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Musik ist Gefühl

Bester internationaler Jazz: Das AMC-Trio im Passauer Scharfrichterhaus

Das wird kein Folkloreabend, so viel ist schon nach den ersten Takten klar. Für das AMC-Trio, das am Dienstagabend mit dem schwedischen Gitarristen Ulf Wakenius im Passauer Scharfrichterhaus spielte, ist die Herkunft aus dem ostslowakischen Prešov noch inspirierender Humus, sie machen ihn aber fruchtbar für Jazz von internationalem Rang. Es bleiben davon vor allem die Geschichten hinter den Liedern, ihr Gefühlsgehalt und die eine oder andere Melodielinie. Das ist für das Trio eine wesentliche Komponente - Kontrabassist Martin Marincák nimmt sich beinahe vor jedem Lied Zeit, dem Publikum die übersetzte Botschaft zu beschreiben - und vertieft die reibungslose Zusammenarbeit mit ihrem „Gast“-Solisten Wakenius. „Der spielt besser als John Scofield“, heißt es aus dem Publikum, aber auf Wakenius’ technischem Niveau kann es wohl kein besser oder schlechter mehr geben. Sein klarer, runder Klang erinnert tatsächlich entfernt an Scofield, doch auf seiner E-Gitarre spielt er den Jazz ungleich intensiver, zwingender. Keine Spielerei scheint ihm fremd: hochmotiviert und konzentriert stürzt er sich in die Stücke und schüttelt dabei ruhig seine Griffbrett-Wiesler und Modulationen aus dem Handgelenk. Während er sich in einem gewissen sportlichen Gestus manchmal fast selbst überholt, ist Musizieren für AMC vor allem eine gefühlsintensive Angelegenheit. Das pulsierende Schlagzeug von Stanislav Cvanciger, die leicht romantisierte Klanggebung von Pianist Peter Adamkovic geben etwa dem emanzipatorischen Basisgroove der „Komposition gegen die Unfreiheit und Unterjochung: Last Time Heros“ eine Kraft, der Wakenius noch durch das Doppeln des Leitmotivs den letzten Kick verleiht. Unter solchen Vorzeichen wird es für diese Kooperation sicher nicht bei diesem ersten Auftritt in Deutschland bleiben. Frank Müller pnp.de

Następnego wieczora ostatni koncert tej edycji GJC zagrali: szwedzki gitarzysta Ulf Wakenius w towarzystwie słowackiego AMC Trio (Ulf Vakenius - guitars, Peter Adamkovič - piano, Martin Marinčak - double bass, Stanislav Cvanciger - drums) w programie z ich wspólnej płyty "Soul Of The Mountain". Ulf Wakenius to jedna z nowych gwiazd jazzowej gitary, współpracownik Oscara Petersona i Raya Browna. Ostatnią, doskonale recenzowaną produkcją gitarzysty jest nominowana do nagrody Grammy płyta "Love Is Real" poświęcona tragicznie zmarłemu, szwedzkiemu pianiście Esbjörnowi Svenssonowi. AMC Trio to z kolei znakomite, znane w Europie, słowackie trio fortepianowe silnie inspirowane słowacką muzyką ludową. Taka też muzyka popłynęła tego dnia ze sceny "Jazz Clubu Pod Filarami" - dobrze skrojona harmonia i wyeksponowane, wyraziste tematy. Zadziwiająco dobrze w tym słowiańskim klimacie odnalazł się skandynawski gitarzysta, który dla urozmaicenia dorzucił w solowym popisie inny jeszcze melanż kulturowy w postaci japanese calypso. Żywiołowy występ naszych północnych i południowych sąsiadów został bardzo ciepło przyjęty przez klubową publiczność, także dzięki przesympatycznym monologom Martina Marinčaka, wprowadzającym słuchaczy w przesłanie poszczególnych kompozycji.

