PRESS SYLVIE COURVOISIER TRIO

Jazz Magazine - Jazzman , aout 2014, Philippe Meziat

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_________By HENNING BOLTE, Published: August 28, 2014 | ALLABOUTJAZZ>COM

The piano trio is the supreme discipline in jazz. Through rich possibilities, it functions as a strong filter sifting out those few who were and are able to set new standards. What matters is how the three instrumental vertices relate to each other dynamically, harmonically and soundwise to build something coherent, in close dependency. Eventually, each shift at one vertex inevitably triggers shifts by the other two.

New York pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, not excessively jazz affined in her previous work, kept distant from this classic format hitherto—even when Tzadik's spiritus rector John Zorn kept on inciting her. On her way 'towards the trio' she first and foremost had to find suitable partners. Finally, with the interplay of drummer Kenny Wollesen and bassist Drew Gress the right sensibilities seemed to meet, so that the move to a new territory

could be made. The result captured on this album is a heterogeneous array of nine challenging pieces, unified by the highly inspired and refined interplay of three outstanding musicians working flexibly, through swiftly shifting, floating and wavering shapes. It definitely creates a difference from the usual piano trio sound, permeated by traces of, and allusions to, some usual piano trio figures as in "The Charlier Cut" but these are dispersed immediately in a decisive way.

Courvoisier is not a pianist who rolls out a carpet of refined texture. She builds bold tonal configurations that are concatenated in a dramaturgy, thereby generating a richly contoured sculpture. That also entails having pieces within a piece. Changing between pieces in a piece is done by jump cuts similar to those in movies. Multiple strands run through one another with contrasting moods in the opening "Double Windsor." A rhythmically driving and an elegiac motif alternate in a compelling way. What is still more intriguing, it is conjuring up in full Juan Tizol's "Caravan" without falling into its mold. In the subsequent "The Charlier Cut," back and forth jumps are even quicker and fiercer. These—not solely aleatoric—cuts reinforce each other in dynamics, mood and light in a great flow fed from underneath.

As in the case of tying a Windsor knot, shaping operations are carried out in such a sophisticatedly ordered, interconnected way here that sharp beauty emerges from it. These forms of sharp beauty all bear a magical and mysterious dimension—one of this music's most remarkable features. That results from Courvoisier's intrepid, clear and consequent approach, plus the quality of her decisive ear. Her playfulness is also made up from titles as "The Charlier Cut," "Inscordatura" or "To Fly To Steal" and mirrored in the Escher-inspired album cover. The strong qualities of each musician are really refocused, branded into a genuine cut and in new light.

The listener gets nothing on known routines here, on variations of a theme or on linear progression. What the listener does get is a

well-organized cross of Latin reminiscences as in "Cigale" or "Corto," rock riffs in "October 08," grooves in "Downward Dog," drone fanning in "Inscordatura" and also known, overused patterns constructively pulled apart as in "Pendulum," which uncovers a ballad of gradually shining beauty in a remarkable way. Due to the closely interrelated interaction constitutive of a piano trio, the music is driven by a surprisingly stark rhythmic density, without falling into manifold routines or clichés. What is still more significant : there is—without a direct stylistic expression—the clearly perceptible echo of Courvoisier's intensive cooperation with innovative flamenco dancer Israel Galván—especially in the title piece.

Personnel: Sylvie Courvoisier: piano; Drew Gress: double-bass; Kenny Wollesen: drumsRecord Label: Tzadik___________________________________________________________________________

