Press:
- As most of the reviews are originallly written in German this is just small representative selection in English -
About TIM SUND electrified - The Future on our Doorstep
Eclipsed Magazin
“On his solo disc, Green Desert Tree keyboardist Tim Sund calls his blessed colleague Keith Emerson "the greatest rock keyboardist of all time". With "Emersonia" he sets a monument to him right with the first track: brute fanfares, harmonies like from the ELP signature book, a highly dynamic Emerson homage with a wicked fusion solo. Even "Fast Finger Rick" says it right in the title. Indeed, Sund succeeds in portraying differences in the playing and touch of these two keyboard grandmasters. Alex Will's bass also gives a virtuoso solo. "Lyle Travels" is dedicated to the former Pat Metheny keyboard man Lyle Mays, who unfortunately, like Emerson, has already passed away. Here the work is more jazzy and the piano is more in the foreground.
A beautiful musical description of the landscape. The ballad "With You", dedicated to his own wife, is a bit too romantic/picturesque. The title track, on the other hand, is an exciting prog/fusion journey about our current stormy threatened times, dedicated to the "Fridays for Future" activists. "F-Minor Trip," close to Pat Metheny, builds into a real frenzy. Cool keyboard disc.”
Eclipsed Magazine 2/2023
Betreutes Proggen
“The name Tim Sund has already been mentioned on these pages when introducing a highly talented German newcomer called Green Desert Tree. The debut album of the Berlin quintet received very positive feedback. Quite rightly, if you listen to the debut album "Progressive Worlds". So now an album under the name of the keyboardist, so what to expect?
After the first listening it can be stated that this album has not too much in common with the music of the regular band. But this is not at all true for the lineup, which is 100% Green Desert Tree DNA, because Sund is accompanied by the rhythm section of the Berlin prog rockers, namely Alex Will on bass and Jonathan Gradmann on drums. And not only on selected songs, but on all eight compositions, which, by the way, are completely without vocals. So you could have called the formation Tim Sund Trio. But this trio already existed in the past, albeit in a different line-up, so a new name probably makes sense.
The nice digipack contains some additional information for each song, and so one learns that some pieces are dedicated to keyboardists who have significantly influenced Sund. Whereby this doesn't come as a complete surprise when you look at the song titles. For example, the album opens with the track 'Emersonia', which he dedicated to what he considers the greatest rock keyboardist, Keith Emerson. Like so many, he had heard 'Pictures at an Exhibition' at school when he was young and was blown away. And this source of inspiration is of course unmistakable in this rather snappy song. And it also shows right away that he is accompanied by a strong rhythm section. It follows 'Fast Finger Rick', where he lets some typical Wakeman runs follow. But the bass is also allowed to come to the fore for a short time on this number.
'Lyle Travels' follows, which Sund wrote shortly after the death of Pat Metheny's longtime musical companion, Lyle Mays. Here especially the beautiful piano playing at the beginning knows how to please. And so it continues on a high level on the diversely designed following five tracks. In the mixture of symphonic prog and jazz, the keyboard instruments are logically in the foreground, but are actively supported by the rhythm section. Overall, the jazz part predominates, which Sund can live out better in this formation than in Green Desert Tree. All titles contain solo parts, whose underlying equipment is mentioned per song, as there are Moog One, Moog Sub37, Nonlinear Labs C15, Korg Kronos..
The title track is also very well suited as a starting tip, because this ten-minute number proves to be extremely varied and shows very well what awaits the listener here. By the way, this title is dedicated to the young activists of the "Fridays for Future" movement - fitting to the song title.
Not necessarily what one would have expected at first from a solo album of the Green Desert Tree keyboardist - instead with the strong jazz impact another facet and evidence of the competence of the musicians. However, those who, like the writer, did not come to this album via the Green Desert Tree track, but already knew the earlier works, are of course hardly surprised about the strong jazz component, because this was already cultivated by the protagonist in the past.” www.betreutesproggen.de
hrt2 Jazzfacts
Electronic keyboards have found their way into jazz relatively late and celebrated their peak in the 70s with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Joe Zawinul.
The Berlin keyboardist Tim Sund now pays tribute to exactly this era with his brand new album "The Future on our Doorstep". Wolf Kampmann welcomes you to half an hour of colorful keyboard magic.
(Music: Emersonia)
Tim Sund on various keyboards with Alex Will on bass and Jonathan Gradmann on drums and “Emersonia”, a nod to Keith Emerson, the keyboard man of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The whole album, The Future on our Doorstep, is a voluptuous feast of electronic keyboards, and sound researcher Tim Sund himself agrees...
Tim Sund (TS): Yes, that's right. That's what it's really about: reviving synthesizer playing and dealing with synthesizer sounds, in a more original form. Not producing electronic music on the computer, but playing live on stage with real instruments and celebrating that.
