Till Martin will once again be a guest at the next “Marktmusik” in the Vaterstetten parish church. He has accompanied the series from the beginning, together with others, but also as a soloist. In theory, all he would have to do was jump on his bike to get to church from his home in Baldham. “But I’d rather take the car with the heavy instrument,” he says, looking at his saxophone. “Autumn Leaves” is the title of the concert that he will improvise together with Matthias Engelhardt on the electric bass and Chris Gall on the piano. No matter how colorful these sheets are, red-orange-yellow-brown, they will float through the church room this morning, surrounded by the blue shimmer of jazz. Martin didn’t even think about the exact title for a while before the concert. He doesn’t need it either, because “it can only be good with the two of them together. We just have to rake a few sheets together,” he says. As is the case in jazz, where people make the music, not the notes.
Listening to Till Martin means encountering straight, no-frills jazz. Those who have not yet had the opportunity to do so despite their regular appearances in the district can embark on a journey of discovery through what has now become a remarkable series of recordings. A striking, unmistakable style is revealed, a light but moving telling of small stories, which the composer Martin appreciates just as much as the instrumentalist. It gets particularly exciting when he switches from the saxophone to the bass clarinet. Because then the tenderness of a lover who wants to show everyone else the beautiful soul of his beloved is revealed. A good example of this is more than 20 years old, full of life and a love of detail: the album “Musik für Wohnen”, which Martin recorded with his quartet and received the German Record Critics’ Prize for it.
The composer thinks that the audience should also be challenged intellectually
Being open to the unexpected, living your own style, that is also reflected in the bands and projects that Till Martin built and developed. “First I take care of the music, then the band, and only then do I look around where and in front of which audience they can play,” he makes his priorities clear. “You can’t adjust the program every night because the audience is different here than there.” This attitude gives rise to such extraordinary concerts as “The Gardener”, about which this newspaper said: “Martin composes and arranges with the bowing precision of an experienced diamond cutter.” Such concept albums are something special, he doesn’t see much point in writing “mainstream stuff”, Baldhamer notes that he also challenges the audience mentally instead of just baiting them with emotions.
Martin’s relationship to classical music is ambivalent. What separates him from it: He does not want to reinvent an opus with his interpretation. “I’d rather play the original.” What connects him to classical music: “I appreciate this kind of strictness.” In the ensemble Sarabande it comes out with stunning power. The album is called “The Arabian Passion according to JS Bach”, combines European classics with Arabian instruments and jazz saxophone and, after a performance at Lincoln Center, won the critics of the New York Times prompted to a written bow. Not least because Martin does not stand out as a composer, but always sees himself as a co-player. That’s why he’s in demand as such and why he always likes to take the opportunity: “I already know my inspirational world. When I play other people’s music, it’s extremely interesting because it’s knitted very differently.”
Chris Gall, one of his two fellow market musicians, has known Till Martin for a long time, they have played together in different line-ups. What connects the two? That they treat their music more like sculptures than like pictures. That they understand fantasy as something that they allude to in their listeners instead of living it out excessively themselves. And that they seek spirituality in dealing with their instruments, not in the big show. What the two Baldhamers Gall and Martin still share is their enthusiasm for football. When it comes to concert requests, Martin first looks at the Champions League schedule before accepting. “I won’t let myself be surprised. That will be checked carefully,” he says. There are stories from colleagues who would have followed the game during the game on a small TV, but “for me there is always only one of the two”.
When it comes to jazz, Martin goes to his roots: Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis
Where does Martin’s musical inspiration come from, what does he prefer to listen to in his free time? At first there is laughter and then: “To relax, preferably nothing at all. Otherwise, I listen very intensively, I also like things that I don’t know yet.” When it comes to jazz, Martin likes to go to the roots, where listening is still fun after a hundred years: Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis. “I love that.” It’s no coincidence that in 2017 he dedicated his last album “Knit for Elly” to exactly that circle. And suddenly the conversation turns to black-and-white films, and one learns that Martin is repeatedly involved in the dubbing of silent films. “It’s a completely different dramaturgy than in today’s films,” he says, revealing his enthusiasm for making music out of these moving images. Recently he was involved in the soundtrack for some Laurel and Hardy films: “Great! Even though I’ve seen them many times, I always have a hearty laugh.”
At the market music, Till Martin will be happy to meet neighbors and friends among those who let the colorful autumn leaves blow around their ears. “Playing in a church is always something special because of the spatial effect,” he says. “Playing in a church at home with people you like and know is even better. It’s really nice.” He pronounces the word the way it was originally meant.
Market music on Thursday, November 10, from 10.15 to 10.45 a.m. in the Catholic parish church of Vaterstetten: a jazz trio consisting of Chris Gall (piano), Till Martin (saxophone) and Matthias Engelhardt (e-bass) plays improvisations and their own compositions. Admission is free, donations are requested.