Neue Zurcher Zeitung / NZZ , christoph wagner

Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: Double Windsor

Pianistische Fantasien12.9.2014

Das Jazzpiano-Trio hat in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten eine Renaissance erlebt. Brad Mehldau, das Esbjörn Svensson Trio und The Bad Plus konnten dem klassischen Jazzformat neue Facetten abgewinnen. Die Pianistin Sylvie Courvoisier aus Lausanne, die seit 15 Jahren in New York lebt, hat bisher einen Bogen um die Dreierformation gemacht. Zu erdrückend erschien ihr das Gewicht der Tradition. Jetzt hat sie in Triobesetzung das Album «Double Windsor» eingespielt. Es enthält neun eigene Kompositionen, die vielfarbig schimmern, oft von abrupten Brüchen gekennzeichnet sind und rasch ihre Gestalt verändern. Dabei lotet die Pianistin die ganze Bandbreite der Jazzstile aus. Das Spektrum reicht von Swing bis zu freiem Powerplay und beschwört die gegensätzlichsten Stimmungen herauf – von versonnen bis aufbrausend. Schon im Eröffnungsstück stehen sich zwei Motive gegenüber: ein eher zupackend-markantes reibt sich an einem träumerisch-romantischen. Manchmal durchzucken dabei schrille Akkorde wie grelle Blitze die musikalische Landschaft. Mit Drew Gress am Bass und Kenny Wollesen am Schlagzeug hat sich die 46-Jährige der Unterstützung von zwei der besten Sidemen der New

Yorker Szene versichert. Die beiden sind in der Lage, den Tastenexkursionen bis in die feinsten Verästelungen zu folgen, verstehen aber auch solistisch Akzente zu setzen. Das Rhythmus-Team bringt einen elastischen Swing in die Musik ein und schafft so eine geschmeidige Grundlage, auf der Courvoisier ihre pianistischen Fantasien ausleben kann. Manchmal greift sie ins Innere des Flügels und lässt einzelne Töne metallisch aufklingen, um blitzschnell wieder zur konventionellen Klanglichkeit zurückzukehren. In ihrer Spielweise finden vielerlei Einflüsse zu einer individuellen Handschrift zusammen.Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: Double Windsor (Tzadik).

________________________________International piano magazine, november 2014

November/December 2014 International Piano 85

REVIEWS CDs in brief

Endless SongWorks by Albéniz, Gershwin, Guastavino, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Metcalf, Poulenc, Rachmaninov and SukMargaret Fingerhut (pf)Chandos CHAN 10826, 73 minutes�����

This very personal disc comes aft er a period of injuries that threatened Fingerhut’s ability to continue playing. The title track (1999) is by Welsh/Canadian composer John Metcalf: think Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby. The two Mendelssohn items (Op 30 No 6, Op 19 No 3) and three Liszt song transcriptions are benchmark performances and Josef Suk’s Love Song Op 7 exudes real passion. Poulenc’s Piaf-homage Improvisation No 15 is heavily written, given its subject’s elfi n frailty. Six Gershwin transcriptions seem well-behaved rather than impish. The Albéniz Córdoba is gently magical and the Seguidillas avoids frenzy. Argentinian composer Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) supplies two salon pieces, Bailecito and El Ceibo, both here projected neatly and aff ectingly. MR

Peyko Complete Piano Music, Vol 1: Sonatas Nos 1 and 2; Sonatina No 2; Variations; Ballada; Bylina; Concert Triptych*Dmitry Korostelyov (pf) (*with Maria Dzhemesiuk (pf))Toccata Classics TOCC 0104, 62 minutes�����

Nikolay Peyko (1916-1995) was a pianist, composer, teacher, polymath, chess player and sportsman, much admired by Myaskovsky and Shostakovich. Peyko’s cultured upbringing was followed by depressingly familiar Soviet persecution later in life, though he managed to compose – and prolifi cally so – to the end. Pianists wishing Shostakovich’s piano music matched the level of his quartets should explore Peyko forthwith. The infl uence is unmistakable,

particularly in Dmitry Korostelyov’s tireless and forthright hands. The music is basically tonal (save for the serial Variations) and defi antly insistent. Sample the second movements of Sonata No 1 and Sonatina No 2 for lighter moments recalling Prokofi ev – or start perhaps with the Nocturne, the penultimate track but the fi rst calm piece. The Moscow-made recording is excellent. MR

All the Things You Are Works by Bach (arr Brahms), Kirchner, Gershwin, Perle, Mompou, Koston and KernLeon Fleisher (pf)Bridge 9429, 57 minutes�����

