[This review was first published in Jazz Journal in 2010.]
Wollie Kaiser (bs)
Andreas Kaling (bs)
Jan Klare (bs)
Dirk Raulf (bs)
Cultural Value
Oh Well
That’s Right
Helter Skelter
The Brand New
Sweet Neo Schrott
Crimson Medley
Nice Lines, Man
Thick Description
Left Behind
Fire
Black Dog
Can’t Get You Out of My Head
When You Think of Me
Stairway to Heaven
(52.47)
2010
Poise poise18
A somewhat neglected instrument perhaps, the bass saxophone is rarely a ‘main instrument’ among modern musicians. Although the likes of Peter Brötzmann, Roscoe Mitchell and Jan Garbarek have all picked it up at times. So all the more unusual to find a quartet consisting of nothing but. Deep Schrott (intriguingly “schrott” is German for “scrap”, as in metal) are the self-proclaimed “only bass sax quartet in the universe”.
With covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and even Kylie Minogue, this could so easily have been a novelty album. However there is something quite mesmerising (and smile-inducing) about their arrangements of such familiar tunes for such an unfamiliar instrument. Smiles aside, it is the originals here that best showcase their exploration of the bass sax’s sonic possibilities, including percussion. So, a combination of fun and breaking new ground – what more could you want?
“One” is available from Poise and Amazon:
2 thoughts on “Deep Schrott – One”