Tränenpalast, Berlin.
The "palace of tears": once, this glass and metal structure served as a border control between East and West Berlin; here, relatives and friends from East Berlin bid farewell to visitors from the West, who passed through the strict "democratic" police checks, descended into the underground, and took the subway back to the western sector.
I still remember the strange effect of traveling with West Berlin's subway under the "East" zone: the stops where you could neither get on nor off, completely bricked up, except for Friedrichstr., where the Tränenpalast was located. So a border crossing situated in the middle of the city and not near the wall...
Today, the Tränenpalast has been transformed into a concert hall.
With quite a different mood, I head towards the Tränenpalast: tonight plays Nils Petter Molvær!!
The hall is not too crowded; the last time it was completely sold out, and the ticket was kindly gifted to me by an unknown person just before the start, when I had almost lost all hope of seeing the concert.
I take a seat in the front rows, near the bar, where I meet two friends: a couple of beers are obligatory.
I take a look at the equipment and notice some new additions: the keyboards, a Rhodes, and two synths connected to various electronic gadgets.
It's just past nine, and here they come: first him, starting a solo, and then the rest of the band: as I already mentioned, a keyboardist, then the usual drummer, DJ Strangefruit on the turntables, and a wild one on loops and electronics. Bass and guitar are missing! And it's noticeable: the music has become even more electronic than before.
It's been some time since Nils released jazz albums on ECM.
To have even more artistic freedom, he created his own label, with which he produced NP3, reviewed on these pages. Judging by the concert's sounds, the evolution continues in an electronic direction.
Instead of guitar and bass, there's a keyboardist, who, with the other musicians, helps create a carpet of sounds where the trumpet sneaks in, sometimes simply acoustic and soft, almost velvety, other times it's loaded with all kinds of effects that make it sound like an electric guitar, organ, human voice...
Even the themes of the pieces are often distorted, almost unrecognizable.
The range of atmospheres is vast: some pieces, like "Little Indian," splendid, or "Kakonita," evoke the boundless calm of the far north, while in others, the cascade of sounds and the relentless wall of beats created by the drummer and Mister Live-Loop throw us into a rave party, and it's impossible not to dance: the ecstatic peak reached during Hurry Slowly.
A great concert: a confirmation of an artist who knows how to make electronic jazz that can appeal to the most discerning tastes, despite the influences of club rhythms. The new live CD will be on sale soon, and on Molvær's new website, you can already listen to all the tracks streaming.
Highly recommended! Live electronics and jazz pass through Nils Petter Molvær!
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