Every Fleisher disc is an event. This is a fascinatingly and provocatively programmed disc that daringly juxtaposes baroque with the more modern Leon Kirchner (the atonal yet approachable LH) and George Perle (the cheeky atonality of Musical Off erings). It also presents music by Mompou in the guise of his Prelude No 6 for the left hand (a mix of modernism and Romantic warmth which seems in keeping for this recital), and in so doing adds Fleisher’s name to those of Hough and Volodos among pianists who realise Mompou’s worth. The famous Bach Chaconne is given in Brahms’ version for the left hand and is the jewel of the recital. Magnifi cently concentrated and full of insights, this is a major interpretation. CC

Shapero Sonata in F minor; Variations in C minor; Sonata for Four Hands*Sally Pinkas (pf) (*Hirsch-Pinkas Duo)Toccata Classics TOCC 0211, 75 minutes�����

Massachusetts-born Harold Shapero (1920-2013) was a pupil of Slonimsky, Krenek and Piston and took his inspiration ultimately from Beethoven. This 37-minute

Sonata of 1948 was booed at its premiere (and not performed again until 2013), listeners being unable to discern its motivation beneath a thick surface of rhythms, key-relationships and extreme-register passage-work all too obviously derived from its declared model, the ‘Appassionata’. Thanks to Toccata Classics, we can now make more leisurely judgments. Both here and in the C minor Variations of 1947 (both fi rst recordings), the idiom is rugged, the scale substantial and the initial eff ect powerful. Sally Pinkas’s admirable and close-miked performances are suitably robust. She is joined by Evan Hirsch for the Four-Hand Sonata, which recalls Copland and Poulenc. MR

Double Windsor Sylvie Courvoisier (pf), Drew Gress (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums)Tzadik TZ 4002, 54 minutes�����

Sylvie Courvoisier is an improvising pianist and composer – born in Lausanne, resident in Brooklyn – best known for her collaborations with violinist Mark Feldman and her forays into the piano’s innards, as on her striking Signs and Epigrams solo CD. You’d expect Double Windsor to be more like a conventional jazz album; aft er all, she’s leading a regular jazz piano trio here (her fi rst) and, as she notes, ‘this music has more of a rhythmic feel than much of my past work’. Yet it’s a highly original recording, boldly juxtaposing the freely improvised and the through-composed, and crackling with energy. That ‘rhythmic feel’ is less about swing or groove than a non-stop, jump-cut dynamism that gives the tunes a real kick. On pieces like The Charlier Cut and Double Windsor, all mercurial leaps and hairpin bends, Courvoisier’s trio drive their intricate interactions through every tricky twist and tumble in exhilarating fashion. GL

IP1114_84_85_CDsinBrief_CJ.indd 85 14/10/2014 14:06:05—————————————————————————————————The New York City Jazz Record., november 2014

Swiss-born, New York-based pianist Sylvie Courvoisier can be hard to pin down. She covers a wide gamut with equal conviction, from jazz-inflected riffs to airy romanticism, via arrhythmic improv and chamber abstraction, enacted both at the keyboard and within the guts of the piano. With so much terrain at her disposal, it’s no wonder that she boasts such a breadth of collaborators, stretching from Lotte Anker to John Zorn, with over 30 leadership dates in her discography. However, surprisingly, she hadn’t tackled the piano trio until, at Zorn’s behest, she put together the group on Double Windsor of bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Juxtapositions of contrasting elements form an important strand in Courvoisier’s work, whether they be of mood, meter or texture. It’s clear she has chosen her partners well as they make the continual switchbacks appear natural and unforced. With his rich sound and strong melodic sense allied to rhythmic nous, Gress helps ensure that Courvoisier’s mysterious charts, full of unexpected twists and turns, remain anchored in the jazz tradition. In that he’s aided by Wollesen’s mastery of timbre and broken grooves, which lengthen and play with time, bending it to the

