2025-08-23 Saalfelden Day 3- Saturday
Brennan / Terwijn / Lillinger
Kunsthaus Nexus
Patricia Brennan – vibraphone
Jort Terwijn – bass
Christian Lillinger – drums
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| Brennan, Terwijn, Lillinger. Photo by Julian Gruber |
A somewhat unlikely union of musicians translates into a hell of a lot of notes. Part composed, part improvised, the only time the group has ever performed together was the soundcheck. Almost entirely acoustic, with no instrument mic’ed, except for the bass – what you hear is what you get.
It’s an exciting match up. Jort provides a perfect foundation for Christian and Patricia’s wild experimentations. At one point, Christian cranes over his drumkit in soft meditation, metronomically dragging the brush back and forth in the lightest feathery way, allowing for Jort’s bass taps to accompany just barely. Patricia’s vibes fill the space with dreamy waves of sound. Before too long, this crescendos into a waterfall of ghost notes, spontaneity, and decision making. They just don’t miss.
Towards the end, even from a distance, Jort’s bass could be seen building up a wet residue over the bridge. I asked my companion if perhaps it was hopefully just sweat. Shockingly, my worst fears were confirmed when his fingers grew increasingly redder and redder, and the stain on the bass grew gradually more saturated and obvious. Afterwards we met Jort in the lobby with two band-aids around his fingers. He claimed to have not even felt it, and that the reason he was cut was due to the bass he used being strung with metal strings. Later on I also spoke to Patricia who said that she had experienced similar accidents while playing, and confirmed that during these moments of intensity, “you don’t even notice.” All three musicians agreed that they had a great time.
Back at the city park, a selection of food trucks offered fresh take-away for all tastes. These two vegetarians opted for “Crazy Fries” that turned out to be not terribly dissimilar from normal fries, but perhaps the addition of tomato sauce gave them an Austrian hint of “loco.” A James Brown tribute band of mostly-white Swiss guys and a gal provided the free soundtrack and judging from the people dancing around and playing with their families, they put on a fun show.
BEZAU BEATZ Orchestra of Good Hope
Congress Saalfelden
Leo Genovese – piano
Luîs Vicente – trumpet
João Pedro Brandão – sax, bass pedal
Camila Nebbia – sax
Sofia Salvo – baritone sax
Lucien Dubuis – bass clarinet
Demian Cabaud, bass
Pedro Melo Alves – drums
Alfred Vogel – drums
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| BEZAU BEATZ Orchestra. Photo by Julian Gruber |
“An ode to hope and an ode to life”. Alfred’s nine piece band contains a non-conventional assortment of instruments- flute, electronics, two drummers, baritone and tenor sax, bass clarinet, piano, trumpet, and bass. One set of drums has a spiral hanging from it, the other is mounted with bongos. As we had learned on Monday at “Eyes to the Sun,” Alfred had been given a 50/50 chance of survival from his diagnosis of Leukemia. This project was one of the bands his wife encouraged him to form, regardless of his cancer. It’s gut wrenching to learn that had he not survived, Pedro would have been the sole drummer for the band, to take his place. One can’t imagine how difficult that conversation must have been. Miracles do happen, and now there are two drummers in this orchestra, both very much alive!
Most of the music is atonal, with a heavy vibe of randomness, but musicians dip in and out in different combinations. It’s rarely all nine at once. One particularly entertaining duet included a showdown between Pedro and Alfred, a competition of who could produce the most obscure drum sound. At one point Alfred tossed one of his cymbals on the stage floor. Little bird calls are blown, and flute, sax, and trumpet begin to follow along. The players are always looking around at each other, surveying the playground. Naturally, the finale elevates to a grandiose free-for-all. All the musicians are freakin’ out, and bouncing along in synergy. Out of nowhere, a swing emerges- the first obvious semblance of beat. This orchestra feels like a unit. Nobody is dominating over anybody else. Alfred seems genuinely excited to incorporate a drum he slings over his shoulder and plays from his armpit. He grins as he wears it. He has been frequently smiling throughout the entire performance, as have the other performers, which is fitting for an ode to hope and life.
Teis Semey “EN MASSE!”