Marek Demidowicz, DIAPAZON.PL

V neděli večer zalidněné divadlo Husa na provázku přivítalo skvělé hudebníky sdružené do jedinečného mezinárodního projektu. Slovenské AMC Trio představuje nezvyklou stálici v jazzovém světě. Peter Adamkovič, Martin Martinčák a Stanislav Cvancinger už spolu hrají celých dvanáct let a postupně si získali respekt nejen u nás, ale i ve světě. Snad i díky tomu se jim podařilo nalákat ke spolupráci špičkového švédského kytaristu Ulfa Wakeniuse, bývalého člena slavného Oscar Peterson Quartet. Hudebníci během koncertu prakticky přehráli nové album Soul of the Mountain, ale jak už bývá u jazzu zvykem, ke každé skladbě přidali něco navíc. Večerem publikum vtipně provázel kontrabasista Martin Martinčák. U několika kusů zmínil, z jakých východoslovenských lidových písní vycházejí, ovšem i ti, jež originál znali, byli často nakonec ztraceni v proudu jazzu. Asi nejpůsobivěji se do paměti posluchačů zapsal Ulf Wakenius. V rukou skandinávského obra vypadala kytara až směšně malá, jakmile však dostala prostor, změnila se v šestihlavňový kulomet chrlící dokonale uspořádanou změť tónů. Pianista Peter Adamkovič se však nenechal zahanbit, při jeho sólech stačilo jen zavřít oči a unášet se. I bubeník Stanislav Cvancinger měl svůj moment. Během vystoupení mu vypadla z ruky palička – trapné zaváhání pak bohatě odčinil šílenou řeží během přídavku.

JazzFestBrno opět výběrem interpretů nezklamal a publikum to náležitě ocenilo velmi dlouhým potleskem. Kdo Ulf Wakeniuse a AMC Trio promeškal, nemusí zoufat. V ČR v říjnu tohoto roku se hudebníci ve stejném složení představí na jazzových festivalech v Ústí nad Labem a v Hradci Králové

The pianist Brad Mehldau has entitled several of his albums Art of Trio. What does the art of trio mean for You? 

Martin: A trio  in comparison with bigger formations is much more transparent and cleaner. It is like a small brook with  crystal clear water, so that you can see the stones on the bottom. But despite that such a small brook can sometimes transform to a wild element which can be very dangerous.

You can feel when the players in a trio understand and trust each other. Everybody bears his own part of responsibility, means nobody can hide, but on the other hand, everyone has two more musicians behind, which will always support him. It is much worse in a duo or solo.J 

Peter: On the other hand the trio gives you  bigger space for your musical expression. And besides that, it is a line-up where every member is still a part of the game. It is a mutual interaction from the beginning to the end. It cannot happen that someone is waiting for his space as it is with the solo instruments or singing. 

Stano: In the beginning I used to play in different bigger ensembles. But I didn't always wanted to play as a sideman in a band of somebody else. A playing in the trio is for me the most interesting. As the rhythm in the jazz has been always considered the most important part, I want to use it fully  in the trio, which offers me  the biggest space for it and I don't want  - as Martin said-  to stand clear of this art of trio playing. 

When did you decide on playing only author material? Do you sometimes play standards as well? 

Martin: That decision was coming slowly. First we tested the audience reaction  by adding  some own pieces to our repertoire. In the beginning we were a bit self-conscious. We were playing our own music that sounded totally different than the  standards. We even used different harmonic sequences than those in the jazz standards. And that called for a totally different approach than we and the most of jazz musicians were used to. That is the reason why we sometimes had a feeling that our compositions are probably not as good as the standards. Many times we made up our own piece which sounded like a standard. But it didn't sound well. We understood that it wasn`t our way. Finally, after several years  experience of playing own music we have no hesitation anymore that we have to play exactly what we are playing. It is natural for us  and we feel comfortable with that. 

What is the most fascinating about the East Slovak folklore that influenced your  compositions? 

Martin: We surely don`t draw only  from the East Slovak folklore, and if so, we don`t know about it and thus it is a subconscious process. But when we are talking about the East Slovak folklore, we find it one of the most beautiful. The Eastern Slovakia isn't a large area and that is a reason why  our folklore has been very much influenced by Hungarian, Ruthenian, or Ukrainian and Polish folklore. Recently in Poland we have heard a folk song that sounded exactly like the East Slovak 'A Okolo Levoci'...and we could find many other examples. We are fascinated by some  folk songs lyrics. At first sight it is nothing interesting, but after a substantial reading out we can find there very deep things. But we have to realize that folk music in the past used to be something as pop music or dance music today, just individual songs were popular among smaller amount of people, so many songs are quite simple or they are under certain cliché. 

Stano: In my opinion the East Slovak folklore has become a propagator of folk songs, which have been a part of the oldest way of musical expression ( as it has been with the songs of black people in America where jazz was born). Many classical and popular composers  were influenced by folk songs and, as it was already said,  we are fascinated by  folk songs lyrics  and  these composers must have been fascinated  by its depth as well, and thanks to them the songs become known and remained written in our hearts. I am also glad that Ulf perceives our music  as the 'Slovak” music. 

How would You comment your first album Thor-Iza when You look back? 

