yard of Falb’s restaurant - Jazz Galerie - with a capacity that looks to be around 300/400 with a very intimate and cozy feel – with top notch food (you’ve gotta love that schnitzel) and hospitality. This event has developed a very loyal and tight knit community over its history with many people who’ve grown up with this festival attending since their childhood years!
The venue @ Nickelsdorf
On the wall of Restaurant Falb - Joëlle Lèandre says: L'improvisation me s'improvise pax
One of the odd traits of Nickelsdorf is the reality that lodging is in short supply in the town and hotels are scattered around the outlying areas in other towns and even across the border (5 minutes away), which has been unmanned for a few years now and indeed, that’s how we found ourselves installed at the Hotel Paprika in Hungary (along with Michel Levasseur/ Victoriaville Festival, Danielle Oosterup and new friends from Scotland and points further afield). No one else had come from as far afield as the west coast of Canada though!
Two legendary improvisors: Swedish, Berlin based percussionist, Sven-Ake Johansson and the inimitable Paul Lovens
The raison d’etrê of the festival as programmed by Mats Gustaffson was (as you might imagine) epitomized by a hard core - take no prisoners attitude. Uncompromising. Featured concerts included The Ex and Brass Unbound, The Think XL, a lovely outdoor Roscoe Mitchell Solo concert, Wildbirds & Peacedrums (Sweden), Hairy Bones (intense fire music that literally could take the paint off the walls), the Transatlantic Series (Evan Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Joelle Leandre, Tony Hymas, Hugh Ragin) and Joe McPhee.
Roscoe Mitchell Solo (outdoors and about 5 miles from town)
Illustrious audience of musicians, presenters - see if you can spot the cats. Who were they checking out? The bar was empty!
Some of the finest musical moments of the festival for me were contained in a wonderful piano trio set with Agusti Fernandez, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten and Paul Lovens.
Swedish guitarist and "ice hockey'" star in the Canada vs. Sweden final - Christian Munthe, with Rainbow and Ziga in the background
One of the great trombonists in improvised music: Gunter Christmann.
It had been 15 years if I’m correct, since I last saw Gunter Christmann play (at the first improvised version of Time Flies if I remember – an event that I programmed with Derek Bailey) and it was lovely to hear his masterful trombone and cello in a trio setting with two talented Swedes (both were part of the Canada vs. Sweden “Ice Hockey” project in 2009 festival), Raymond Strid (drums) and Christian Munthe (guitar).
Also loved the Ab Baars / John Lindberg Duo working on renditions of the legendary clarinetist, John Carter’s music. It was nice to catch up with John who I hadn’t seen in years, although I’d heard him with Grubenklang at Moers in May, we hadn't managed to connect. The music was terrific!
Master contrabassist John Lindberg outside the Jazz Galerie / Restaurant Falb
One of the most beautiful concerts of Nickelsdorf was the duo of Sten Sandell (church pipe organ) and Evan Parker (tenor sax) at the church. There are great audio/visual clips of many of the Nickelsdorf concerts and I’d encourage you to check them out. (search MuzicaDeVest). I’ll include some links.
Evan Parker in church (Sten Sandell is on the pipe organ at the other end of the church)
I also enjoyed the poignant duet between Sofia Jernberg (Swedish vocalist with Paavo) and Raymond Strid.
Rainbow and Sofia Jernberg at dinner
The camaraderie at Nickelsdorf is really heartwarming. Meeting so many old and new friends in one pressure cooker (literally the temperature for the first 3 days was high 30’s before it dropped for the final day) of a festival was amazing. I met NYC photographer Peter Gannushkin for the first time – also in attendance were Andrey Henkin (All About Jazz), Ziga Kotornik (check out his photos as well as Peter’s online). Great work. Folks had come from far and wide to attend this event – even Ron the soundman from Amsterdam’s legendary BimHuis made the journey with his brother and writer Thomas Millroth came down from Sweden.
NYC photographer Peter Gannushkin
Did we say signage? This old boy has been flying the colours for 31 years!
Rainbow and I had to leave early on the final evening for the Vienna airport hotel in order to connect with a 7am flight to Amsterdam, connecting to Oslo and a final flight to Molde for the first evening concerts of Molde Jazz!
Our final flight from Oslo to Molde was packed with musicians and friends – In the Country, Larry Appelbaum, Eivind Aarset and more! New day and a new festival - jet lag anyone?
Links to Nickelsdorf Live Performances:
Fernandez / Haker-Flaten / Lovens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PseYFsyGdpI
The Thing XL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHb8dben7m8
Christmann / Munthe / Strid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-nE226u21o&feature=related
Sten Sandell / Evan Parker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vstf3CLM1WA
Ab Baars / John Lindberg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCIjBt2noUg
(All photography by Ken Pickering)
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