WOLFGANG DAUNER'S ET CETERA – Live (2LP-1973)

Label: MPS Records – 29 21754-2

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: Germany - Released: 1973

Style: Jazz-Rock, Fusion, Experimental

A1 to D1 recorded live at Sielmingen with Ton Studio Bauer in May 1973

D2 recorded at Dauner Studio 1973

Design [Cover], Photography By – Frieder Grindler

Engineer – Martin Wieland

Mixed By – Martin Wieland, Wolfgang Dauner

Producer – MPS Records

A1 - Twelve And Nine (Wolfgang Dauner) . . . 12:00

A2 - Introduction (Kovacev, Braceful, Schmidt-Oehm, Thurow, Dauner) . . . 10:34

B1 - Es Soll Ein Stück Vom Willi Sein (Jürgen Schmidt-Oehm) . . . 9:45

B2 - Plumcake (Matthias Thurow) . . . 10:05

C1 - G X 3 And Blues (Wolfgang Dauner) . . . 22:00

D1 - The Love That Cannot Speak It's Name (Wolfgang Dauner) . . . 16:40

D2 - Nemo's Dream (Wolfgang Dauner) . . . 4:24

Wolfgang Dauner – synthesizer, keyboards

Jürgen Schmidt-Oehm – violin, flute

Matthias Thurow – bass, sitar

Lala Kovacev – drums [left track]

Fred Braceful – drums [right track]

German outfit Et Cetera was the brainchild of Wolfgang Dauner. Starting out playing piano as a child, he actually graduated from the Stuttgart conservatory with a major in trumpet.

In 1963 he founded his own jazz band, focusing on the comtemporary scene, bringing in famous German bassist Eberhard Weber and American drummer Fred Braceful. This threesom played together well into the 70s ? changing and challenging their sound to the limit.

Dauner recieved critical acclaim with his take on experimental and modern jazz, where he and his fellow band mates stretched the boundaries of the scene to such an extent, that many since have claimed that they did to jazz what Faust did to rock. Already at the end of the 60s, these musicians showed signs of what was to come in form of the Krautrock movement rolling across Germany during the frantic and wild 70s.

So as a natural continuation of what was happening in regards to experimentation between the different genres, Dauner and crew recorded the Et Cetera debut in mid December 1970 at the Orange Recording Studios in London. The band now consisted of Roland Wittich (percussion), Eberhard Weber ( different bass instruments, vc), Fred Braceful (drums, voices, bongos), Siggi Schwab (guitar, sitar, sarangi) and Wolfgang Dauner (synths, clavinet, ringmodulator, trumpet, flute, etc etc).

Combining everything from Indian raga music and psychedelics to the avant garde jazz tendencies with a modern rock template, Et Cetera managed to conjure up a rather unique take on the Krautrock sound. Freeflowing and loose with much focus on improvisations, the band was a melting pot of many different styles and approaches.

With the add on of legendary drummer Jon Hiseman and guitar chameleon Larry Coryell for the second studio album Knirsch, the band now seemed like a sonic experimentation to be reckoned with. Sadly this was to be the final studio release from this highly eclectic group, and they called it quits the year after with a double live album.

Et Cetera was a shortlived installment in the early days of Krautrock, but seen from a modern perspective and in the larger scope of what the scene was all about, it seems only proper to call this outfit one of the true pioneers of the scene.

The music can be everything from psychedelic tinged rock to freak out avant garde jazz with a healthy dose of Indian spicing, but above all and most importantly, this group was indeed a highly experimental force that influenced and pushed the dynamics of the German Krautrock scene during its infancy.

_ David (Guldbamsen, DK)

If you find it, buy this album!

