Christoph Beck - Tartaros (feat. Patrick Bebelaar & Bodek Janke) (2019)

Tartaros is in Greek mythology a personified part of the underworld still under Hades.

He is allegedly so deep that an anvil that fell from the earth to Tartaros took nine days to reach him; as long as the anvil needed to get from heaven to earth. This mythical realm offers the trio of saxophonist and bass clarinettist Christoph Beck with pianist Patrick Bebelaar and drummer and tabla player Bodek Janke the ideal basis for virtuoso improvisations and densely intertwined collectives.

Fluttering, wild and sometimes melancholy are the improvisations of the three artists in the twelve pieces, which are worn by each of the partners. As in "Aafsano" by Bodek Janke or in "Ballade" by bandleader Beck. In most cases, however, it is the collectives that determine the sound - as in the finals of many pieces. Balladesk is the "three" until the logical conclusion. At the beginning, on the other hand, the improvisation "Journey" drives the playful part of the middle section with increasing intensity.

Again and again, the listener encounters puns and echoes of Greek mythology: Thus, the fifth piece "Peisinoe" - or after Homer the "persuasive" - ​​dedicated to a siren, a female mythical creature of woman and bird or fish, through his bewitching song attracts the passing boatmen to kill them.

"Sketch One" and "Sketch Two" move back into their usual tutti as well as melodic collages and the free space that Becks' compositions leave to the three equal musicians.

Rooted in the European tradition of modern European jazz with free play, Beck, Bebelaar and Janke create sound paintings of power and force that carry the listener along. The compositions transcend borders of the genre with the wind art of the trio leader and collectively - disrespectfully as in "Foresight". The end of the CD with the playful piano "climber" by pianist Bebelaar and the sensitive and well-worn saxophone playing Becks is conciliatory.