Manufactur - Flambitres (2007)

If you have a band led and formed by a trumpet player, it usually sounds exactly like that – trumpet in the center, with the sideman contributing to the music as inspired as possible plus playing as soloists in their own right. This is how it’s commonly done in jazz. Except the trumpeter goes for something different, letting another instrument have the same impact on the music as his own. In such a case music can develop quite differently to stand out from the masses. flambitres, the fourth album by electric jazzmen manufactur from Berne/Switzerland, does so.
Werner Hasler is the trumpet player’s name, Wurlitzer that of the other instrument, the elder brother of the Fender Rhodes piano – a heavyweight in terms of sound. Oli Kuster is the player, replacing Patric Lerjen’s electronics from rong dob, this album’s predecessor. Kuster is an experienced player, a jack of all trades as diverse as hip- and trip-hop, synth-pop, rock music and genuine acoustic jazz. An „unpretentious explorer“ is what Hasler calls him: “He’s been fumbling around with computers and electronica forever but was less interested in it this time so he chose the simple setup of a Wurlitzer and a Nordlead synthesizer.“
Being confronted with the instrument’s natural soundspace-consuming nature, Hasler never felt limited on his part: “I did profit quite a lot from the fact, that now another person in the band than just myself could play the melody, that I could communicate with someone, in terms of music. For rong dob all electronic sequences, sounds and rudimental possibilities of movement had to be programmed before we could actually rehearse any of the pieces. With flambitres, even in the studio the pieces weren’t mapped out. A basic idea for a melody or a vaguely realized mood or atmosphere was enough - and off we went!”