(Music: Fast Finger Rick)
That sounds like full commitment. Another homage from Tim Sund's album "The Future on our Doorstep", this time to Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, whom he calls “Fast Finger Rick”. When you listen to this record, which was also released on vinyl, it feels like one of the most beautiful albums of the 70s, only from the year 2023. ...
TS: Yeah, I like that (laughs). I take that as a compliment. I think my advantage over them is that I already have the inspirations from the '70s of course, and I can combine all that. Can be a disadvantage, but can also be an advantage. Tony Banks was always a Tony Banks, but there were a lot of things missing that Keith Emerson had, for example. With me now it's like such a blending by my own taste.
What sets Tim Sund apart from the keyboard giants of the '70s is his service to the music. He doesn't brag about his towers of equipment, as one sometimes experienced with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock or even Rick Wakeman, but brings exactly what the respective piece calls for to the ear. But with fervor and passion. ...
TS: I already have a relatively large amount of equipment, but if you actually compare that with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, then of course there's still a big difference. They have a new instrument for almost every sound, and that's really a battle of materials. And for me it's like this: I just say to myself: okay, I can now afford to take four instruments with me on stage. That is already relatively much, also because they are now quite large instruments. But I try to do everything over a longer period of time and to go into depth and to get as much quality out of it as possible. I have the impression that these guys got so many new instruments all the time back then - maybe also because they then advertised that they didn't go deep at all. I think the two keyboard players that stood out for really making their own sounds that were recognizable for a long time were Joe Zawinul and Lyle Mays. Those are the only ones. Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock have actually always had something. That's amazing.
(Music: Lyle Travels)
Now we've heard three tributes, to Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, and most recently Lyle Mays, who, after all, made himself immortal with the Pat Metheny Group. These three personal bows are at the beginning of the album. Why these three in particular?
TS: I think Keith Emerson and Lyle Mays, because they had died relatively recently, so it was really a tribute to my heroes. And with Lyle Mays, it was really a direct response, too. When I found out that he had died, there was this piece a few days later. So it was a heartfelt reaction. With Fast Finger Rick, it's more like, especially in the last few years, I've been listening a lot again to this kind of music that I used to listen to when I was a teenager. Rick somehow became important again: And then at some point I had seen a live recording where he did such a blatant solo thing at a Yes concert. Everyone leaves the stage and Rick celebrates himself. And there was a part where he also played around with such strange finger repetitions. It looked like a little circus with the fingers. And that inspired me so much. I thought that was so cool. That I thought to myself: I'll do a piece like that with that kind of technique. That's how this almost Finger Rick came about.
But if you've ever listened to Tim Sund, you know that he's a big admirer of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, who are somehow always in his music. Isn't the album also kind of a tribute to those two?
TS: It's always a tribute to Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, because those are my biggest heroes. But in this case there is no special piece dedicated to them. Whereas I have to point out: two records before this record I put out this Mwandishi record - there's a whole album dedicated to Herbie Hancock. And actually my next album is a Chick Corea tribute album that was just recorded. That will be called "The Boy from Chelsea."
Of course, not all the songs on "The Future on our Doorstep" are tributes. Therefore, let's just listen to the title song.
(Music: The Future on our Doorstep)
The Future on our Doorstep", a song that, as I said, is not a tribute to a musician, but is dedicated to the Fridays for Future movement. The previous song examples show us that Tim Sund doesn't really care whether his music is called ProgRock, Electric Jazz or whatever. This is really a genre-technically absolutely barrier-free music, in which the mentioned categories merge unpretentiously into each other.
TS: Yes, I think so too. You probably have to reach a certain age first - I'm in my early 50s, which is where it started for me. You go through phases in your life. You think: you have to learn this now, this is important now, you have to prove yourself, you have to play your horns, etc... And now it's just that I think: I'm just who I am and I do what I like and I just follow my nose. And the nose just leads me to connect everything. In this respect, you can also say, for example, on the title track "The Future on our Doorstep": there is a lot of prog in it, but actually Herbie is very strongly represented in the solo part.
Well, Tim Sund has not recorded the album alone, but with two much younger musicians, bassist Alex Will and drummer Jonathan Gradmann, who are of course musically quite differently socialized than he himself. Nevertheless, they give in the right tinder and drive him non-stop. How did the keyboardist get this rhythm section?
TS: Yes, that's very funny, because actually both of them came together with me from a kind of student situation. Alex Will was a student of mine before he started studying music at the JIB (Jazz Institute Berlin) and was my student for a long time, was in my history class, was in my band. And I noticed right away that I could rely on this guy, he plays cool, he's on the ball, he's just a great guy. And as soon as he was finished with us, and he was about to start at the JIB, I said to him: Alex, let's stay in touch. I would like to start a rock band with you. And he was like, "I'm in." And Joni, the drummer, comes from a family of musicians. His father, Carsten Gradmann, is also a jazz musician from Berlin, and studied at Hanns Eisler. And his son Joni went to Weimar. And when he was back in Berlin, he found out that I had given a synthesizer workshop.