group will. They get things off to a fine start on the title number as a darkly rolling ostinato, which achieves thrilling immediacy when doubled by bass and piano, alternating with pensive ruminations. It cuts to a melancholy bowed bass melody that seems to be from a different piece entirely, prior to a return of the opening gambit to finish what must be one of the piano trio tracks of the year. There’s little sign of a dip thereafter either, as solos and improvisation are so well incorporated into the ingenious writing that they can escape notice, so integral are they to the magnificence of the overall flow. That same love of juxtaposition becomes a credo, seemingly shared by the whole outfit, in Courvoisier ’s quartet with husband/violinist Mark Feldman on Birdies for Lulu. Only here the range of interjections is wider still with more of an even split between jazz, contemporary classical and improv tropes. It’s most obvious on the four parts of Feldman’s “Cards For Capitaine”, created by giving instructions/notation on a series of cards, randomly reordered prior to performance. The first part features a “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”-type shuffle while subsequent installments offset open interaction with fast scuttling rhythms and delicately strummed piano strings and plaintive violin. Drummer Billy Mintz’ “Schmear” continues the thesis as a folksy dash abruptly switches first to churchy piano chords then to later sections showcasing Feldman’s husky violin and Courvoisier ’s rollercoaster piano. After a captivating intro in which Courvoisier counterbalances prepared and unprepared segments of the keyboard, Feldman’s lovely “Natarajasana” evokes Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres” in its combination of mournful violin and somber hymnal, briefly illuminated by bassist Scott Colley’s tuneful pizzicato. In fact, every composition is both complex and multi-faceted, exquisitely executed with sly humor amid the pathos and charm.

For more information, visit tzadik.com and intaktrec.ch. Courvoisier is at The Stone Nov. 2nd and 14th and Roulette Nov. 29th with John Zorn. See Calendar.

Greeley, Colorado native Jeff Davis is a mainstay on New York City’s creative music scene, his textural, highly illustrative drumming elevating releases by Robin Verheyen, Jesse Stacken, Kirk Knuffke and others. Davis’ prior releases, Leaf House and We Sleep Outside, tended towards the free and abstract, his drumming explosions and experiments like kindling aiding a rhythmic fire of punctuations, pops and sizzles. On Boom Crane, the trio of the same name Davis jointly leads with alto saxophonist/clarinetist Peter Van Huffel and bassist Michael Bates, the drummer joins in explorations of gutbucket swing and abstract excursions. Extremely like-minded, the trio begins with “More Room”, which seems to start in the middle of the tune. Davis plays a brief introduction, quickly leading to a winding bass solo. It’s an odd intro to any album, cracking the door open just wide enough to let you see where the trio is heading. After the bass solo, alto joins in and the trio begins a series of escalations, de-escalations and off-kilter swing pulses. The rest of Boom Crane follows this freeish-intro-meets-walking

trajectory, from the scattered rhythms of “Jest” and the Latin “Automatic Vaudeville” to “Slipper Hero”, which swings jaggedly. Boom Crane ties it all together via the trio’s excellent conversational skills and adroit pacing. Davis’ Dragon Father, is similar in spirit but expanded to a quintet with Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Oscar Noriega (alto sax/clarinet), Russ Lossing (piano) and Eivind Opsvik (bass). The music again teeters between abstract journeys and in-the-pocket pulses. No matter how far out this quintet explores, swing is their common currency, whether it’s nearly trad or as out as Albert Ayler. Recorded at Cornelia Street Café in New York City in March 2013, the music is beautifully rendered. After much jockeying and soloing the quintet arrives at a swing pulse punctuated by unusual accents in opener “Dirt Farmer”. “Spicy Water” recalls water dripping from a faucet, shimmers of subtle group melody played in unison with brushed drums. The quintet slowly shakes up the song’s through-composed melody, a rubato breakdown of growling cornet and stuttering alto leading to a delicate piano solo. At one point in the tune, Davis and Opsvik play an amazing rhythm that sounds like two small animals wrestling for dominance. Dragon Father continues with the zigzagging eighth-note pulse of “May 16th”, horror soundtrack experimentation leading to a kind of Latin overdrive in “Pavilion of Temporary Happiness” and closes with the lovely title ballad, which wouldn’t be out of place on a Paul Motian album, played straight and open, allowing the simple melody to shine and flourish. This closes a heaving, to-and-fro album on a grand note, the calm after the storm.

