Somnambule - Writing About Music

Forum West ~ Wewerka Archive 1962-1968, Modern Jazz From West Germany

Sometimes the ground opens up before you. A yawning chasm appears in place of solid ground and you teeter on its edge experiencing feelings of intense vertigo. What provokes this sensation differs from person to person: Forum West – Wewerka Archive 1962-1968 induced just such a sensation in me. A few questions then...

Q) What is this cd?
A) It’s a compilation of previously unreleased 1960s predominantly West German jazz tracks curated by Jazzanova and Stephan Steigleder. Featured artists include the Hans Koller Ensemble, Joe Haider and His Orchestra, the Wolfgang Dauner Trio and Ronnie Ross and His Band.

Q) Why should I be interested?
A) If you’ve no interest at all in jazz then skip this review. If you occasionally click your fingers to the odd Sonar Kollektiv cd or are a fan of Jazzanova then this might interest you because it opens the curtains on some of their heritage.

Q) Why the vertigo?
A) 60s jazz isn’t my speciality - I know a lot of the stuff on Blue Note and Impulse! and Coltrane and Ellington and I own most of what Miles Davis produced in that decade. In other words I know the American side of the story. This cd is revelatory for the quality of the jazz and the playing and the solos and the general pleasure of hearing such stuff. The vertigo comes from realising just how much amazing music there is out there – every time you turn a corner, whole new vistas open up.

Q) Want to know more?
A) The liner notes and samples are available at: http://www.sonarkollektiv.de/releases/SK019CD/
Colin Buttimer
February 2004
Published by Absorb