WOLFGANG DAUNER'S ET CETERA – Knirsch (LP-1972)

Label: MPS Records – 21 21432-2
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Germany / Released: 1972
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Free-Jazz-Rock, Experimental, Prog Rock
Recorded at MPS-Studio, Villingen, March 1972.
Cover [Design], Photography By [Outside Cover] – Frieder Grindler
Engineer – Rolf Donner
Photography By [Inside Cover] – H. Mall, J. Becker
Producer – Willi Fruth

A1 - The Really Great Escape (Composed By – L. Coryell) .......................... 4:20
A2 - Sun (Composed By – W. Dauner) .......................................................... 6:38
A3 - Yan (Voice, Effects [Sounds] – Richard Ketterer) ................................ 12:55
B1 - Tuning Spread (Composed By – W. Dauner) ....................................... 11:05
B2 - Yin (Composed By – W. Dauner) ........................................................... 9:55

Musicians:
WOLFGANG DAUNER – keyboards, electronics [Electronic Devices]
LARRY CORYELL – guitar
GÜNTER LENZ – bass
JON HISEMAN – drums
FRED BRACEFUL – drums, percussion

Completely new standards were set with this recording in 1972. “ Knirsch ” became cult and still is until now, 42 years after its release. A unique example for the successful interweaving of jazz, rock, avant-garde and electronic.

With its follow-up, Knirsch, which is German for “ crunch, ” as alluded to by the trippy “ bite ” cover art of Frieder Grindler, who also designed ECM and Mood Records covers in the 1970s, the starry group was out and Dauner reconnected with MPS to hook up with American guitarist Larry Coryell (Chico Hamilton, Free Spirits, Gary Burton) and British drummer Jon Hiseman (aka John Hiseman, co-founder of the jazz-rock bands Colosseum and Tempest and, later, with Wolfgang Dauner, the all-star band United Jazz + Rock Ensemble).

This is a surpassing masterpiece.

Knirsch ” lost nothing of its initial musical stimulus. And for the primarily young generation, it may be a totally new discovery. Although some may know at least one title, the final track “ Yin ” . As this one (an honour not too many German composers experienced) was covered by Larry Coryell on his recording “ Introducing The Eleventh House ” .

The group on „Knirsch “ was named „Et Cetera “ by Dauner and he explained it as follows: „We want to make spontaneous music. Music, created at the very moment of playing and allowing its development as we go on. We let it continue on and on, but it must sound alive. We despise categories and limits. ”

High time for a new discovery of this path breaking recording.

If you find it, buy this album!

WOLFGANG DAUNER - SEPTETT – Free Action (LP-1967)

 

SABA LP cover (1967)

Label: SABA – SB 15 095
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: Germany - Released: 1967
(CD issue - Promising Music/MPS, 2008)
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded at SABA Studio Villingen, Black Forest, May 2nd, 1967.
Producer – Joachim Ernst Berendt
Recorded By – Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer
Layout [Graphic] – Gigi Berendt
Painting [Cover Painting "free Action"] – Wolfgang Dauner
Photography By – Paul Gerhard Deker

Bass – Jürgen Karg
Cello – Eberhard Weber
Drums – Fred Braceful
Drums, Percussion [Tabla] – Mani Neumeier
Piano, Piano [Prepared], Composed By – Wolfgang Dauner
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Gerd Dudek
Violin – Jean-Luc Ponty

1. Sketch Up And Dauner (8:58)
2. Disguise (6:58)
3. Free Action Shot (6:13)
4. My Spanish Disguise (12:46)
5. Collage (6:27)