For more information, visit freshsoundrecords.com. Davis is at Cornelia Street Café Nov. 2nd with Boom Crane, Ibeam Brooklyn Nov. 12th and SEEDS Nov. 19th. See Calendar.

14 NOVEMBER 2014 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

C D REV I EWS

��.HQQ\�%DUURQ�'DYH�+ROODQG³ The Art of Conversation (Impulse!)��$EHODUGR�%DUURVR�DQG�2UTHVWD�6HQVDFLRQ³ Cha Cha Cha (Puchito-World Circuit)��/HQQ\�%UHDX³LA Bootleg 1984 (Guitarchives)��%ULDQ�&KDUHWWH³Good Tipper (Posi-Tone)��0LFKHO�'RQHGD³Everybody Digs Michel Doneda (Relative Pitch)��&KDUOLH�+DGHQ�-LP�+DOO³Eponymous (Impulse!)��:D\QH�+RUYLW]³The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble (Songlines)��:DGDGD�/HR�6PLWK�%LOO�/DVZHOO³The Stone (M.O.D. Technologies/Incunabula)��6WnKOV�7ULR³Jag Skulle Bara Gå Ut (Moserobie)��7ULR�����9LMD\�,\HU³Wiring (Intakt)Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor

��2PHU�$YLWDO³New Song (Motéma Music)��'DQLHO�%ODFNVEHUJ�7ULR³ Perilous Architecture (NoBusiness)��0LFKDHO�%ODNH³Tiddy Boom (Sunnyside)��7RPDV�)XMLZDUD�7ULR³Variable Bets (Relative Pitch)��5XVV�-RKQVRQ³Still Out To Lunch! (Enja/Yellowbird)��%UDQIRUG�0DUVDOLV³In My Solitude (Live at Grace Cathedral) (OKeh)��$UXQ�5DPDPXUWK\�7ULR³Jazz Carnatica (s/r)��$NLUD�6DNDWD�)UHG�/RQEHUJ�+ROP�� .HWLO�*XWYLN�3DDO�1LOVVHQ�/RYH³ The Cliff of Time (PNL)��$OH[�6NROQLFN·V�3ODQHWDU\�&RDOLWLRQ³� � Eponymous (ArtistShare)��$NL�7DNDVH�$OH[DQGHU�9RQ�6FKOLSSHQEDFK³ So Long, Eric! (Homage to Eric Dolphy) (Intakt)Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director

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Double Windsor Sylvie Courvoisier Trio (Tzadik)

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Dragon Father Jeff Davis (Fresh Sound-New Talent)

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Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: Double Windsor (2014)By VINCENZO ROGGERO, Published: November 17, 2014 Published @ All About Jazz Italia -- Double Windsor

I dieci minuti dell'iniziale title-track valgono da soli il prezzo del biglietto. Non che il resto dello spettacolo sia di secondo piano, ma è in quell'inizio folgorante che riusciamo a cogliere al meglio l'originale vis poetica di

Sylvie Courvoisier, pianista di origini svizzere da anni trapiantata a New York.

C'è un ostinato sui registri bassi che detta i tempi, certamente, ma è molto di più, perché diventa a sua volta melodia martellante, presenza carsica che affiora e si inabissa in maniera imprevedibile, e quando meno te lo aspetti eccolo li, rassicurante o inquietante a seconda del attimo fuggente. C'è la mano destra che su questo ben di Dio costruisce un mondo fatto di accelerazioni, improvvisi stop and go, trilli acutissimi, dinamiche violentate, squarci poetici di derivazione accademica.

C'è il contrabbasso di Drew Gress, poderosamente metronomico quando necessario, delicato e sognante quando archettato, fondamentale nel dare concretezza alle fughe della pianista. E c'è la batteria di Kenny Wollesen, mobilissima e leggera, meravigliosa nel sollecitare in punta di piedi e creare le condizioni ideali alle improvvisazioni della leader. Dieci minuti in cui è raccontato un mondo, fluidi e variegati come una suite, potenti e maestosi coma una sinfonia.