And at my first synthesizer workshop, Joni showed up. And I didn't even know he was a drummer. He was a super dedicated participant, totally smart, smart with synthesizers. And at some point he came on and was like, "Look, Tim. I've got this trio here that I'd love to go into the studio with. Which studio would you recommend?" And then he played me some music. And I was like, "Um, I want to play with that guy. That's a great drummer. I think Joni is absolutely brilliant. For every kind of accent I have in a composition, he develops a new groove.
Many names have been mentioned here, but one should not forget that Tim Sund always sounds like one musician above all: Tim Sund. And that's what makes his music special.
Before we hear the song "Walking in the Sonic Field" at the end of his new record "The Future on our Doorstep", Wolf Kampmann says goodbye at the microphone.
hr2 Jazzfacts, Wolf Kampmann
“In his compositions Sund combines classical figurations, folkloristic influences and modern Jazz harmony into his own playful and emotional musical language far away from dry academism or extravagant free jazz ambitions.“
Westfalian Press
“Modern, colorful and creative jazz on the edge, determined by exciting arrangements and the spirit of musical quest.”
Jazzpodium
"Tim Sund: lyrical, adventurous contemporary swing, atmospheric, compelling grooves, inspired, evocative rhapsodic and real passion. Recommended."
Cadence-Magazine, Canada
As Dark As The Sun
“As Dark As The Sun“ is an album that has the courage to leave the tradional roads. This is jazz as jazz can be, strong structures but also unlimited freedom.”
Jazzflits, NL, Mai 06
“Tim Sund is intoxicated. Even the smallest nuances are well-balanced and clear. Sund drifts along, plays with details and ornamentations that fascinate by their crystal clear quality.”
Jazzthing, April/Mai 06
“A tour through the solo pianism of contemporary jazz and moreover a personal contribution to it.”
***** Music *****Sound
FonoForum & Stereo, Juni 06
A congenial synthesis of the composer and the improvising pianist.
Ulf Drechsel, Kulturadio Berlin, Mai 06
“The material Sund is putting together here shows creative greatness. His power to shape and structure reveals artistic maturity. He leaves space in his improvisations and let his playing grow stronger, when the drama of the music is asking for it. His playing can drift along with repetitive patterns, can break out impulsively and glide freely until it is caught again, can enchant with its lyricism, is always exciting and is evident emotion coming from the artist´s soul.” Jazzpodium, Juli/August 06
Trialogue and Americana
“Trialogue“ presents Sund in a trio setting with bassist Martin Lillich and drummer Michael Kersting. Sund proves to be an expressive pianist, gleaning the usual sources for inspiration, but displaying a broad range of capabilities, no doubt one of the mamy lessons learned from Richie Beirach. As for the program, the trio tackles five standards, a few Sund pieces, and four improvised pieces. Regarding the standard portion of the program, Sund and Co. Attempt to make these familiar melodies sound new again, certainly not a new vocation, but one that has fruitful results here. The opening cut, “Nardis,” demonstrates that this trio seeks to chart its own course, spreading the familiar melodiy amongst the trio´s low ended vamp, with bridges that intesect the rhythmic flow, as Sund´s shimmering notes twirl. Similarly, the trio jumps into “When Will The Blues Leave” with a giddy joy and breaks apart the familiar “I Hear A Rhapsody” into a new tune altogether, “Hidden Rhapsody”. For the trio´s romantic look at the standards, “Blue In Green” is glorious, while the trio again deconstructs “The Peacocks” as haunting ballad coaxed by Martin Lillich´s lithe arco expressions.
As for the Sund originals, the trio glides along on the buoyant waltz of “Puzzle 1499,” with Lillich´s punchy pizzicato thoughts amidst Kersting´s shuffling brushwork, while both “El Rojo” and “Ravi” present the most romantic side of the trio. Finally, the four improvised “Trialogue” pieces demonstrate another side of the trio´s art, moving from more abstract tones (“#1: The Cage Map”) to heavy swing (“#2: Lets Open The Year”) to fragile icicles (“#3: A Deeper Season”) to a cool breeze on a winter eveing (“#4: The Evergreen Terrace”).
A solid piano trio date from start to finish that while perhaps not as incredible as beirach´s liners might suggest, is noteworthy for its staying power.
