Toward the Unknown Kathrin Pechlof

• 1 Silence Is a Looking Bird 05:03
• 2 Fuge 02:53
• 3 Elegie 09:07
• 4 Feldfolge 04:40
• 5 Thema und Variation 07:43
• 6 Earth 02:47
• 7 Toward the Unknown 08:45
• 8 Versuch 03:47
• 9 Made up Animals 02:12
• Total Runtime 46:57

Info for Toward the Unknown

The harp has never had a major role in jazz, but then again, harpist Kathrin Pechlof’s music encompasses more than jazz. Her success in both traditional and contemporary classical music, her venture into a jazzy version of Bavarian folk music and the Avant-pop of Cosmic Groove Orchestra led to her consequent turn towards contemporary jazz and work with such players as Pablo Held, Niels Klein, and Sebastian Gille. Such a background lends a depth and breadth to Pechlof’s play that places her in the forefront of the new generation of innovative musicians. Pechlof’s trio of like-minded musicians alto saxophonist/composer Christian Weidner and bassist Robert Landfermann has been testing musical borders for some seven years.

Jazzthing depicted their first PIROUET album, Imaginarium, as “chamber music worlds of quiet beauty and understated elegance”. On their new PIROUET CD, the three guide the listener towards the beauty and challenge of the unexpected.

Known for his work with the likes of Nils Wogram and Kenny Werner, Christian Weidner’s PIROUET albums have received critical acclaim. On the present album, Pechlof’s partner shares composing duty, and acts “as a mirror, critic and sometime-catalyzer” in Pechlof’s compositional process as well. The two have absolute faith in bassist Robert Landfermann’s musical decisions and inspirations.

A member of Pablo Held’s acclaimed trio from its inception, Landfermann has worked with such luminaries as John Scofield and Jim Black. Kathrin emphasizes that, “This trio is a collective project. There is no leader.” As for their approach to music as well as life, “It’s important to move out of the comfort zone, to make what is foreign familiar, to internalize the external.” And for their audience, “There is a need for music in which the listener doesn’t just hear what he is expecting. We’ve achieved something when the listener is affected internally.”

Kathrin Pechlof, harp
Christian Weidner, alto saxophone
Robert Landfermann, double bass

Recorded November 12th and 13th at Kyberg Studio, Oberhaching
Mixed March 20th and 21st 2017 at Kyberg Studio, Oberhaching
Mastered by Christoph Stickel
Recorded, mixed and producer by Jason Seizer

Kathrin Pechlof
was born in Munich. She studied harp at Munich’s Richard Strauss Conservatory; later she studied jazz composition in Cologne. After her studies she gave concerts as time soloist and played in various well-known chamber music ensembles and orchestras. She gradually migrated towards jazz, playing in such avant-garde ensembles as the Wanja Slavin Sextet and the Cosmic Groove Orchestra, as well as working with such internationally successful groups as the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra. Thus, it’s a logical next step for this musician to appear with her own ensemble, plaaying a contemporary jazz-chamber music that leaves plenty of room free for improvisation.

Pechlof’s two partners are ideal for such an undertaking. With the Pirouet CDs The Inward Song and Dream Boogie, Saxophonist Christian Weidner has made a name for him- self in the last few years as the author and interpreter of a music deeply grounded in beauty. Bassist Robert Landfermann is one of the most sought-after jazz bassists in Germany. He can be heard on Pirouet on various recordings of pianist Pablo Held (the latest being Trio Live), as well as recordings of other artists. Here he has shown him- self to be an exceptionally flexible improviser who places a high value on new sounds and improvisational challenges. For one thing, these two musicians have the broad horizons that the music requires; for another, they have the ears for all the subtle nuances.

This album contains no booklet.