CD: Parallel Real

Rüdiger Krause’s new LP Parallel Real is a highly colorful and atmospheric album.

In 2015, Krause had already dedicated his tribute album A Guitar Named Carla to the great Carla Bley – and the grand dame of jazz was deeply impressed by his “creative, imaginative guitar playing,” which stands out for its originality and clarity.

With Rüdiger Krause, every note is tastefully and precisely placed. “Melody and atmosphere are the two essential ingredients that are indispensable for me when composing,” the guitarist explains, adding: “I love the freedom that jazz offers me. But I also have a weakness for catchy tunes.”

Catchy melodies embedded in a stylistic diversity that is second to none – that is the musical universe of Parallel Real. “I want an album of mine to sound like the kind of concert I would wish for as an audience member: exciting and varied. If all these different musical ideas fit into a musician’s head, then they also fit on an album,” the guitarist is convinced.

In addition to his regular bandmates Tobias Fleischer (electric bass) and Michael Dau (drums), Krause was able to bring in numerous high-caliber guest musicians for the recordings – all of whom had crossed paths with him musically before.

On Walk Don’t Walk, East German jazz legend Günther Fischer takes us to 1990s New York with his virtuosic and powerful saxophone playing.

Tegel Airport also creates a vivid atmosphere. Anja Gläsel (baritone saxophone) and Tim Sund (keyboards) capture the bustling energy of the runway and airport halls perfectly with their versatile playing – sometimes in unison, sometimes in counterpoint. This piece would also work perfectly as the theme song for a 1970s pilot series. “Once again, this shows that Rüdiger is an incredibly intuitive composer with a musical instinct for just the right ingredients. That makes his compositions refreshingly catchy while always maintaining a beautifully rounded musical arc,” sums up keyboardist Sund.

In the ballad Scilla, Krause and Sund (on electric piano) capture exactly this delicate mood. The piece also triggers a flashback to the time when a 17-year-old Rüdiger strolled through Magdeburg’s Nordpark with his then-girlfriend (and now life partner), sharing the earbuds of his Walkman, which was playing music by Miles Davis.

Now Listen to Me is another ballad – this time in a bolero style, infused with a deep sense of melancholy, inspired by bass legend Charlie Haden. Singer Esther Kaiser wrote lyrics that not only perfectly match the mood of the piece but also reflect Haden’s message. “It’s about a relationship that falls apart because the lovers don’t listen to each other,” Krause explains, referencing a quote from the great bassist, who remarked in 2010: “The world would be a better place if people had big ears.”

In Pretoria 90, Krause and his musical guests surprise with (South) African influences, while Calypso 12 12 12 brings Caribbean vibes. In contrast, Big As Hell delves deep into earthy blues. The title track Parallel Real hints at Krause’s fascination with stories like Back to the Future or 12 Monkeys, where different time axes shift into one another – an effect he also integrates into the composition by varying its tempo, sometimes freely, sometimes precisely structured.

An equally fitting and thrilling finale is EsbjØration, dedicated to Swedish pianist Esbjörn Svensson, whose tragic and untimely death in a diving accident in 2008 sent shockwaves through the jazz world. “I fully share Svensson’s belief that energy is the most important ingredient in a composition,” emphasizes Krause. Here, he proves that he truly has a strong dose of “rock ’n’ roller in a jazz disguise,” as he likes to call himself. Together with his core trio, he ignites a musical whirlwind, much like a fire in a fireplace – from a gentle glow to a roaring blaze, leaving listeners breathless.

Parallel Real is already shaping up to be one of the jazz highlights of 2024.