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Rating: Author of around thirty musical theater works, Heiner Goebbels (born in 1952) has made eclecticism the main characteristic of his musical style. "Der Mann im Fahrstuhl / The Man in the Elevator" from 1987 presents, in succession, over 43 minutes, a series of panels each with a well-defined character, which stand as autonomous episodes within a larger and more complex structure.
At first glance, it might seem like an electric jazz work with fusion veins. Sax solos, trumpet, trombone are not missing in this "stage concert," but there are also a couple of episodes of Brazilian folk singing; in others, electronics or acid sounds of electric guitar prevail, reminiscent of the hallucinated visions of John Zorn.
Three narrating voices, in German and English, traverse the musical fabric to tell the story on which the work rests: an overview of the thoughts and fears of an employee suddenly called to the boss's office, towards whom he heads alone, enclosed in an elevator.
Released on CD by ECM, the recording features a star-studded cast including among others Fred Frith on guitar, Don Cherry on trumpet, Arto Lindsay on vocals, and Goebbels himself on piano and synth. The story and text are based on a work by Heiner Müller (1929-1995), the most important German-language playwright after Brecht.
From whatever angle one views this work, it will always remain difficult to categorize: tinged with contemporary, jazz-rock, ethnic, and alternative sounds, "The Man in the Elevator" stirs together different musical techniques and styles that end up overlapping and coexisting in a dense amalgam. There is an abundance of rhythm and musical variety: a man in the elevator, this, which is ideal for curious listeners.
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