One of the most meaningful and simultaneously successful Austrian jazz-bands of the early 00’s is back. CAFÉ DRECHSLER and their new album “And Now … Boogie!” (Universal Music) begin exactly where they brilliantly ended years ago.
To talk about Café Drechsler is to talk about a formation whose genre-crossing style was truly pioneering. The German-born and Vienna-based musician Ulrich Drechsler and his trio were innovators who opened up jazz to electronic music. And they did it with a classic jazz instrumentation without electronic help. This kind of musical experimentation was something new and unheard of back then. At least not in this part of the world.
Not a lot has changed in the musical direction of the saxophonist and his colleagues Oliver Steger (contrabass) and Alex Deutsch (drums) on “And Now … Boogie!”. But everything is clearer, more defined, and more on point. Daring genre-bending still rules the day and a diverse mix of styles are given highly interesting and compelling new interpretations.
ELECTRONIC MUSIC IN JAZZY CLOTHES
Café Drechsler pull from the rich pool of electronic music and reinterpret those diverse forms with different sounds. The nice thing about the whole project is that it all comes together so well and results in moments that are incredibly cool. Café Drechsler know exactly when to slow the tempo to give dignified sounds the space they need. They know when to drop rectilinearity to revel in complication. Listening to this new album is just plain fun. Café Drechsler have rather impressively proven that they still have what it takes and can still create extraordinary musical works. A truly awe-inspiring comeback.
Michael Ternai
Links:
Café Drechsler (Facebook)
Ulrich Drechsler
Oliver Steger