Beyond w/ Bernhardt. feat. The Micronaut & Meuroer Mandolinenorchester // De-Isolation

Premiere

Beyond w/ Bernhardt. feat. The Micronaut & Meuroer Mandolinenorchester

The accomplished theatre composer and conceptualist Friederike Bernhardt was enlisted by the polystylistic jazz musicians of this ensemble to expand its sound world with her electronic interventions, and as the collaboration took root and grew so did the possibilities. Beyond w/ Bernhardt reached a new dimension this past summer when the band brought in a group of mandolin players from the Meuro district of Saxony-Anhalt to leaven its meditative grooves and richly contrapuntal arrangements with a sound far outside jazz tradition. The project beautifully blurred genre lines with its urban-rural mélange, but the leader pushed things further by bringing the acclaimed electronic music producer the Micronaut (aka Stefan Streck), into the fold. In a series of concerts held in Leipzig and South Tyrol he deployed samples of the four Meuro mandolinists, enhancing and stretching the group’s already vast sonic palette with additional textures and chopped-up phrases. For this special premiere at Jazzfest Berlin all of the elements come together, as mandolinists Stephan John, Gisela Stöven, Melanie Voros, and Aviva Goesch and the Micronaut will both join the band live for the first time, fostering a wide-open dynamic that promises thrilling give-and take, as disparate forces push and pull against the core ensemble’s plangent grace and mesmerizing melodic shapes. Beyond all, indeed.

Friederike Bernhardt – synthesizer, electronics
Heidi Bayer – trumpet
Theresia Philipp – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
Johannes Ludwig – alto saxophone, clarinet
Damian Dalla Torre – bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Volker Heuken – vibraphone
Markus Rom – guitar
Lorenz Heigenhuber – bass
Jan Roth – drums
The Micronaut – electronics
Meuroer Mandolinen: Stephan John, Gisela Stöven, Melanie Voros, Jakob Seifert

 

Commission

De-Isolation

In the closing performance of the festival, members of KIM Collective will reconnect with other contributors of the Berlin jazz scene to create a one-time performance including commissioned videos from To Jazzfest Berlin Off Stage.

Dora Osterloh – vocals
Brad Henkel – trumpet
Paul Berberich – alto sax, flute
Andrea Parkins – accordion, objects and electronics
Kathrin Pechlof – harp
Korhan Erel – electronics
Nick Dunston – double bass
Dan Peter Sundland – electric bass
Max Santner – drums
Daniela Imhoff – video
Georg Schütky – director of original videos

This concert is part of the To Jazzfest Berlin Radio Edition