Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917145120
Releasedate: 25-10-24
- Musical roller coaster ride with passion
- Masterwork by a master drummer: roller coaster trip by Diego Pinera
- The blessing of a solid band: a drummer celebrates the underground spirit
Life is like a roller coaster ride! Diego Pinera, the drummer from Berlin, recently had far too much of it. "This part of the album title reflects my life over the last few years," he conceded candidly—and by that he also meant very personal matters. He had to overcome "very dark moments" and even a serious illness. On the other hand, there was a variety of great experiences with music. Then a painful separation. On the other hand, he was awarded the German Jazz Prize in the spring of 2023. The musician, who comes from Uruguay and has lived in Germany for more than two decades, was nominated twice: as a composer (the winning title "Through Hell" is on this album) and as an arranger. "These were many extremes at the time." And without a doubt, he found therein a breeding ground for many things that can be heard on the excellent new album "Underground Roller Coaster".
Underground? “Our attitude is pretty much underground, not in the free jazz sense, but perhaps in the punk sense." This spirit was reinforced by the unusual recording conditions. Pinera had decided that his quartet would largely record this album live in a large studio room—just like his great role models from the 1950s and 1960s. In search of a suitable location, he discovered the Zentrifuge Studio in Berlin's Wedding district: a rough, unique place where jazz and avant-garde are lived: "Chaotic and crazy just like Berlin! Full shelves. You play live standing in a semi-circle—no headphones, almost like in a concert." The amazing result: a harmonious organic sound, to which the careful mixing and mastering by specialist Martin Ruch contributed.
Diego Pinera (his real surname is Piñera) has already worked in top studios between Berlin and New York. His vision for this production was just right. "To make this work, you need a well-rehearsed band that you can trust. This is really a BAND!" ODD Wisdom was the name of the previous album of the Berlin-based artist, released on the ACT label at the beginning of 2021. The recordings were made in New York with some high-caliber jazz musicians: Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder and Scott Colley. He had prepared much of the material at the time with the same line-up that now forms the Odd Wisdom band. Guitarist Igor Osypov, born and raised in Ukraine, has played alongside him for about eight years. The connection to saxophonist Peter Ehwald goes back even longer; he was already involved in Pinera's third album "Strange Ways" (Double Moon Records, Jazz thing Next Generation). He has known Marcel Krömker since around 2007, and the bassist already played on the first Berlin production of the drummer from Montevideo ("Reflexiones", 2011). Krömker also took photos in Zentrifuge and expertly designed the cover.
“We are friends. and everyone is part of the process," Pinera emphasized. "I wanted to have a solid group of musicians with whom I also have a personal connection, who know me personally and musically, who are fearless and want to experiment as well as live in the same city!" And who are willing to make an impact with strong character traits. Pinera is a leader, composer and arranger who knows what he wants and whose songs challenge. But he also knows how much better a first-class, functioning band can be if all participants are not only instrumentally perfect, but also contribute their own ideas.
Diego Pinera, whose maternal grandmother had once fled Berlin, grew up with Latin traditions and mastered classical jazz styles. Before coming to Berlin, he studied in Havana, Cuba, and at the Berklee School of Music, Boston. However, contorted rhythms are his special passion. “It's like a drug. I'm still practicing very, very much and constantly keep going further." Polyrhythmic nesting sometimes means that he links or superimposes various contorted rhythms. He doesn’t do this as an intellectual experiment, but for the pleasure of unlimited possibilities of expression. Ultimately, complexity must never stand in the way, and virtuosity must never serve as an end in itself. Emotional content is what counts. With Odd Wisdom, even difficult as well as natural flows, a 13 beat (one of Pinera's preferred counting times) sounds wonderfully organic. And rousing.
The melodic feeling of the drummer ensures the rest. "Melody is extremely important to me." It is always about the right balance. This also applies to the one composition by someone else. Until now, Pinera has arranged a jazz standard for each of his albums. This time he chose "And I Love Her" by the Beatles, in the original with bongos and claves. Pinera ("I love this song!") made the title the 13th on the recording and added a percussion part for the first time ever on one of his albums. There are also three candombe drums from Uruguay on "Candombe in 5". "Through Hell" was created during the crisis as well as a hospital stay. "Ruido" is the noise of a metropolis. The wonderful ballad "Santa Teresa", which concludes the album, is fed by very personal memories of a church of the same name in the coastal town of Trani in southern Italy. The composition was originally intended as a duet of church organ and percussion.
"Underground Roller Coaster" is a rich, multi-layered masterpiece of a formidable band and a leader with his own unique style.