“Let's Listen to Achim Kaufmann!” Vol. 1 by Masaki Minami: Grünen/disenjambment
Pianist Achim Kaufmann will be visiting Japan in September. He is one of the most important figures in European jazz and improvised music. He has formed a trio with Takashi Seo (bass) and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (drums) and will be touring the Kansai, Chubu, and Kanto regions. In Tokyo, Junji Hirose (tenor sax) will join as a guest, and live performances are also planned with Daisuke Takaoka (tuba), Toshimaru Nakamura (No Input Mixing Board), and Masaki Minami (piano).
This is the second installment of the project “Masaki Minami Talks About Achim Kaufmann,” featuring the Sapporo-based pianist who will be performing a two-piano concert with him at Shibuya Koen-dori Classics on the final day. Starting with this issue, under the title “Let's Listen to Achim Kaufmann!”, I have asked him to write reviews of recommended recordings.
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“Let's Listen to Achim Kaufmann!” Vol. 1 by Masaki Minami
Grünen/disenjambment
Achim Kaufmann (p)
Robert Landfermann (b)
Christian Lillinger (ds)
I would like to introduce one of Achim Kaufmann's representative works. Since this tour is centered on a piano trio program, I chose the 2017 album by Grünen, a trio that has been active for over 10 years. It is actually quite difficult to explain the music of this trio. If possible, there are several live videos on YouTube, and I would appreciate it if you could refer to them. When he visited Japan before, I asked to see his sheet music. Depending on the piece, some have very minimal instructions, while others are written out to a certain extent, but you cannot see how the piece will develop from the score alone. Each player, including the composer himself, focuses on every sound and immerses themselves completely, believing in beautiful moments. This trio shows so many different expressions at every live performance that you might wonder if the same song can really be this different every time. The way of listening that I used to have—wondering where the composition ends and the improvisation begins—is completely irrelevant. It is a wonderful trio that reminds me once again that if you are going to listen to music, especially jazz, you must not miss the precious moments that appear unexpectedly. One more thing I would like to add is the wonderful artwork of Achim's works. The designs by Gabriele Guenther, who is involved in the production of almost all CD and LP jackets, are very attractive, so I hope that as many listeners as possible will not just listen to streaming services, but will pick up the actual CDs or LPs.
Masaki Minami
Achim Kaufmann Japan Tour 2024
Achim Kaufmann (piano)
Takashi Seo (contrabass)
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (drums)
September 6 (Fri) [Kobe] 100BAN Hall
https://www.100ban.jp/posts/events/
Takasago Building, 100 Edo-machi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Kobe Old Foreign Settlement
open 19:00 start 19:30
Reservation ¥4000 Door ¥4500 U23 discount (23 and under) ¥2000 High school students and under free
Inquiries: 078-331-1728 (100BAN Hall)
hall@100ban.jp
September 7 (Sat) [Kyoto] UrBANGUILD
guest: Akiko Igaki (violin), Seiichi Yamamoto (guitar)
https://urbanguild.net/
New Kyoto Building 3F, 181-2 Zaimoku-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
open 18:30 start 19:00
Reservation ¥3500 Door ¥4000 U23 (23 and under) ¥2000 High school students and under free (1 drink order required) No admission for small children
Inquiries: 075-212-1125
info@urbanguild.net
September 8 (Sun) [Nagoya] Jazz Inn Lovely
https://www.jazzinnlovely.com/
1-10-15 Higashisakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya
open 18:00 start 19:30 ¥4000
Inquiries: 052-951-6085
September 9 (Mon) [Toyohashi] BUZZLE BUNCH
Yumex Building B1F, 1-18 Hirokoji, Toyohashi, Aichi