Martin: Thor-Iza was that first definite step which we made on our way to the author repertoire, even though the album contained also one  piece which wasn`t ours, it is a harmonically rearranged American folk song Amazing Grace. We were curious if it had not been a wrong step, a direction to the trappy swamps and marshes where we would mire and it would slowly absorb us so there would not remain  a trace of us K. Fortunately it did not happen, at least not until now. We believe that the way we have chosen is right. 

Peter: I find it  the first attempt whose result was shaped  in  very misty contours. But at concerts it was selling well and the reactions were positive. Its most important meaning was that it encouraged us in our direction. 

The artistic expression of AMC Trio is very consistent. Despite that, how would you describe the individual contribution of particular trio members ? 

Martin: I would better talk about my colleagues. I think, if there was another guy sitting on the place of drummer and piano player, however good he was, any big world star and if we  played the same music, it would sound totally different and I  dare to say that not better. What I want to say is that the artistic contribution of my colleagues is irreplaceable. Everyone in the trio is different but despite that we have a lot of common. They want to serve to our music and to approach  it with the enormous meekness, that everybody  who  talks to them must feel. We all come from the same background, we understand each other and predominantly, we know what we want to say with our music. 

Peter: By the fact, that our artistic feeling  is different, we can together construct a mosaic of our typical musical sound. It is true that the change of musician would  on principle change the music and it wouldn`t be the genuine AMC Trio anymore. 

Your music is notable for its impressive melodic lines and transparent harmonies. Could you describe the process of creation of your compositions? 

Martin: The individual ideas are not a group work. It means that someone of us usually brings the idea. Then we work on it together. We analyse, we work with the motif and harmony, form, rhythm, etc. There are so many things that can be done with the new idea and we want to try all possible in order to achieve the best result. Sometimes it takes a long time until we are so satisfied with the result that we take it out and play at the concert. But even after that it isn`t sure that we will keep this new piece in our repertoire. It sometimes happens that we reject the piece, that we had already played at the concert if we feel it wasn't  right. We have an agreement that if someone of us has any doubt about the new piece, we don't play it. Many times it was worth it. It is often matter of a detail. And when we find it, then the result is often unexpected. 

Peter: The final shape of the composition is often totally different than the  author intended. And that is why  our compositions have a joint authorship. 

Which jazz trios have influenced you the most? 

Martin: It is quite difficult to mention a particular trio. I can name for example Keith Jarrett Trio, McCoy Tyner Trio, Jacky Terrason Trio, John Taylor Trio... 

Peter: I can certainly say for all of us that we like very much the music of EST Trio. We also like   such an untiring stubborness with which they promoted the author repertoire, which is the most exceptional of  conventional jazz conceptions of all trios. 

Stano: I can't say if any specific trio has influenced me the most, but I like Brad Mehldau Trio and other trios sounding similarly. But I don't want to prefer any of them. Recently I was listening to  The Bad Plus Trio that I didn't know before and I found them interesting. 

What music do like  listening? 

Martin: I prefer  listening to  good music. In different genres we can find many good things. Now I maybe listen more to  classical music than I used  before, especially Bach but also other composers. 

Peter: I am very fastidious in jazz now. But I have been attracted to the European sounding jazz where the feeling of European music tradition can be found. I also listen to a lot of classical music but also older rock music. And I love tango of Astor Piazzolla. And many other things, I am just afraid we have no space to talk about it here. 

Stano: I listen to the masters of music. 

Which of your  concerts do you consider exceptional? 

Peter: We have experienced many great gigs where we got really unbelievable reactions to our music. It is hard to choose only one  the best from that amount. Sometimes we have a feeling that we played well but the reaction of the audience wasn't adequate and vice versa. Sometimes we are not satisfied with our  performance but the audience is delighted.

But we will never forget our concert in Prešov on 1st of May this year during which we promoted our new CD. It was exceptional mainly by the fact, that a lot of our friends which support us and help us got together there.So we could thank them through our music. 

Stano: Our first concerts abroad in Poland. If you are going to play on the place where nobody has heard you yet (at that time we even didn't have a webpage)  you will have mixed feelings about  and  You will mainly be afraid how Poles, brought up on jazz, will react. But their first reactions in a form of a big applause and big appreciation convinced me that to play the concert for them  had been something exceptional for me and for the guys as well. 

What is the real life and possibilities of jazzmen in Slovakia? 

Peter: It is like anywhere else. If you play good music that makes sense, you can play wherever. We can not complain all the time about few opportunities to play jazz in Slovakia. If you believe your music is worth  it, you have to do all to deliver it to the right listeners. 

