Jazz Time broke new ground with a special concert at Böblingen’s City Church and invited the Kartmann Collective to a special happening. Around 150 attendees didn’t want to miss it.
Jazz in a church? Essentially nothing new. But why is Jazz Time Böblingen moving from the Congress Hall to a place of worship for its third event of the year?
The answer is: “Circle in the Round.” This piece by Miles Davis, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, calls for a special arrangement of band members and audience.
The audience isn’t meant to be entertained by sound from a stage, but rather to be part of the action. The six musicians are positioned in the center of the church, and the audience gathers around them. This creates a unique sound experience.
At the beginning of the concert, bandleader Daniel Kartmann (drums, vibraphone, cornett) also encourages the audience to wander along the outer circle or venture into the center to the performers to absorb the sound.
The musical ensemble, consisting of him, Sandra Hartmann (vocals), Joachim Staudt (alto saxophone), Clara Vetter (Fender electric piano), Torsten Papenheim (electric guitar), and Jonathan Sell (double bass), is complemented by Hanno Braun (light artist), who illuminates the musical events during the performance using analogue means, in this case a disco ball.
Daniel Kartmann and Joachim Staudt are two former students of the Albert Einstein High School in Böblingen who, like many graduates of this educational institution, have embarked on the path to becoming professional musicians.
The two former Böblingen residents will be joined this evening by Clara Vetter, the 2023 Baden-Württemberg State Jazz Prize winner, and the multifaceted soprano Sandra Hartmann, promising a top-class solo line-up.
The sound collages delve deep into the human emotional world.
The collective improvisation slowly builds: a bowed double bass is complemented by similarly bowed vibraphone bars, a voice underscores the expansive, spherical sense of space, and a meditative Om atmosphere fills the nave.
The sounds intensify as a buttery-soft saxophone reinforces the meditative character. Percussionist Kartmann temporarily switches to the cornett, a historical brass instrument from the 17th century; together with the voice and saxophone, overlaps arise that soon dissolve again. Overall, the sounds seem to breathe – condensation and open spaces.
At times, the voice rises to screams that penetrate deeply, or vocal melodies resonate at frequencies that could almost shatter a glass. The sound collages penetrate deep into the human emotional world.
With eyes closed, almost beamed into another universe, the impressions intensify even further. Gregorian mood and mantras create goosebumps, and with a deep immersion, sometimes even pressure on the tear ducts.
Quite unexpectedly, unison passages with voice and saxophone emerge, appearing as if out of nowhere, even in two-part intervals.
This was by no means planned, as we learned in a subsequent conversation with the saxophonist. Joachim Staudt explains that the only requirement was a 13-bar melody from which the collective improvisation emerged.
When asked whether there were prearranged signals that introduced a turn or a two-part arrangement, he answers: “No – you let it develop, and there are really no arranged parts.” This speaks to the quality and above-average quality of this sextet.
The musicians follow the impulses they offer each other. The fact that the concert comes to a joint end after almost exactly an hour is not due to any clock that dictated this, but simply to the bandmates’ sensitivity for one another and, ultimately, to the musical quality of this ensemble.
Sandra Hartmann – Vocals
Joachim Staudt – Saxophone
Clara Vetter – Fender Rhodes
Torsten Papenheim – Guitar
Jonathan Sell – Double Bass
Daniel Kartmann – Drums, Vibraphone, Cornetto
Hanno Braun aka Retina – Light Art