Poi... altre otto miniature -a prescindere dalla durata, spesso consistente, come nell'astratta ballad "Pendulum." Frammenti di un'idea, dallo sviluppo tutt'altro che canonico come nello stile della leader, abile nel scivolare da una visione sonora all'altra, a tratti geniale nel combinare l'approccio classico allo strumento con l'uso del pianoforte preparato. Dopo anni di corteggiamento John Zorn è riuscito a far incidere per la sua etichetta il trio della Courvoisier, speriamo non ne passino altrettanti per poter ascoltare la seconda prova di questo splendido ensemble.

Track Listing: Double Windsor; The Charlier Cut; Downward Dog; Pendulum; La Cigale; Inscordatura; Corto; October 08; To Fly to Steal.Personnel: Sylvie Courvoisier: piano; Drew Gress: contrabbasso; Kenny Wollesen: batteria.Record Label: TzadikStyle: Modern Jazz

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Sonntag07.09.2014, www.kultkomplott.deSylvie Courvoisier „Double Windsor“ Tzadik

Sie ist eine der mutigsten und gefragtesten Pianistinnen im zeitgenössischen Jazz. Sylvie Couvoisier, in Lausanne geboren und seit den späten 1990er Jahren in New York lebend, verbindet in ihrem Spiel all die musikalischen Einflüsse, die ihr im Laufe der eigenen Sozialisierung begegneten. Man spürt die Nähe zur europäischen Klassik (und auch immer wieder zur Romantik), man hört der Musik die Leidenschaft an, die sie mit den freien Ausdrucksformen des Jazz verbindet und man staunt über die Offenheit und Neugier, mit der die Pianistin sich jedem neuen Projekt stellt. Für das Label Tzadik des New Yorker Radikalen John Zorn hat sie nun erstmals(!) ein Trio-Album aufgenommen. Gemeinsam mit Drew Gress am Bass und Kenny Wollesen am Schlagzeug erkundet sie in den neun Kompositionen von "Double Widnsor" das musikalische Potential, das in dieser Formation steckt. Die intensive Kommunikation, die das Trio in immer neue Bereiche weitab der ausgetretenen Pfade gefälliger Klaviermusik führt, ist hierfür die Voraussetzung. Und nur so sind die drei in der Lage, intellektuellen Anspruch und emotionale Wirkung auf diese überzeugende Weise miteinander zu verzahnen.„Double Windsor“ sprüht vor Leidenschaft, manchmal auch vor abenteuerlich anmutenden Irritationen und wirkt dann im nächsten Moment wieder wohlgeordnet und völlig kontrolliert. Am Flügel bewegt sich Sylvie Courvoursier virtuos, ohne jedoch in technische Kabinettstücke zu verfallen. Virtuos sind eher die Ideen, der vollzogene Teamgeist des Trios, auf höchstem Niveau umgesetzt. Themen werden aufgebrochen, verdichtet, erweitert und neu zusammengefügt. Diese Musik besitzt eine beeindruckende subversive Ästhetik, die aber immer auch an die lyrische Phantasie des Hörers appelliert. Eine herausfordernde, wie herausragende Produktion.helga b____________________________________________________________________

Jazzfestival Saalfelden auch heuer großer

Erfolg01.09.2014 © APA….