While “Trialogue” presents Sund leading his trio, “Americana” springs from an invitation from American reedist (and previous collaborator) Tom Christensen to perfrorm in a series of New York concerts, with each player utilizing a favorite sideman for a one-off quartet. Christensen brought bassist Ben Allison and Sund brought over Kersting. The most interesting aspect of this recording is that although it is entitled Americana, the overall results place this record easily within the ECM realm, with its breezes of melancholic aloofness and introspective poles that rarely thaw. That´s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, depending upon your inclinations. This sonic wallpapering gets under way immediately with the forlorn first cut, “Americana,” coming straight out of the Lyle Mays/Pat Metheny school, with its airy keyboards and Christensen´s soaring Engish horn amidst buoyant basslines and floating cymbal work. Along similar horizons is the icy beauty of “Akire” with its lucious piano, Christensen´s fluid flute work and Allison´s riveting pizzicato solo, as well as the contemplative “Nozomi,” a fine feature for Christensen´s English horn.
The group also ventures into the straight-ahead territory on the solemn, minor blues waltz, “New Chances” and the eminently swinging “Pit Jazz,” both of which allow the musicians to spotlight the basics. Surprisingly, the quartet also walks close to the edge on numbers like “The Watcher and The Moon,” with Sund´s plucked strings and Christensen´s fluttering alto flute, Carla Bleys “Vashkar” with its tension-filled suspensions and “The Cosmic Lawn,” a dramatic, mostly freely improvised piece that features Kersting´s shuffling hi-hat rhythms, Christensen´s bass clarinet, Sund´s chord washes, and the piece´s motivator, Allison´s sitar-like bass tones. An intriguing set once again demonstrating the global stretch of this music.
Jay Collins, Cadence Magazine, USA, January 06
The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky
Tim Sund fancies an unusual front pairing. On his album "The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky" it's saxophone (Joel Frahm) and violin (Gregor Huebner). Recorded live at Berlin& acute;s ATrane, this is the quintet's second Nabel session, and it is certainly developing an original, smart sound.
Sund's writing is clearly designed for these men: Huebner and Frahm sit in his mind's eye, the pair's range must be a real inspiration. Listen to "Drifting", with it's open spaces and hints of tango, the melody is intimately linked to a horn and violin combination. Or "Hunting Shadows" (which according to Sund, reflects the atmosphere towards the end of Stravinsky's opera, The Rake's Progress), with a floating, nearly diaphanous line.
Modern Jazz violin, from JeanLuc Ponty to Leroy Jenkins, is often considered an aquired taste but Huebner's approach is immediate and rich: he's at ease with himself, his sound never grates. Indeed, his sense of proportion is just right a point on which many of his peers falter. More than anything else, the violin brings beauty to this ensemble, rather than any harmonic or melodic challenges. Huebner is in league with Frahm and Sund he's never a polarizing force.
Joel Frahm, a leader in his own right, may be a saxophonist in the straightforward postColtrane mode, but he's his own man and there's a distinct charm and neighborliness to his lines. Even on a swinger like "Dr. DeeDee" he's tuned to his mates; he doesn't isolate himself, wrapped up in pyrotechnics or bogged down in arcana.
The rhythm team is flexible and fluid. Drummer Andreas Griefinghold, in particular, has a loose and bombastic approach that´s filled with vigor and snap.
Carlos Bica's solo feature, the bowed statement, "Uma nuvem no céu," reminded me of Miroslav Vitous with its push and pull and internal dialogue little repetetive phrases, reworked and bounced back and forth.
Tim Sund gets much of his power and his understanding of harmony and time from his former teacher, Richie Beirach. Like his mentor, Sund likes the knotted and the difficult. "Stretch the Match", for instance, plays with time a 17/8 ostinato in the piano's righthand against a _ feel.
Sund, however, has many faces the earnest romantic ("The Hill of Love") or the open improviser ("Jumping Jack"), but he ultimately favors the direct and the accessible: Sund's default switch is the lovely cadence, the workable phrase. The title piece serves as an exellent example. Played with wit and expertly executed, "The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky" is altogether compelling.
Cadence Magazine, USA, August 01
...In The Midst Of Change
Sund is clearly a lyrical piano soloist and composer.
This is a straightahead set of adventurous contemporary swing (check out the band's compelling grooves during "...In The Traffic", "Blue Trees", "...And Flowers pick Themselves" and "Traps").
Among the most evocative musical elements are the memorable unison exchanges between Frahm's soprano sax and Hübner's violin in "Lost Hills Road", "...In The Traffic", "Blue Trees", "...And Flowers pick Themselves" and the rhapsodic counterpoint of "Devi".
Hübner, Sund and the rhythm section show wonderful rapport during the atmospheric ballad "Erilinda", while Frahm's soprano sax sounds inspired during his cacading double tempo lines in "Blue Trees" and " …And Flowers pick Themselves".
Ultimately this compelling mainstream date possesses that essential ingredient: real passion. Recommended.
