Bastian Stein - Diegesis (2013) [Hi-Res]

Diegesis: Music that counts. Trumpeter and flugelhornist Bastian Stein lets the music speak for itself - and he has a top-level cast of characters to help him do it: pianist Pablo Held, bassist Matthias Pichler, and drummer Tobias Backhaus.

You can play music. But you can also let it speak. Or better yet, have it say something. Play in a way that it tells stories. Jazz musician Bastian Stein was born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1983, and now lives in Vienna, Austria; with Stein it is immediately apparent how well he commands the ability to tell stories through the music. The lines, the melodies that he configures as soloist or as part of a band sound like “sentences”. You could imagine him sitting with friends at a table, deliberately and decisively recounting something interesting that he has witnessed or experienced. And then he gives the floor to someone else in the group; and then he’s all ears. Stories come and go as they follow one another. But in these “story telling rounds” the “words” are sculpted sounds coming out of the bell of a trumpet or flugelhorn, the body of a bass or concert grand piano, and the skins and cymbals of a drum set—and they are en- thralling. They are rhetorically gripping and subtle at the same time. And because Bastian Stein has included other three other storytellers as colleagues in his quartet, the album is all that much more exciting to follow. Everyone involved is motivated to react to the “storytelling” rather than to just the musical phrases. This a top-flight group of young stars — Pablo Held on piano, Matthias Pichler on bass, and Tobias Backhaus on drums — and as leader, Bastian Stein presents his Pirouet debut: Diegesis. And the title is as philosophical as it is appropriate.

Diegesis is an ancient Greek word. Its derivation goes back to the time of Socrates and means the telling of a story by a narrator; an event is described and discussed from the viewpoint of the characters. This is in contrast to the acting out of the story, as in the theater, which is called “mimesis” in Greek. Stein explains, “The music that I wrote for the band and then recorded in Munich on two days in July of 2012 is also a manner of narrative communication. It wasn’t changed or embellished; rather, it is a musical testimony to what we all had to say on those two days.”

There was a lot to talk about, and it wasn’t just enthralling private conversation between buddies. Far from it! The stories quickly grab you, invite you in to sit down and let your mind wander. As Stein says, “The music is going to mean something different to each person. As long as it triggers something in the listener, I’ve reached my goal.” The music definitely triggers something. It has an alluring strength. The way in which the musicians “recount” their stories has an incredibly natural feel. The listener is caught up in the clearly contoured insistency of the horn voices in New West, in the veiled beauty of the cantilena in In Honour of a Friend, and the descriptive melancholy in Gladiolus Tristis, an homage to a beautiful white-flowering plant belonging to the Iridaceae family known popularly as the ever-flowering gladiolus. The flower is characterized by its special elegance, as is the piece of the same name, which is everything but monochromatic.

From time to time these musical narratives are delicate and subtle—especially on Chiva. Stein says the piece is dedicated to “someone who accompanied me for 17 years, and died last year...” He declined to reveal any more details. This subtlety continues with Sung Fang Ching, a piece that magically intensifies while maintaining its tranquility. No wonder—Stein relays that the title comes“... from a book on breathing exercises as a precursor to meditation. It is a type of autogenous training that has influenced my playing. The word means relaxation, tranquility, quietness.” Tranquility and quietness play a big role in Bastian Stein’s music. Everything is thoroughly thought out—but that doesn’t make it any less vibrant. The introverted version of Dizzy Gillespie’s Con Alma is also in the same mold as Stein’s original compositions. Con Alma—“with soul”—in- spires through the measured stateliness of the “narration”. It works especially well here.

Bastian Stein, trumpet, flugelhorn
Pablo Held, piano
Matthias Pichler, bass
Tobias Backhaus, drums

Tracklist:
01. Bastian Stein - New West (6:03)
02. Bastian Stein - In Honor of a Friend (4:06)
03. Bastian Stein - Gladiolus Tristis (6:01)
04. Bastian Stein - Sung Fang Ching (5:11)
05. Bastian Stein - Chiva (5:02)
06. Bastian Stein - Without Words (6:01)
07. Bastian Stein - The Quest (6:55)
08. Bastian Stein - Con Alma (4:52)