Jazz On Vinyl Vol.8

Jens Düppe Quartet - Ten Years

A completely new experience for me is the fact that when I put the LP on for the first time, I don't concentrate primarily on the sound quality of the music recorded and processed completely analog by sound engineer Dominique Klatte. After many years of listening to the recordings he has already released on vinyl or tape, his work is no longer up for discussion.

This is the work of a true master of his craft, and the group sound of Jens Düppe's band, which has been recording intensively for more than 10 years, is strikingly different to what the usual line-up would suggest. The reason only becomes clear to me on repeated listening. The overall mix shows a somewhat subdued piano, an absolutely present bass and a trumpet that is not in the foreground in terms of volume. It is precisely this tonal and dynamic interweaving of piano and bass that generates a homogeneous sound aesthetic, which conceals an intimacy between the participants with a clear statement of the band's concept as a musical unit.

All four musicians are true experts, none of them feel the need to play themselves unpleasantly in the foreground. It is not the soloistic brilliance that is important to them, but the group-serving fusion of sounds, rhythms and melodic lines - a completely equal group. The title 'TenYears' is therefore not only legible on the cover, but definitely audible in every note. In these fast-moving times, especially in the music industry, it simply pays to build up long-term constants, so this Vol. 8 is a wonderful addition to the 'Jazz On Vinyl' series, and the cover also conceals an inlay. The tribute to the musicians and especially to Jens Düppe, who has been known for many, many years to have mastered all the rhythmic waters, does not need the embarrassing comparison with the named drumming heroes of jazz history. This neither does justice to the music to be heard, nor does it help anyone.

'Jazz On Vinyl' has grown up in the last 6 years without having suffered any great pubescent difficulties. The concept is as strikingly simple as it is difficult. It takes a great deal of courage, enthusiasm and craziness to found a pure audiophile and completely analog vinyl label almost single-handedly and then with such niche music as 'jazz'. It takes stamina to take this manageable genre to the extreme: not 'jazz', but 'modern jazz' and beyond into free jazz realms.

Are we really aware of the financial risk that Dominique Klatte takes on again and again in order to be able to present us with such great music? I almost think not. Such people need support of all kinds so that the source of our analogue music drug doesn't dry up.

Dr. Stephan von Clarmann, 6 August 2023

Label: Jazz On Vinyl