Each piece – hugely long – contains the impact of a concerto. Most are 2 pieces in one, one even stretches to 3 in one. Styles span classical, rock and film music.
Deeply serious the Wollny trio mash up of occult horror classic The Wicker Man composer Paul Giovanni’s ‘Willow’s Song’ leading into the bluesy ‘This West’ was a track of the week in these pages in January
The album draws partly on ur text material spun from 2022 studio album Ghosts and introduces new emblematic ideas and dazzling composition as enhancements.
Recorded during the spring of last year Living Ghosts (Live) features the pianist leader Wollny with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Eric Schaefer.
Lefebvre also has interpreted in a different context appearing with ‘This West’ composer Jeff Babko and Mark Guiliana of Mehliana repute on the album Clam City. Babko is quite Don Grolnick-like on his own tune on that album whereas Wollny is essentially more of an extrovert and a completely different kind of player. Certainly the album shows great curatorial skill in placing contrasting styles together. Dip into both treatments. A new standard in the making? It deserves to be.
Wollny, born in 1978 in the Bavarian city of Schweinfurt, is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most outstanding jazz musicians.
Opening with pieces by night themed classical work from Berg (‘Nacht’) and Hindemith (‘Rufe in der horchenden Nachte’ – ‘Calls in the Listening Night’) wrapped in the trio’s unique rhythmical sense, the album also takes in a tour d’horizon over Ellington’s ‘In A Sentimental Mood’ and matches Jon Brion’s super poignant ‘Little Person’ seamlessly, the latter especially beautifully played by Wollny. There’s so much emotion and tenderness in this portion of the album.
Also a long time professor of jazz piano at the Leipzig Hochschule for Music and Theatre since 2014 Wollny is known for his boundary pushing innovative style. He never holds back.
Nothing if not eclectic but it doesn’t matter given how everything is definitively Wollnified the album also takes in a version of Nick Cave’s darkly compelling ‘Hand of God.’
Wollny has a very substantial discography but not everything stands out. This however makes its presence felt and surely deserves pride of place in any self respecting fan’s relationship as a listener to his work.
While complex and sometimes a demanding listen nevertheless and above all the sheer humanity of his approach shows through particularly on that magical ‘Willow’s Song/This West’ mash-up. As the UK’s most distinguished newspaper jazz critic John Fordham in The Guardian wrote recently this album is “rammed with surprises.”