Cadence Magazine, USA, November 99
About TIM SUND electrified - The Future on our Doorstep
Eclipsed Magazin
“On his solo disc, Green Desert Tree keyboardist Tim Sund calls his blessed colleague Keith Emerson "the greatest rock keyboardist of all time". With "Emersonia" he sets a monument to him right with the first track: brute fanfares, harmonies like from the ELP signature book, a highly dynamic Emerson homage with a wicked fusion solo. Even "Fast Finger Rick" says it right in the title. Indeed, Sund succeeds in portraying differences in the playing and touch of these two keyboard grandmasters. Alex Will's bass also gives a virtuoso solo. "Lyle Travels" is dedicated to the former Pat Metheny keyboard man Lyle Mays, who unfortunately, like Emerson, has already passed away. Here the work is more jazzy and the piano is more in the foreground.
A beautiful musical description of the landscape. The ballad "With You", dedicated to his own wife, is a bit too romantic/picturesque. The title track, on the other hand, is an exciting prog/fusion journey about our current stormy threatened times, dedicated to the "Fridays for Future" activists. "F-Minor Trip," close to Pat Metheny, builds into a real frenzy. Cool keyboard disc.”
Eclipsed Magazine 2/2023
Betreutes Proggen
“The name Tim Sund has already been mentioned on these pages when introducing a highly talented German newcomer called Green Desert Tree. The debut album of the Berlin quintet received very positive feedback. Quite rightly, if you listen to the debut album "Progressive Worlds". So now an album under the name of the keyboardist, so what to expect?
After the first listening it can be stated that this album has not too much in common with the music of the regular band. But this is not at all true for the lineup, which is 100% Green Desert Tree DNA, because Sund is accompanied by the rhythm section of the Berlin prog rockers, namely Alex Will on bass and Jonathan Gradmann on drums. And not only on selected songs, but on all eight compositions, which, by the way, are completely without vocals. So you could have called the formation Tim Sund Trio. But this trio already existed in the past, albeit in a different line-up, so a new name probably makes sense.
The nice digipack contains some additional information for each song, and so one learns that some pieces are dedicated to keyboardists who have significantly influenced Sund. Whereby this doesn't come as a complete surprise when you look at the song titles. For example, the album opens with the track 'Emersonia', which he dedicated to what he considers the greatest rock keyboardist, Keith Emerson. Like so many, he had heard 'Pictures at an Exhibition' at school when he was young and was blown away. And this source of inspiration is of course unmistakable in this rather snappy song. And it also shows right away that he is accompanied by a strong rhythm section. It follows 'Fast Finger Rick', where he lets some typical Wakeman runs follow. But the bass is also allowed to come to the fore for a short time on this number.
'Lyle Travels' follows, which Sund wrote shortly after the death of Pat Metheny's longtime musical companion, Lyle Mays. Here especially the beautiful piano playing at the beginning knows how to please. And so it continues on a high level on the diversely designed following five tracks. In the mixture of symphonic prog and jazz, the keyboard instruments are logically in the foreground, but are actively supported by the rhythm section. Overall, the jazz part predominates, which Sund can live out better in this formation than in Green Desert Tree. All titles contain solo parts, whose underlying equipment is mentioned per song, as there are Moog One, Moog Sub37, Nonlinear Labs C15, Korg Kronos..
The title track is also very well suited as a starting tip, because this ten-minute number proves to be extremely varied and shows very well what awaits the listener here. By the way, this title is dedicated to the young activists of the "Fridays for Future" movement - fitting to the song title.
Not necessarily what one would have expected at first from a solo album of the Green Desert Tree keyboardist - instead with the strong jazz impact another facet and evidence of the competence of the musicians. However, those who, like the writer, did not come to this album via the Green Desert Tree track, but already knew the earlier works, are of course hardly surprised about the strong jazz component, because this was already cultivated by the protagonist in the past.” www.betreutesproggen.de
hrt2 Jazzfacts
Electronic keyboards have found their way into jazz relatively late and celebrated their peak in the 70s with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Joe Zawinul.
The Berlin keyboardist Tim Sund now pays tribute to exactly this era with his brand new album "The Future on our Doorstep". Wolf Kampmann welcomes you to half an hour of colorful keyboard magic.
(Music: Emersonia)
Tim Sund on various keyboards with Alex Will on bass and Jonathan Gradmann on drums and “Emersonia”, a nod to Keith Emerson, the keyboard man of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The whole album, The Future on our Doorstep, is a voluptuous feast of electronic keyboards, and sound researcher Tim Sund himself agrees...
Tim Sund (TS): Yes, that's right. That's what it's really about: reviving synthesizer playing and dealing with synthesizer sounds, in a more original form. Not producing electronic music on the computer, but playing live on stage with real instruments and celebrating that.
