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Musicians: Karl Berger p,vib, Peter Apfelbaum ts, Peter Einhorn g, Frank Möbus g, John Lindberg b, Tani Tabbal dr, Ray Spiegel Tablas, Annemarie Roelofs v, Ingrid Sertso voc,poetry
Recording date: November 2001
Recording place: Sonart Studio, Mt. Tremper, USA
Finally, you feel like saying, after years of involvement with numerous projects of other musicians (especially arrangements for Bootsy Collins and Angélique Kidjo and others, but also intensive collaboration with Bill Laswell), an album by the vibraphonist and pianist, who is one of the few jazz musicians from Germany with a long-standing international reputation. Karl Berger, who lives today in Woodstock/USA, has already played with all those, who haven’t given jazz any breathers, but instead have always pushed it forward innovatively, from Don Cherry (who enticed him across the ocean) to Ornette Coleman (with whom he founded the „Creative Music Studio“ in 1971) to John McLaughlin, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Holland and many, many others. But - see above – he does not fear contact with other music styles and crosses all artificially created barriers with gusto. Berger gathered hand-picked musicians for the album recorded during several studio sessions in Germany and the USA, who could support and implement the basic concept of „Stillpoint“. „I am now more interested in leaving out that which is not absolutely necessary. Listeners must be able to contribute their own part. Then the songs sound different each time.“
Peter Apfelbaum, with whom he has often collaborated, is one of those like Berger who is open to everything new and does not shy away from working together with pop musicians either. John Lindberg is considered by many to be the best bassist these days, and his solo track on the CD underlines this. Tani Tabbal is on drums and formerly played for James Carter. Peter Einhorn and Frank Möbus (“Der Rote Bereich”) as sensitive guitarists and Ray Spiegel on the tablas contribute concise sounds. Ingrid Sertso proves impressively with her playing that she understands the intention in Berger’s compositions. And then there is the “discovery” of the 57-year-old Berger, the young violinist Annette Roelofs, who opens a new door to jazz for her instrument both in sound and rhythm far from Grappelli.
Karl Berger has created a great work with “Stillpoint”, whose contents he describes as follows: “The reverse point of all vibrations, the end point of exhaling, the crevices between trains of thought.” You could also say a result of the unbelievably multifaceted experiences of a man, which he collected into a project. You might be tempted to say a summarization and a retrospective of his life’s work, but once you have heard the CD, you’ll want lots more chances for retrospectives.
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