Nik Bärtsch & Les Percussions de Strasbourg

When Pierre Boulez came to Strasbourg in 1959 to perform his composition "Le Visage Nuptial", he needed a larger number of percussionists for it, who were eventually recruited from two symphony orchestras. The six instrumentalists selected at that time got along splendidly - and decided to stay together. In 1962, they formed Les Percussions de Strasbourg, an ensemble that continues to this day and is dedicated primarily to music of the 20th and 21st centuries, from Karlheinz Stockhausen to Steve Reich. Again and again, the group collaborates with jazz musicians, especially those who move in the borderland to New Music or Minimal Music. And this is where Nik Bärtsch comes into play: his minimalist approach, his repetitive playing, his "Zen funk" combine almost naturally with the intentions and formal experiments of the Strasbourg ensemble. Their joint program "Shaker Kami" is based on slowly superimposing polymetric rhythm layers into which harmonic structures are woven. Imperceptibly, complex soundscapes are created, dense spaces in which, however, unpredictable rhythmic movements and developments take place in the most exciting way. One has the feeling of a fixed static, which is however set into slight oscillation, like a bridge or a skyscraper. It's an ever-changing listening challenge. "The pieces grow out of themselves," says Bärtsch in his characteristic blend of philosophical detachment and musical sovereignty. With this percussive sound body, at any rate, he continues the work on his "Ritual Groove Music" in a suggestive way.

The Artist in Residence program at the Enjoy Jazz Festival is sponsored by NEUSTART KULTUR/BKM and Initiative Musik.