Without any doubt Wolfgang Dauner is one of the world’s most versatile piano and keyboard players who has touched on literally every musical genre and – as a “ holistic artist ” - even stepped out beyond sound. From the very start of his curriculum musicae Dauner had a strong interest in overcoming clichés of standard jazz and, in every respect, developing new forms of composing and making music. At the same time he always was a down-to-earth man: He worked for TV and film, sketching soundtracks and creating music programs for children. Isolation and elite attitude was the last thing on his mind as he was always striving to mediate between jazz, rock and classical music. In the 1960s Bill Evans ’ vocabulary was a starting point for his own language and stories. ” Free Action ” , released in 1967, stands as an early and powerful manifest of some of his important ideas and until today ranges among the centrepieces of his discography. At that time Dauner was searching for a new possibility of collective composition and improvisation. He built a septet around his early trio mates Eberhard Weber (vcl) and Fred Braceful (dr): Jürgen Karg from the city of Saarbrücken is on bass whereas Krautrock legend Mani Neumeier functions as an energetic counterpart to the rather subtle playing of Braceful. The most prominent jazz violinist of that period, Jean-Luc Ponty, takes part as does tenor sax and clarinet player Gerd Dudek, also firmly anchored in the German free jazz scene. Thus, with two drummers and a bass as well as a cello player, he assembled a very unusual line-up, which allowed the musicians to focus on duos and dialogues in rarely heard constellations within the group. Before the recording session he manufactured a score for every one to enable new forms of direct interaction without the need of a band leader - interactions that also comprise spontaneity and the principle of coincidence. The five pieces on “ Free Action ” reflect different stages of unchaining from conventional forms: “ Sketch Up And Downer ” still grows out of a blues scheme, encouraging different dialogues among the musicians, “ My Spanish Disguise ” shows its origin in Iberian colours and rhythms, but than is alienated and makes use of micro-tonality. Most consequently Dauner realizes his concept of “ free action ” in “ Disguise ” and, certainly, “ Free Action Shot ” : The first one presents an Indian atmosphere at the beginning but then steers into “ free waters ” around Dauner’s prepared piano. In the latter he experiences with a new sign language conducting the musicians. Already 40 years ago Wolfgang Dauner proved to be the big explorer he remained until the present day. The original cover artwork being painted by himself this work comes as a very stimulating synthesis of the arts.

Wolfgang Dauner

From JOHN KELMAN for AAJ occasion of the release of the CD (Promising Music/MPS, 2008):

Wolfgang Dauner is yet another case of an artist who's achieved a considerable reputation in Europe, but for whom greater exposure in North America has remained elusive. The multidisciplinary keyboardist has done everything from free jazz to opera, and can be heard in fine jazz/rock form on Don "Sugar Cane" Harris' recently released 1972 MPS disc, Sugar Cane's Got the Blues (Promising Music/MPS, 2008). First released in 1967, Free Action is another MPS recording that's been long overdue for CD issue and, thanks to Promising Music, it's now possible to hear what was going on in Europe at the time, while largely unbeknownst to North American jazz fans.

Dauner's septet features three artists who have gone on to varying degrees of international recognition: reedman Gerd Dudek, bassist Eberhard Weber (heard here on cello) and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. For those only familiar with Ponty's later fusion work, his playing on Free Action will come as a surprise; it's also enlightening to hear Weber in a freer context, since his own ECM discography, while providing room for improvisation, is far more structured than the more extreme freedom of Dauner's music.

That's not to say there isn't structure to Free Action's five Dauner compositions. "Sketch Up and Downer" begins with a free exchange between Weber and bassist Jürgen Karg, with the rest of the septet—including drummers Mani Neumeier and Fred Brace—gradually joining in, leading to Dauner's knotty theme that establishes a harmonic center. Ponty's energetic solo takes place over a fiery swing, despite retaining a turbulent undercurrent. Dudek's tenor solo is more tempestuous still, as both drummers create a maelstrom with a pulse while Dauner accompanies with staggered block chords. Even as Weber becomes more unfettered and spirals further outward, Dauner's solo leads into a section that combines spontaneity with cued figures before reiterating the opening theme.

"Disguise" reflects a pervasive interest in East Indian music that began with jazz musicians in the 1960s. Neumeir switches to tabla and the group adopts a more linear approach, but freedom still reigns, with Dauner's prepared piano a jagged backdrop for in tandem soloing by Karg and Weber. The abstruse "Free Action Shot" uses graphic, rather than conventional, notation (reprinted in the CD booklet), allowing the musicians maximum liberty within a set of predefined textural parameters independent of time, pitch and tone. With a group of improvisers less concerned about personal contribution than the collective whole, Ponty still stands out, if only because it's so surprising to hear him in the context of Dauner's unconventional settings.

Dauner would go on to record a trio album with Weber and Brace for ECM (1970's Output), but the majority of his 1960s-1970s output as a leader was for MPS. A challenging record that's not for the faint-at-heart, Free Action is nevertheless a fine introduction for those unfamiliar with the pianist's work, and a welcome release for those who've been patiently waiting for its issue on CD.

_ By JOHN KELMAN
(AAJ, Published: March 25, 2008)



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