Would the Unterfahrt have been full on Saturday and Sunday if a “Lukas Kranzelbinder Septet” had been announced? And not shake stew, as the Austrian bassist called his project launched in 2016 for the Saalfelden Festival. Even the name is part of the concept of leaving the usual paths in jazz towards what pop bands use to attract a broad audience. The sophisticated stage and lighting design that matches the artwork of the respective album and the dress code of the band members also stand for this. It’s not all just PR, because the music is also breaking new ground, as you could experience in Unterfahrt at the presentation of the album “Heat”, which will be released at the end of the month.
Is that still jazz? Of course it’s still jazz
To answer the question “Is that still jazz?” which is now asked in every second jazz concert. to stifle: yes, of course, that is still jazz, in spirit and in the way of making music; because many genre-typical elements are recognizable; and because all members are so musically socialized. But for Kranzelbinder, as for so many young European jazz musicians, traditional jazz is just the starting point for the great adventure of music. that he with Shake Stew one of the most successful representatives – with appearances at the important festivals, sold-out tours (including a complete “Summer Week” in Unterfahrt 2018), raving critical acclaim and winning the “German Jazz Prize 2021” – owes itself to the fine art from which amazing amount of ingredients to have distilled a distinctive sound.
The key to this is the occupation, both formally and personally. The instruments in Shake Stew are doubled, two drums, two basses, two saxophones, plus Mario Roms for two counting trumpets. Because in addition to Kranzelbinder and Rom, Astrid Wiesinger, Johannes Schleiermacher, Nikolaus Dolp, Herbert Pirker and Oliver Potratz are a real all-star group of outstanding virtuosos at work, all the extreme difficulties are no problem, the Kranzelbinder also in the “Heat” compositions built in: breathtaking tempo passages, furious solos, wild changes, endless pressure. The real highlight, however, lies in the combination of the difficult with the very simple: first the foundation with repetitive afro beats, Ellingtonese blues coloring or alienated Jazz Messengers-Resemblances create this hypnotic pull that even opponents of jazz cannot escape. Increased by the fact that Kranzelbinder sometimes doesn’t shy away from melodies that would also work at the ESC. With this, Shake Stew in the Unterfahrt provided further evidence that the cleverest pop can also be found in young European jazz.