(Music: Fast Finger Rick)
That sounds like full commitment. Another homage from Tim Sund's album "The Future on our Doorstep", this time to Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, whom he calls “Fast Finger Rick”. When you listen to this record, which was also released on vinyl, it feels like one of the most beautiful albums of the 70s, only from the year 2023. ...
TS: Yeah, I like that (laughs). I take that as a compliment. I think my advantage over them is that I already have the inspirations from the '70s of course, and I can combine all that. Can be a disadvantage, but can also be an advantage. Tony Banks was always a Tony Banks, but there were a lot of things missing that Keith Emerson had, for example. With me now it's like such a blending by my own taste.
What sets Tim Sund apart from the keyboard giants of the '70s is his service to the music. He doesn't brag about his towers of equipment, as one sometimes experienced with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock or even Rick Wakeman, but brings exactly what the respective piece calls for to the ear. But with fervor and passion. ...
TS: I already have a relatively large amount of equipment, but if you actually compare that with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, then of course there's still a big difference. They have a new instrument for almost every sound, and that's really a battle of materials. And for me it's like this: I just say to myself: okay, I can now afford to take four instruments with me on stage. That is already relatively much, also because they are now quite large instruments. But I try to do everything over a longer period of time and to go into depth and to get as much quality out of it as possible. I have the impression that these guys got so many new instruments all the time back then - maybe also because they then advertised that they didn't go deep at all. I think the two keyboard players that stood out for really making their own sounds that were recognizable for a long time were Joe Zawinul and Lyle Mays. Those are the only ones. Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock have actually always had something. That's amazing.
(Music: Lyle Travels)
Now we've heard three tributes, to Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, and most recently Lyle Mays, who, after all, made himself immortal with the Pat Metheny Group. These three personal bows are at the beginning of the album. Why these three in particular?
TS: I think Keith Emerson and Lyle Mays, because they had died relatively recently, so it was really a tribute to my heroes. And with Lyle Mays, it was really a direct response, too. When I found out that he had died, there was this piece a few days later. So it was a heartfelt reaction. With Fast Finger Rick, it's more like, especially in the last few years, I've been listening a lot again to this kind of music that I used to listen to when I was a teenager. Rick somehow became important again: And then at some point I had seen a live recording where he did such a blatant solo thing at a Yes concert. Everyone leaves the stage and Rick celebrates himself. And there was a part where he also played around with such strange finger repetitions. It looked like a little circus with the fingers. And that inspired me so much. I thought that was so cool. That I thought to myself: I'll do a piece like that with that kind of technique. That's how this almost Finger Rick came about.
But if you've ever listened to Tim Sund, you know that he's a big admirer of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, who are somehow always in his music. Isn't the album also kind of a tribute to those two?
TS: It's always a tribute to Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, because those are my biggest heroes. But in this case there is no special piece dedicated to them. Whereas I have to point out: two records before this record I put out this Mwandishi record - there's a whole album dedicated to Herbie Hancock. And actually my next album is a Chick Corea tribute album that was just recorded. That will be called "The Boy from Chelsea."
Of course, not all the songs on "The Future on our Doorstep" are tributes. Therefore, let's just listen to the title song.
(Music: The Future on our Doorstep)
The Future on our Doorstep", a song that, as I said, is not a tribute to a musician, but is dedicated to the Fridays for Future movement. The previous song examples show us that Tim Sund doesn't really care whether his music is called ProgRock, Electric Jazz or whatever. This is really a genre-technically absolutely barrier-free music, in which the mentioned categories merge unpretentiously into each other.
TS: Yes, I think so too. You probably have to reach a certain age first - I'm in my early 50s, which is where it started for me. You go through phases in your life. You think: you have to learn this now, this is important now, you have to prove yourself, you have to play your horns, etc... And now it's just that I think: I'm just who I am and I do what I like and I just follow my nose. And the nose just leads me to connect everything. In this respect, you can also say, for example, on the title track "The Future on our Doorstep": there is a lot of prog in it, but actually Herbie is very strongly represented in the solo part.
Well, Tim Sund has not recorded the album alone, but with two much younger musicians, bassist Alex Will and drummer Jonathan Gradmann, who are of course musically quite differently socialized than he himself. Nevertheless, they give in the right tinder and drive him non-stop. How did the keyboardist get this rhythm section?
TS: Yes, that's very funny, because actually both of them came together with me from a kind of student situation. Alex Will was a student of mine before he started studying music at the JIB (Jazz Institute Berlin) and was my student for a long time, was in my history class, was in my band. And I noticed right away that I could rely on this guy, he plays cool, he's on the ball, he's just a great guy. And as soon as he was finished with us, and he was about to start at the JIB, I said to him: Alex, let's stay in touch. I would like to start a rock band with you. And he was like, "I'm in." And Joni, the drummer, comes from a family of musicians. His father, Carsten Gradmann, is also a jazz musician from Berlin, and studied at Hanns Eisler. And his son Joni went to Weimar. And when he was back in Berlin, he found out that I had given a synthesizer workshop.