Martin: To the right listeners at home but also wherever abroad. Jazz music, despite the fact, it can consist of different ethnic and local influences, is international enough for export abroad. It is another possibility how to extend the music market if somebody is good enough and knows how to do that. 

Stano: If this question is about how to make a living, because I make a living by playing music, then the real life of a jazzman in Slovakia but also abroad is quite difficult. It is hard to find somebody who got rich of jazz. 

You incidentally play with a string quartet. Can you describe this project? 

Peter: Recently we haven't played with a string quartet for a long time, because it is a big problem to manage such a big ensemble. But before we enjoyed this fusion because Adrian Harvan has arranged the strings not only as a sounding background but he has given them an expressive melodic and solo functions. On some places he even composed out different introductions and codes. The concerts with the strings were a big success. We are going to use this fusion on our coming CD in some pieces. 

How did you come to the cooperation with the guitar player Ulf Wakenius? 

Peter: Ulf had a direct contact line on his webpage. We wrote him an e-mail if he would be willing to play  the original compositions with the Slovak trio. He was first interested in the concert dates  and then he wanted to hear our music. We sent him some Mp3 and his reply was positive. He always tells us that it is the music that convinced him to cooperate with us. We can say today that we are a compact band building its position on the European jazz scene. We are now preparing  several European tours in the next two years. 

Your latest CD Soul Of The Mountain is getting very positive reviews. Is it only your author album or does it contain also Ulf's compositions? 

Peter: All the compositions on this album are  only by AMC Trio. But Ulf also speculates about adding his pieces to our repertoire as his music feeling and the taste are very close to ours. 

Martin: Of course we three brought the main music themes but Ulf brings to every piece so many beautiful themes that sometimes we think about accepting his authorshipJ. 

Can you name out  jazz sources that your music comes from? 

Peter: Our source is music itself. It is not important if it is jazz, classic, rock, pop, or folklore. We have been influenced by strong and deep melodies built on interesting harmonic sequences. It is exactly what we want to put to our music. We never think about  if we sound as jazz. It has to sound as music. Then we of course improvise and this is why we are filed into the category of jazz bands. But we don't want to stay in a box with the jazz label. We want to say something with our music to more extent circle of another listeners and we quite succeed so far, following the audience reactions. 

Martin: Our source or inspiration  is not just music. We are fascinated by nature, literature, poetry, and certainly also history and spiritual things and how all these things influence each other. 

-It is rather unique to keep playing in one line-up at present. Has the common playing become an advantage or does it bring any risk? To what extend do opinions of individual member of trio differ? 

Peter: Playing long time together is a great avantage. Especially when players understand each other  as musicians and people, as we three do (with Ulf four). Of course, our opinions about music can  differ but they always flow in a frame of our music conception. And it is this opinion difference that forms our compositions to the final shape. The stable band can always build on what it already possesses. It can be still better in comparison with accidental projects where the result doesn't have to respond to the music level of individual players. 

Stano: We have been officially playing together for 13 years but actually it is less as I worked for six years far away from  my colleagues so we played only seldom and there was no time to work on own compositions as it is now. I believe that this long time playing still hasn`t come. 

I noticed you recorded both of your albums in Poland. Was it a coincidence or did you decide intentionally? 

Peter : There was always some intention. First time we could not find the appropriate studio in Slovakia with a good piano and Wisla was acceptable for us as it is not too far. Second time we were ending our tour with Ulf Wakenius in Poland and our Swedish friend had an acceptable flight home just from Warszaw where we were recording. In both cases there were experienced jazz musicians at the mixing desk who knew how that music should have sounded. 

Stano: The decision to record both albums in Poland came after abortive previous attempts to make a recording in Slovakia and it was very acceptable and also in matter of sound it was very important. After the 'rough” and quality recording of  our music on the CD  we could easily take the recording home and adjust it to such a sound form as we wished. I also have to say that we were working on that for quite a long time. 

What projects and concerts do you plan in the nearest period? 

Peter and Stano: In the nearest period we will have several tours (mostly in Poland and Slovakia). The nearest tour with Ulf we have since 12th  of October. During the tour we will play in Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic at the festivals in Ústí nad Labem and in Hradec Králové. In November we have next tour in Poland and Hungary. In February 2010 we are planning the tour in Germany and in April again in Germany and Poland.

The next year in the autumn we are going to record our new CD with Ulf Wakenius and with special guests whose names we don`t want to reveal yet . 

Interview prepared by Peter Katina