Das durchgehend hohe Niveau der 35. Auflage setzte sich indes auch am Abschlusstag fort. Nach einem soliden Nachmittags-Opener mit den Austro-Saxophon-Größen Herwig Gradischnig und Max Nagl, Bassist Peter Herbert und Drummer Michael Vatcher sorgte Sylvie Courvoisier für den ersten Höhepunkt des Sonntags. Welche Klänge, Geräusche und Obertöne die Schweizer Pianistin dem Flügel und seinem Resonanzraum zu entlocken weiß, ist immer wieder ein Vergnügen. Mit ihren Trio-Kollegen Drew Gress (Bass) und Kenny Wollesen (Drums) kreierte Courvoisier subtile Klangräume, die aus sperriger Abstraktion ins hypnotisch Fließende führten und dabei von enormem Variantenreichtum und musikalischer Freiheit zeugten….

https://www.austrians.org/medien/apa/TopNews/7.689.960/detail___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/

Der Wagemut braucht keine Eisdusche

So schnell ließ ihr Herausforderer nicht locker. "Jedes Mal, wenn wir uns trafen, hat er mich wieder gefragt: Wann machst du es jetzt endlich?", erzählt Sylvie Courvoisier.

Um eine Einladung zur "Ice Bucket Challenge", bei der sich derzeit weltweit Prominente für den guten Zweck einen Kübel Eiswasser über den Kopf kippen, ging es dabei freilich nicht. Zu einem ganz anderen Projekt wollte John Zorn, seines Zeichens Jazzlegende und Chef des New Yorker Plattenlabels Tzadik, die Pianistin anstacheln. "Und ich habe ihn immer vertröstet und gesagt: Ja, ja, eines Tages mache ich es. Doch diese Idee hatte für mich durchaus auch etwas Einschüchterndes", sagt die Schweizerin mit Wohnsitz in Brooklyn.

Als wagemutige Improvisatorin ist Sylvie Courvoisier in einer Vielzahl von Projekten unterwegs. Auch beim Jazzfestival Saalfelden, wo sie heuer einer der Hauptacts ist, war sie immer wieder zu Gast. Im zeitgenössischen Jazz wird das Neue immer wieder abseits von bewährten Konventionen gesucht. Sprünge ins kalte Wasser gehören also für experimentierfreudige Musiker zum Berufsalltag.

Doch eines fehlte bislang in Courvoisiers umfangreicher Diskografie. Um eines der geschichtsträchtigsten Formate im Jazz hatte sie bisher einen Bogen gemacht: das Klaviertrio. "Ein Trioalbum einzuspielen

bedeutet auch, dass man es mit der Last einer immensen Tradition zu tun hat", erzählt Courvoisier. Dass sie am Sonntag auf der Saalfeldener Hauptbühne nun trotzdem ihr brandneues Klaviertrio vorstellt, liege nicht zuletzt an Labelchef Zorn. "Er hörte nicht auf zu sagen: Ich will diese Trioplatte!"

Lange Suche nach den idealen PartnernZeit habe sie sich nicht nur für die zehn Kompositionen gelassen, sondern auch für die Suche nach idealen Triopartnern, die sie mit Drummer Kenny Wollesen und dem Bassisten Drew Gress gefunden hat. "Beide sind großartige, freie Improvisatoren, und beide haben ihre ganz eigene Stimme", sagt Sylvie Courvoisier. Allerdings: Der Titel des Albums klingt zunächst weniger nach Freiheit als nach kontrollierter Strenge: "Double Windsor" heißt die CD, genau so wie der klassische Krawattenknoten.Ob man daraus schließen kann, dass die energiegeladene Pianistin zugleich eine strenge Triochefin ist? "Ich glaube nicht", sagt Sylvie Courvoisier. ",Double Windsor‘ ist der Name einer Bar in Brooklyn. Der einzige strenge Aspekt an dem Album war, zum Trioformat zurückzukehren. Doch bereits im Titelstück wird das konventionelle Format mit neuer Sprengkraft aufgeladen."In Brooklyn ist die Musikerin und Komponistin seit mehr als zehn Jahren zu Hause. "New York ist das exakte Gegenteil der Schweiz. Dort fand ich Inspiration eher in der Ruhe, in der Natur. Was mich in New York inspiriert, ist die unerschöpfliche Musikergemeinschaft. Zu jeder Zeit kannst du mit den besten Musikern neue Ideen ausprobieren. Das treibt mich an. Vielleicht hätte ich nie ein Trioalbum gemacht, wenn ich in der Schweiz geblieben wäre?"In Lausanne wurde Courvoisiers Jazzneugier dennoch früh geweckt: "Mein Vater war Jazzpianist. Er hat mich immer ermuntert, mit ihm zu improvisieren. Musik hatte bei uns immer etwas sehr Spielerisches."Die Spielregeln einer männerdominierten Jazzszene machen es Instrumentalistinnen freilich manchmal schwer. "In der Schweiz war es anfangs gar nicht einfach, akzeptiert zu werden", erinnert sich