And at my first synthesizer workshop, Joni showed up. And I didn't even know he was a drummer. He was a super dedicated participant, totally smart, smart with synthesizers. And at some point he came on and was like, "Look, Tim. I've got this trio here that I'd love to go into the studio with. Which studio would you recommend?" And then he played me some music. And I was like, "Um, I want to play with that guy. That's a great drummer. I think Joni is absolutely brilliant. For every kind of accent I have in a composition, he develops a new groove.
Many names have been mentioned here, but one should not forget that Tim Sund always sounds like one musician above all: Tim Sund. And that's what makes his music special.
Before we hear the song "Walking in the Sonic Field" at the end of his new record "The Future on our Doorstep", Wolf Kampmann says goodbye at the microphone.
hr2 Jazzfacts, Wolf Kampmann
“In his compositions Sund combines classical figurations, folkloristic influences and modern Jazz harmony into his own playful and emotional musical language far away from dry academism or extravagant free jazz ambitions.“
Westfalian Press
“Modern, colorful and creative jazz on the edge, determined by exciting arrangements and the spirit of musical quest.”
Jazzpodium
"Tim Sund: lyrical, adventurous contemporary swing, atmospheric, compelling grooves, inspired, evocative rhapsodic and real passion. Recommended."
Cadence-Magazine, Canada
As Dark As The Sun
“As Dark As The Sun“ is an album that has the courage to leave the tradional roads. This is jazz as jazz can be, strong structures but also unlimited freedom.”
Jazzflits, NL, Mai 06
“Tim Sund is intoxicated. Even the smallest nuances are well-balanced and clear. Sund drifts along, plays with details and ornamentations that fascinate by their crystal clear quality.”
Jazzthing, April/Mai 06
“A tour through the solo pianism of contemporary jazz and moreover a personal contribution to it.”
***** Music *****Sound
FonoForum & Stereo, Juni 06
A congenial synthesis of the composer and the improvising pianist.
Ulf Drechsel, Kulturadio Berlin, Mai 06
“The material Sund is putting together here shows creative greatness. His power to shape and structure reveals artistic maturity. He leaves space in his improvisations and let his playing grow stronger, when the drama of the music is asking for it. His playing can drift along with repetitive patterns, can break out impulsively and glide freely until it is caught again, can enchant with its lyricism, is always exciting and is evident emotion coming from the artist´s soul.” Jazzpodium, Juli/August 06
Trialogue and Americana
“Trialogue“ presents Sund in a trio setting with bassist Martin Lillich and drummer Michael Kersting. Sund proves to be an expressive pianist, gleaning the usual sources for inspiration, but displaying a broad range of capabilities, no doubt one of the mamy lessons learned from Richie Beirach. As for the program, the trio tackles five standards, a few Sund pieces, and four improvised pieces. Regarding the standard portion of the program, Sund and Co. Attempt to make these familiar melodies sound new again, certainly not a new vocation, but one that has fruitful results here. The opening cut, “Nardis,” demonstrates that this trio seeks to chart its own course, spreading the familiar melodiy amongst the trio´s low ended vamp, with bridges that intesect the rhythmic flow, as Sund´s shimmering notes twirl. Similarly, the trio jumps into “When Will The Blues Leave” with a giddy joy and breaks apart the familiar “I Hear A Rhapsody” into a new tune altogether, “Hidden Rhapsody”. For the trio´s romantic look at the standards, “Blue In Green” is glorious, while the trio again deconstructs “The Peacocks” as haunting ballad coaxed by Martin Lillich´s lithe arco expressions.
As for the Sund originals, the trio glides along on the buoyant waltz of “Puzzle 1499,” with Lillich´s punchy pizzicato thoughts amidst Kersting´s shuffling brushwork, while both “El Rojo” and “Ravi” present the most romantic side of the trio. Finally, the four improvised “Trialogue” pieces demonstrate another side of the trio´s art, moving from more abstract tones (“#1: The Cage Map”) to heavy swing (“#2: Lets Open The Year”) to fragile icicles (“#3: A Deeper Season”) to a cool breeze on a winter eveing (“#4: The Evergreen Terrace”).
A solid piano trio date from start to finish that while perhaps not as incredible as beirach´s liners might suggest, is noteworthy for its staying power.
