27 December 2010

URS BLÖCHLINGER TRIO "LIVE - AESTHETIK ALS WIDERSTAND" (PLAINISPHARE, 1982)






















































A wonderful, very (to my ears ) AACM influenced , double LP by Swiss Composer multi instrumentalist Urs Blöchlinger ... i have to confess almost total ignorance regarding his work ,

the only other thing i have even heard him on ... (played to me by a friend years ago ) is a Hat -Hut double lp called Lunatico under Werner Ludi's name , Blöchlinger from memory only played on a few pieces.

This live performance is very fine ... Emphasising mostly Blöchlinger's own compositions, though there is a surprise by way of an exellent cover of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Ancestral Meditations on which Blöchlinger plays some meaty Bass Sax.

The pieces alternate , angular post AACM free bop with ethno flavoured compositions, and free improvisation. Side 4 is a concrete like tape montage featuring Blöchlinger improvising through out.

The inventive bass and drums of Thomas Dürst and Thomas Hiestand, provide much more than mere rhythmic support, Thomas Dürst's 'Fifi and the heartbreakers' also featuring Blöchlingers masterful bass sax is one of the highlights ..

To my Knowledge this has never been reissued , and is not listed in Planisphare's recent Catalogue's .. a pity, indeed not much Blöchlinger seems readily available ..

PLANISPHARE LPS-1267-3/4 1982
Urs Blöchlinger - alto, bass & sopranino saxes, flute , angklung, ch-phon
Thomas Dürst- double bass
Thomas Hiestand - percussion

A1. An Other Thing And Other Things    
A2. Baghwan Business    
B1. Baghwan In Amerika    
B2. Ancestral Meditations   
C1. Fifi And The Heartbreakers   
C2. Mani    
D1. Altes Kungusisches Volkslied    
D2. Die Stimme Des Volkes    
D3. Ballade Ordinaire

Recorded in October 1982 at the Old Mill, Merenschwand, Switzerland.
Enjoy
Blochlingers myspace page

18 comments:

SOTISE said...

Flac &pics
approx 240 meg
http://www.multiupload.com/363EDSLFTL

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

Hi Sotise,

thanks for this rare recording.

Here is a bit more about Urs Blöchlinger.

He was born in 1954 and became an autididact on guitar and trumpet before he turned over to saxophone. Later he studied in the conservatory for a short time but quitted before the diploma.

He was involved and wrote music for theater and movies. His musical partners were among others George Gruntz, Carla Bley, Hans Koch, Martin Schütz and Fredy Studer.
Described as a sanguine melancholic he committed suicide in 1995

There is another deleted LP on HatArt called "Neurotica" with a.o. Glenn Ferris.

One recording (LP and CD) with Blöchlinger is still available:
Cadavre ExQuis CW 1014.
> http://www.creativeworks.ch

Anonymous said...

Onx , thanks for the bio and extra information ... very sad news i had no idea he'd been gone so long .. i discovered this record by chance as with so many others , at the time i was (and still am ) an AEOC freak .. i think the cover of Ancestral homeland , and the Bass sax clinched it for me .. i would love to hear more ... the Hat -Hut set perhaps and even that Wener Ludi set which i only heard once ...Twenty years ago... if either you or someone else has it !

i hope you enjoy this , i can barely keep up withh the magnificent gems you are sharing..
thanks for your outstanding generosity!!

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

Sotise,

I don't have any other recording with Urs Blöchlinger.
I haven't yet heard it but will do it tonight.

By the way:
Aesthetik als Widerstand > Aesthetics as resistance/opposition.

john said...

What a Christmas you've given us. I didn't know any of these three but it looks very interesting and I'm looking forward to it.

Anonymous said...

The Hat Art double LP by the Urs Blochlinger Tettet is called Neurotica. It is fantastic!!!!
I have it,but don't have the equipment to rip it to digital. Hat Hut really should reissue a complete version, which would mean a double CD.

Anonymous said...

sotise,

thanks for this. anything with bass sax is a must. this swiss label put out at least 4 but maybe as many as 6 lps from street bands in Kinshasa. the ones that I have heard are great, very different from the slicker soukous of the time. Kawende & Ses Copains, Ali & Tam are two titles that come to mind. I've never seen these blogged anywhere.

red cloud

kinabalu said...

The title reminds me a bit of Peter Weiss - Die Ästhetik des Widerstands - but I suppose there's no direct connection.

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

I don't know when the book was released - but Peter Weiss wrote "Die Ästethik des Widerstands" during the seventies.
So probably Urs Blöchlinger knew the book...

Nuage fiché qui rêve said...

Thanks Sotise for this double wonder that I haven't even fully enjoyed yet (currently listening to the second disc).
Urs Blöchlinger is also on a double cd compilation of pianist John Wolf Brennan : Initials. Blöchlinger plays on six tracks, some are duos with Brennan : http://www.discogs.com/John-Wolf-Brennan-Initials/release/2558536

wightdj said...

Great player, sad ending to his life. Thanks for this amazing intro.

neal Davis said...

Urs was fantastic, I did a tribute album of his music with some of his friends a few years ago. There is a really great album called cinema invisible if you can find it, and his first album was great it was called il fait boire. His work is so hard to find but really made a great impact on my life.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ursblochlinger

here is a link to the album I did as a tribute to him and if you need any info about him let me know

matt w said...

Just found the one track of this on YouTube -- it sounds like the track called "Ancestral Meditation" is actually Roscoe Mitchell's "Uncle." (They're next to each other on the Art Ensmble's "Urban Bushmen" -- "Ancestral Meditation" is just a drone so Urs & Co. must have got confused about when the next track starts.)

Great bass sax! There's also a track from Neurotica up.

neal davis said...

Sorry for finding this so late, I was and am a big fan of Urs. He has a bigger catalogue than most people know. His favorite album of mine is his first album which is mainly a duo with Thomas durst.

I was involved in an Urs Blöchlinger tribute album with two of his great friends and collaborators Dieter Ulrich and Christoph Baumann as well as some other Canadian musicians I have hired.

As I am typing this I'm listening to a great cd he was a part of called heilege bimbam that was recorded live. If you want anymore info about urs and some links to all of his music please contact me.

Neal Davis

Nick said...

Re-up

RS

GF

1f

mew23 said...

New link
https://1fichier.com/?ftjpy2exm8

indigonoir said...

Great music! Sotise, Nick and mew23, thank you!!

Thomas Kyhn said...

Thanks!