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Links: www.mondaynightproductions.com

Style: Jazz
Origin: Luxemburg, Belgien, Germany
Touring party: 5 (4 on stage)
Territory: Exclusive for G/A/S, Scandinavia, Spain, Turkey, Eastern Europe, USA and Canada
Availability: April 3 - 12, + On Request 2012

1) Pascal Schumacher Quartet

LINE UP:
Pascal Schumacher - vibraphone
Franz von Chossy - piano
Christophe Devisscher - double bass
Jens Dueppe - drums

1) BANG MY CAN - NEW RELEASE

Release date: 23 May 2011

Label: Enja Records

PRESS QUOTES
"Schumacher and pianist Franz von Chossy show themselves to be resourceful improvisers, with an abundance of lucid ideas effortlessly articulated over the many shifts of metre. Meanwhile, Christophe Devisscher (on bass) and Jens Düppe (on drums) play with a mix of muscle, precision and exquisite dynamic sensitivity. With their potent, hook-laden music, this group has an Esbjörn Svensson Trio-like buzz about it." LondonJazz

"A jazz quartet that combines four talented soloists is uncommon enough: a quartet where every member combines top flight musicianship with compositional talent is as rare as hen's teeth. The Pascal Schumacher Quartet manages both combinations with ease." All About Jazz

Every musician must one day free himself from role models and traditions if he wishes to cross the well known trodden paths. Pascal Schumacher does this in an emphatic, sensual way. He treads the difficult path of the inventive artist who does not succumb to the blessings of modern sound diversity and studio technology but weighs up and measures sounds, posing a challenge to and struggling with music. Strictly speaking he is more a purist than many other musicians who pay homage to the past. For what concerns him is his instrument, from which he wrests individuality without needing assistance from any heroes.

The vibraphone does not make things easy for him. Its sound is exotic, but is inflexible and historically restricted to entertainment and effects. Originally patented as a percussive device, it belongs to the family of percussion instruments and is often also seen as one possibility among a large number of drumming alternatives. A few legends have hitherto lent character to the instrument and enhanced its pedigree by a little swing, some bop, a pinch of modernity and a touch of salsa. And so one need no longer worry about the acceptance of the instrument, but there are only a handful of musicians who have left clear marks in the jazz world as composers, stylists and visionaries of the vibraphone.

For Pascal Schumacher this is a challenge. The young Luxembourg musician not only wishes to assert himself in the mass of inconsistent reference systems; he also wants to send a signal. His musical mixture is distinctive, ranging stylistically from late Romantic to the new emphatic quality of the present. The sounds approach the discreet funkiness of the Fender Rhodes or the semblance of steel drums, play with an organ-like elegiac mood on the one hand and opulence increasing to a state of trance on the other. And they do not end with Pascal Schumacher’s instrument but build on the energy of the quartet, on the force of a reciprocal creative power.

The result is remarkable. Track by track, “Bang My Can“ grows into an epic without words, juggling with structure and resolution. Music comes into being which has an organic, down-to-earth and energetic effect. It is rooted in the present, plays with the past, with strength and with pathos, and is based on an approach characterized just as much by the chamber jazz of the eighties as by the rock sound of the nineties and the openness of the present. And so Pascal Schumacher is well on the way to becoming something out of the ordinary. He has an excellent team at his side, a compact, recognisable repertoire and his own idea of sound, and is serious enough not to lose his sense of humour in details – vibes with attitude, in step with the times. (Ralf Dombrowski)

2) the art of the (right) vibe
featuring: Bobby Hutcherson Quartet & Pascal Schumacher Quartet

Download Factsheet

The concept is to present common ground for a meeting across the generation gap: two continents, two countries, two aesthetics, two jazz-worlds, two Quartets, but using the same basic material.

Bobby Hutcherson and Pascal Schumacher both lead their own quartets and both of them like to play with piano, drums and double bass. They are both vibraphonists and composers. Bobby Hutcherson is a living legend and an icon in American Jazz, whereas Pascal Schumacher is a young prodigy of the new European Jazz generation, very much influenced by Hutcherson's music since he was first drawn to Jazz.  

Each has his own style, inspiration and aesthetic vision of form and content. They share the same melodic focus for compositions and improvisations. Two virtuoso musicians in search of perfection; two men whose strong personalities transcend their art: a sensitive and inspired encounter of two soul mates, without any trace of rivalry. Such a heart to heart encounter, such great art!

Musicians & tour staff
4 musicians from Los Angeles
1 musician from Köln
1 musician from Amsterdam
1 musician from Brussels
1 musician from Luxembourg
1 tour manager from Vienna or Luxembourg
1 sound engineer from Gent

Possible touring period
Spring/Summer/Fall Festival and Concerthalls 2012