Courvoisier. Von John Zorn wurde die Pianistin hingegen auch ins Studio gebeten, als er 2008 sein Album "Femina" produzierte, das der weiblichen Kreativität gewidmet war.Ob es die Unterschiede heute noch gibt? "Früher waren die Differenzen sicher größer", sagt Courvoisier. "Es dauerte, bis Frauen ihr Platz zugestanden wurde. Musikerinnen wie Joëlle Léandre oder Irène Schweizer mussten ihn sich noch erkämpfen. Wir haben das Glück der nächsten Generation: Heute sind große Instrumentalistinnen im Jazz nicht mehr die Ausnahme."

Festival: Sylvie Courvoisier spielt mit ihrem Trio "Double Windsor" in Saalfelden am Sonntag auf der Hauptbühne (17.30 Uhr). In der Nebenreihe Short Cuts tritt sie heute, Samstag (14 Uhr), im Trio mit Erik Friedlander und Ikue Mori auf.

_______________________________________________________________________Concert Review: Sylvie Courvoisier Trio (The Stone, NYC, 6/8/2013) By Sarah V. | June 8, 2013 | Concert review

I had been vaguely planning to go see John Zorn & co. at Le Poisson Rouge on this particular night, but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided I’d seen enough of him lately and should check out Sylvie Courvoisier‘s trio at the Stone. I absolutely love her piano playing, and I haven’t seen her perform for quite a while. The last time I saw her at the Stone, she played the single most fantastic piano solo I have ever seen in my entire life, so suffice it to say: I am a fan. On this particular night, she was accompanied by Kenny Wollesen on drums and Drew Gress on upright bass.The Stone is pretty bare-bones as far as venues go, but it’s one of my favorite places in the world to see music. Partly because they attract such uniquely talented performers, and partly because of the purity: no drinks, no bar, no food, no stage. People play music, you get a chair to sit in, end of story. There are few distractions beyond the occasional city sounds from outside. The audience members are there for serious music listening and always show great respect for the performers.

I got the exact seat I wanted for this performance – there are ten or twelve seats located behind the area where the instruments are set up, and they are just behind and to the left of the pianist. I took the middle of the front row of these seats – I sacrificed most of my view of the bass and drums, but in exchange I was able to see every single key she played on the piano, which was wonderful. I took some surreptitious video, as usual:

Sylvie Courvoisier is an unusually creative pianist, using a variety of extended techniques in addition to her intense keyboard skills. For this show, she used duct tape, mallets, and metal spheres on the strings and piano interior to elicit a wide variety of sounds. The duct tape, stuck across a series of strings, changed the sound of those particular piano keys into a sort of wood-block sound. The metal spheres were able to bring out something almost slide-guitar-y. I love seeing these kind of techniques – for me, it takes the instrument to a higher level when I see someone coming up with sounds that I didn’t even know a piano could make. But aside from the extended techniques her more conventional piano techniques are simply spectacular. Veering from absolute delicacy to near-violence in any given piece, the passion and intensity of her playing always leaves me in awe. The whole concert was excellent from the first note to the last – my only regret is that I couldn’t stay for the second set!Ms. Courvoisier is currently scheduled to play dates in New York and all over Europe (and I even spot a couple of 2014 dates in Australia and New Zealand) – check out her tour schedule here: http://sylviecourvoisier.com/calendar.htm.————————————————————Sylvie Courvoisier's first recording for piano trio, performed with Drew Gress on bass and Kenny Wollensen, 9 passionate original compositions balancing melodic traditional work with through-composed and purely free playing; exceptional!