open 19:00 start 19:30
Reservation ¥3500 Door ¥4000 U23 discount (23 and under) ¥2000 High school students and under free (separate order required)
Inquiries: 0532-39-9700
September 11 (Wed) [Inage] CANDY
3-10-12 Inage-higashi, Inage-ku, Chiba City, Chiba
open 19:00 start 19:30
Reservation ¥4000 Door ¥4500 U23 discount (23 and under) ¥2500 (includes 1 drink)
Inquiries: jazz_candy-lj@infoseek.jp
September 12 (Thu) [Tokyo, Jimbocho] Shicho-shitsu guest: Junji Hirose (tenor sax)
Building Nishikanda 1F, 3-8-5 Nishikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
open 19:30 start 20:00
Reservation ¥3500 Door ¥3800 + 1 drink (¥500) U23 discount ¥2000 High school students and under free
Tour spin-off project
September 13 (Fri)
Achim Kaufmann (piano), Takashi Seo (contrabass), Daisuke Takaoka (tuba), Toshimaru Nakamura (No Input Mixing Board)
Venue: [Iriya] Knuttel House
4-1-8 Matsugaya, Taito-ku, Tokyo 1F
https://knuttelhouse.com/
open 19:00 start 19:30
Reservation ¥2800 Door ¥3000 1 drink order required
Inquiries: 03-3847-2113 (from 18:00 to around 23:00)
knuttelhouse@gmail.com (Please include your name, number of people, and contact phone number.)
September 14 (Sat) Achim Kaufmann Japan Tour FINAL! twin piano!
Achim Kaufmann (piano), Masaki Minami (piano), Takashi Seo (contrabass)
Venue: Koen-dori Classics [Shibuya]
Tokyo Yamate Church B1F, 19-5 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
open 18:30 start 19:00
Reservation ¥3500 Door ¥4000 U23 discount (23 and under) ¥2000 High school students and under free (separate order required)
Inquiries: 03-6310-8871
*We are inviting the wonderful pianist Masaki Minami from Sapporo to perform a two-piano concert with Achim. We will recreate the legendary performance held at Sapporo PORTO during his first visit to Japan in 2016 with Achim, Minami, and Seo at Shibuya Classics!
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Achim Kaufmann (piano, compose)
Achim Kaufmann has been active as a pianist and composer since the early 1980s.
His long-standing projects include the improvisation trio “Kaufmann/Gratkowski/de Joode,” a duo with Amsterdam-based reed player Michael Moore, and the piano trio “grünen” (Christian Lillinger [ds], Robert Landfermann [b]), which is one of his most enduring projects.
He launched the interdisciplinary project “Trokaan Project” with poet and visual artist Gabriele Guenther. It combines improvised chamber music, poetry, and text fragments with electronic sound textures.
He is also active in duos with Ignaz Schick, Giorgos Dimitriadis, and Kalle Kalima, as well as duos with Frank Gratkowski, and in groups such as “SKEIN” (Frank Gratkowski, Wilbert de Joode, Liz Allbee, Richard Barrett, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Tony Buck), “Sestetto Internazionale,” “M0VE” (both with soprano sax player Harri Sjöström), and a newly formed trio with Nick Dunston (b) and Maria Portugal (ds, per).
Furthermore, he has performed with Han Bennink (ds), George Lewis (cl), Jim Black (ds), Paul Lovens (ds), Tomasz Stanko (tp), and others.
Mark Dresser (b), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Tom Rainey (ds), Shelley Hirsch (vo), Okkyung Lee (cello), Axel Dörner (tp), Gerry Hemingway (ds), Thomas Lehn (g), Steve Swallow (b), Al Foster (ds), etc.
He received the SWR Jazz Prize in 2001 and the prestigious Albert Mangelsdorff Prize in 2015.
Since 2018, he has served as a professor of piano and ensemble at the Weimar University of Music.
Musician.
www.achimkaufmann.com
[Message from Achim]
I am very excited to perform in Japan again in September and grateful to Takashi Seo-san for making all this possible.
Seo-san and I had a super fun tour in 2016 (mostly duo), and I am looking forward to new musical adventures together with him and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki-san on drums, along with other musical guests.