Congress Saalfelden
Teis Semey – guitar
José Soares – alto saxophone
Jesse Schilderink – tenor saxophone
Jort Terwijn – double bass
Sun-Mi Hong – drums
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| Teis Semey EN MASSE. Photo by Julian Gruber |
Teis’s quintet comes out a la White Stripes in red and black outfits that match fittingly with Teis’s guitar. Their toe-tappin’ melodies have got heads a-boppin’ along. It’s refreshing also to see a female drummer- the first I’ve spotted at this festival- Sun-Mi Hong. She is speedy, fluid, and she really rocks, setting a confident pace for this bright energetic band. Sharp turns and sudden song changes are no challenge to this troupe, who don’t miss a single beat, seamlessly transitioning from one song to the next. At this festival, not all solos are met with polite golf claps, the audience doesn’t applaud unless they really believe it is well earned. During this performance, the sax solos earn heartfelt applauses.
I wonder how Jort’s fingers are feeling having grated the crap out of them at the Lillinger / Brennan show? He seems to be holding up just fine, and also earns an applause for his solo. Teis’s awkward stage banter has maintained, rehashing a couple lines for the main stage. More impressive is his consistently good noodlin’ on the guitar. He is quick and accurate but he also has a kind of youthful spirit- maybe that’s a dumb thing to say, but something about him comes across as being unpretentious and kind. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they play their instrument. Jesse Schilderink, tenor sax player, keeps standing in this power lunge stance. Perhaps this is the secret of his power.
After so many wild and intensely freaky shows, the slight change of pace to something more tuneful is welcome at this point to balance things out. And to be honest, it’s probably the only logical warm-up band for أحمد [Ahmed] if any of us are to remain mentally stable enough for a fourth day at this mad festival.
أحمد [Ahmed]
Congress Saalfelden
Pat Thomas – piano
Seymour Wright – alto saxophone
Joel Grip – double bass
Antonin Gerbal – drums
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| أحمد [Ahmed].Photo by Julian Gruber |
At some point, Seymour’s sax tone becomes the tether in the chaotic scramble of the أحمد [Ahmed] game. It’s so uncompromising and unapologetic- both revered and despised by jazz critics around the world. Today they are performing “African Bossa Nova” and the hour-long endurance piece is streamed to the masses on Austrian internet radio Ö1.
In typical أحمد [Ahmed] style, the piece begins unassumingly enough, but gradually divulges into an emotionless anarchy. Pat mashes the keys at times, with little regard for which ones he lands on exactly. Joel and Antonin are a ballistic machine. It’s really the most confrontational jazz music, and the most anarchaic – so noisy, and so restless. It’s quite understandable that this set is not going to be everyone’s cup of Darjeeling, but for those who cannot endure, their vacant seats are soon filled.
Having seen the quartet in the setting of a clubby side-stage in Tennessee, this main stage experience provides a completely alternative perspective. For one, in the club you would not look out of place dancing along and getting lost in the hypnotic rhythms through movement. Here in the large hall, up on a raised stage أحمد [Ahmed] is forced into the spotlight, with no option other than to watch.There are at least three people off in the standing area who truly feel it, dancing like their lives depend on it. The African vibe is clearly working its visceral influence forging primal connections with the spiritual few that feel compelled to move.
Polarising, brave, adventurous, and utterly unique. Why can’t all live bands be this exciting? Seamless transitions communicated via telepathy. أحمد [Ahmed] are absolutely sensational. The show ends excitingly abruptly and a roar explodes from the audience, the loudest one so far at the festival.
Tomoki Sanders
Congress Saalfelden
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| Tomoki Sanders. Photo by Julian Gruber |
Tomoki Sanders – tenor and soprano sax
Ian Finkelstein – keyboards
Mwanzi Harriott – guitar
Christian Napoleon – drums
After the massive experience of absorbing an أحمد [Ahmed] performance, one requires a moment of peace and reflection. Unfortunately, savouring this precious moment required sacrificing the beginning of the Sanders set.
Welcome to Austria:
-We don’t dance along.
-We don’t sing along.
-We don’t do crowd participation.
Tomoki’s attempt to induce a call and response of “the master plan I never had” falls flat. He gives it his all but the crowd is far too shy to come out of their shells. He keeps at it for a while but eventually just sings some impressive vocal runs instead.
Normally a sax player, for his encore Tomoki takes to the drumkit, showcasing another of his many talents. He’s pretty good, and obviously a born entertainer with showmanship in his blood.
For the finale, the drummer returns, and Tomoki has one last hail mary- commanding everyone quite seriously to get their asses out of their seats. By some miracle, most people do, probably as a trade off from the fact that they refused to sing. Some are even really letting go. He takes it a step further and pushes for clapping. A final sing along ends surprisingly well. There’s no denying Tomoki’s persistence. I can’t help imagining how much fun it would be to see him performing to a more uninhibited crowd. Although I do feel a small sense of pride that he managed to make the Austrians come out of their shells.