CD release ZWEI: Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Uwe Kropinski

9-12-2009: CD release ZWEI: Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Uwe Kropinski

It is becoming useless to compare Uwe Kropinski as an acoustic version of Jimi Hendrix (said by Pat Metheny) or saying he is creating new sounds on acoustic guitar like John Scofield has done for Jazz guitar. He is not all that! Uwe cannot be compared, even not with himself. The men changes with whatever musically happens in his live. This crazy and beautiful CD has become immediately my favourite Kropinski recording. Uwe, what comes next????

CD TEXT INSIDE: "I first met Jamaaladeen Tacuma at the Leipzig Jazz Festival in 1996. There was a concert at which three German/American duos were scheduled to perform. They were Albert Mangelsdorff and Elvin Jones; Ornette Coleman and Joachim Kuhn; and Jamaaladeen and I, who went on stage together for the first time after only a single short rehearsal for getting a feel for each other the day before. A first encounter with another player is always a challenge - especially when the musician is as outstanding as Jamaaladeen. But my dominant emotion is always one of joy at the opportunity to play with a great musician, to venture onto hitherto unknown terrain, and to experience unexpected surprises. That said, I must admit that I have no memories of our concert in 1996. Everything went by too fast for me to remember more than that it was an exciting evening. After the concert we both agreed that it would be worthwhile to continue our duo activities - but, as happens so often, life had other ideas and we have not played together since. In late July 2009, however, my telephone rang, and Jamaaladeen was on the line. He said he was in Switzerland and had a few days to spare before returning home, and he asked whether we could do a CD recording with duo concerts to follow next year. I was delighted to agree. Two days later, Jamaaladeen was in Berlin and we went to the studio. And so, in a very short time, something that seemed almost forgotten came back to life. A new beginning has been made ... Let's see where it leads ..." Uwe Kropinski

“ I usually approach the idea that when something is destined to take place, it does without problem and it just happens. When something is destined to not take place, it will not happen no matter what. Due and I met years ago with the concept of playing a live concert in Germany and recording a demo in Philadelphia. That demo was never released, but it contained the essence and the organic structure that propelled this new recording on Jazzwerkstatt. There were so many elements and original improvisation on that demo that convinced me that Uwe and I must create music for a studio album. So what was destined to happen, happened. I am happy that we did and I am happy to present this recording with hopes that you the listening audience will enjoy this sincere musical offering. To me "Zwei" is the creative force of two musicians from two parts of the world, two musical cultures and two human sensibilities that melt into one. It is in fact ,,Just the two of Us". This recording was indeed a pleasure to be a part of and the creative juices flowed in the recording studio like clear water from a mountain fall. I look forward to touring with Uwe all around the globe and spreading the musical message of "Zwei".” Jamaaladeen Tacuma

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