While “Trialogue” presents Sund leading his trio, “Americana” springs from an invitation from American reedist (and previous collaborator) Tom Christensen to perfrorm in a series of New York concerts, with each player utilizing a favorite sideman for a one-off quartet. Christensen brought bassist Ben Allison and Sund brought over Kersting. The most interesting aspect of this recording is that although it is entitled Americana, the overall results place this record easily within the ECM realm, with its breezes of melancholic aloofness and introspective poles that rarely thaw. That´s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, depending upon your inclinations. This sonic wallpapering gets under way immediately with the forlorn first cut, “Americana,” coming straight out of the Lyle Mays/Pat Metheny school, with its airy keyboards and Christensen´s soaring Engish horn amidst buoyant basslines and floating cymbal work. Along similar horizons is the icy beauty of “Akire” with its lucious piano, Christensen´s fluid flute work and Allison´s riveting pizzicato solo, as well as the contemplative “Nozomi,” a fine feature for Christensen´s English horn.
The group also ventures into the straight-ahead territory on the solemn, minor blues waltz, “New Chances” and the eminently swinging “Pit Jazz,” both of which allow the musicians to spotlight the basics. Surprisingly, the quartet also walks close to the edge on numbers like “The Watcher and The Moon,” with Sund´s plucked strings and Christensen´s fluttering alto flute, Carla Bleys “Vashkar” with its tension-filled suspensions and “The Cosmic Lawn,” a dramatic, mostly freely improvised piece that features Kersting´s shuffling hi-hat rhythms, Christensen´s bass clarinet, Sund´s chord washes, and the piece´s motivator, Allison´s sitar-like bass tones. An intriguing set once again demonstrating the global stretch of this music.
Jay Collins, Cadence Magazine, USA, January 06
The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky
Tim Sund fancies an unusual front pairing. On his album "The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky" it's saxophone (Joel Frahm) and violin (Gregor Huebner). Recorded live at Berlin& acute;s ATrane, this is the quintet's second Nabel session, and it is certainly developing an original, smart sound.
Sund's writing is clearly designed for these men: Huebner and Frahm sit in his mind's eye, the pair's range must be a real inspiration. Listen to "Drifting", with it's open spaces and hints of tango, the melody is intimately linked to a horn and violin combination. Or "Hunting Shadows" (which according to Sund, reflects the atmosphere towards the end of Stravinsky's opera, The Rake's Progress), with a floating, nearly diaphanous line.
Modern Jazz violin, from JeanLuc Ponty to Leroy Jenkins, is often considered an aquired taste but Huebner's approach is immediate and rich: he's at ease with himself, his sound never grates. Indeed, his sense of proportion is just right a point on which many of his peers falter. More than anything else, the violin brings beauty to this ensemble, rather than any harmonic or melodic challenges. Huebner is in league with Frahm and Sund he's never a polarizing force.
Joel Frahm, a leader in his own right, may be a saxophonist in the straightforward postColtrane mode, but he's his own man and there's a distinct charm and neighborliness to his lines. Even on a swinger like "Dr. DeeDee" he's tuned to his mates; he doesn't isolate himself, wrapped up in pyrotechnics or bogged down in arcana.
The rhythm team is flexible and fluid. Drummer Andreas Griefinghold, in particular, has a loose and bombastic approach that´s filled with vigor and snap.
Carlos Bica's solo feature, the bowed statement, "Uma nuvem no céu," reminded me of Miroslav Vitous with its push and pull and internal dialogue little repetetive phrases, reworked and bounced back and forth.
Tim Sund gets much of his power and his understanding of harmony and time from his former teacher, Richie Beirach. Like his mentor, Sund likes the knotted and the difficult. "Stretch the Match", for instance, plays with time a 17/8 ostinato in the piano's righthand against a _ feel.
Sund, however, has many faces the earnest romantic ("The Hill of Love") or the open improviser ("Jumping Jack"), but he ultimately favors the direct and the accessible: Sund's default switch is the lovely cadence, the workable phrase. The title piece serves as an exellent example. Played with wit and expertly executed, "The Rains from a Cloud Do not Wet the Sky" is altogether compelling.
Cadence Magazine, USA, August 01
...In The Midst Of Change
Sund is clearly a lyrical piano soloist and composer.
This is a straightahead set of adventurous contemporary swing (check out the band's compelling grooves during "...In The Traffic", "Blue Trees", "...And Flowers pick Themselves" and "Traps").
Among the most evocative musical elements are the memorable unison exchanges between Frahm's soprano sax and Hübner's violin in "Lost Hills Road", "...In The Traffic", "Blue Trees", "...And Flowers pick Themselves" and the rhapsodic counterpoint of "Devi".
Hübner, Sund and the rhythm section show wonderful rapport during the atmospheric ballad "Erilinda", while Frahm's soprano sax sounds inspired during his cacading double tempo lines in "Blue Trees" and " …And Flowers pick Themselves".
Ultimately this compelling mainstream date possesses that essential ingredient: real passion. Recommended.
Cadence Magazine, USA, November 99
