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Jo?lle Léandre / Elizabeth Harnik / Zlatko Kau?i?: Live In St. Johann

By Mark Corroto
August 12, 2024
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Joëlle Léandre / Elizabeth Harnik / Zlatko Kau?i?: Live In St. Johann

"I was in the house when the house burned down" is a thought sure to happen to many a concert attendee after a performance by legendary French bassist

Joëlle Léandre

bass
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Jo?lle Léandre. She is a force of nature, a demanding and uninhibited artist. In her presence, a listener can feel the combustion generated by her performances. The same can be said of Austrian

Elisabeth Harnik

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Elisabeth Harnik, twenty years Leandre's junior. In recent years, there has been a small explosion of music from the pianist from solo performances to collaborations with the likes of

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark,

Steve Swell

trombone
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Swell,

Dave Rempis

saxophone
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Rempis,

Mikolaj Trzaska

saxophone, baritone

" data-original-title="" title="">Mikolaj Trzaska and many others. Then there is Slovenian drummer and contemporary of Leandre,

Zlatko Kau?i?

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Zlatko Kau?i?. His sound can be heard in the Amsterdam scene, Italy, Spain and his home country.

This trio is a natural progression from several previous duo outings. Leandre and Harnik released Tender Music (Trost, 2018), Harnik and Kau?i? produced One Foot In The Air (Not Two, 2023), and Leandre and Kau?i? can be heard in duo on Beauty/Resistance (Not Two, 2021).

That burning house metaphor is an appropriate image for Live In St. Johann from March 3, 2023. Recorded at the ARTACTS Festival, the spotless sound places the listener front and center in the audience. The concert opens with the trinkle tinkle of Harnik's piano, the clatter of percussion, and Leandre's dynamic bowed double bass. The 17-minute track wastes no energy through hesitation, as the three gel from the onset. As expected, Leandre's bass is the driver throughout the concert, accelerating the affair and providing the impulse for solos by Harnik and Kau?i?. Even her wordless vocalizations that accompany her bass are incendiary. Both Harnik and Kau?i?'s responses are spot on either accenting Leandre or spun off into a new improvising orbit.

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Track Listing

Live in St. Johann 1; Live in St. Johann 2; Live in St. Johann 3; Live in St. Johann 4; Live in St. Johann 5.

Personnel

Jo?lle Léandre

bass

elizabeth harnik

piano

Zlatko Kau?i?

drums

Album information

Title: Live In St. Johann | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Fundacja Sluchaj

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