SIGI FINKEL - Sweet Sue

Listening Examples:

Almost A Reggae:

Tobasco:

If you do not have Quicktime 3.0 (which is available for free from the Quicktime Website), check WAV-soundfiles further down this page ! But do yourself a fovour and get Quicktime 3.0. The examples here are compressed with QDesign music compression in Quicktime and sound as good as the WAVs while taking less then a forth of the bandwith - and they are streaming too.

(Jazzline JL 11143-2 )

Austrian saxophonist Sigi Finkel has built a huge following across Europe during the last few years with his concert tours and appearances at big Jazz-Festivals including Montreux. For several years he has led two different groups - and one of them is the "Power Station" or "Special Station" band featured on "Sweet Sue" - a group featuring some of the most established musicians in avantgarde-jazz.
He was born in 1960, studied classical clarinet and later saxophone (with saxman Bobby Stern, who has recorded several tracks for the albums or the erotic jazz CD series "Blue Moves" on Lipstick under the group name "Monsters"). He then worked with Wolfang Puschnig, Enrico Rava, Wolfgang Reisinger, Ed Schuller, Billy Elgart and many others since the early 90s. Today he still works with several musicians, but usually concentrates on his two projects Caoma and Powerstation and one worldmusic group with african musicians.
The group "Powerstation" consists of:

• John Abercrombie - guitars
• Sigi Finkel - tenor and soprano sax
• Enrico Rava - trumpet
• Wolfgang Reisinger - drums
• Ed Schuller -bass

The music is wild - hard-bop and soaring melodic lines backed with grooves from any musical style, including reggae, swing and african ethnic influences. Often Abercrombie's guitar melts with the saxophone in one compact texture - only to separate from it again and build counterlines to the sax. The music tells stories without words - at the same time too complicated and too simple to tell with words. One great comment came from long-term mentor David Liebman:

"Sigi Finkel has surrounded himself with some of the greatest musicians in jazz (and among my personal favorites). This international group responds with an exciting and varied program which should interest serious listeners."

The tunes

1. Almost A Reggae - 182 KB WAV, 16s.
2. Puri
3. Sweet Sue 183 KB WAV
4. Tobasco 248 KB , about 24 s.
5. Domino Blue
6. Tune In
7. Prisma
8. So Long

Comments by Sigi on some tunes (there are more comments in the booklet):

• "Puri is a reminiscence of my stay in India. My memories have left me with a feeling of melancholy and of time standing still."
• "Sweet Sue - I had no specific woman in mind when I wrote this song, but rather thought of the sensuality of womankind in general."
• "Domino Blue - My intentions were simply to write a calm and quiet piece, similar to muted blue lightning."

".. he proves with this album that not only is he a greatplayer but an extremely versatile musician easily mixing free bop elements with swing and even subliminal rock grooves.... The album is very much in the vein of the ECM label but without the restrictive label sound and therefore we hear both Abercrombie and rava performing unmutedand allowed their own space within Finkel's compositions. Well worth the adventure!" (Immerse, UK, 1996)

" Sigi Finkel has managed to unite international jazz heavyweights to an organic combo.. .. powerfull sounds of John Abercrombie and Enrico Rava .. Finkel has formed his own individual , strong sound out of the tradition of jazz and gives direction as an inventive composer and arranger in the tradition of the second Miles davis quintett. ..." (Jazzpodium , Germany , 6/96)