MusicTime: Erika Stucky "Call Me Helium: The Music of Jimi Hendrix"
Jazz calendar tip
Half a year before big brother's 40th birthday, little sister turns 25. MusikZeit celebrates on two days and focuses on the musical instrument par excellence. From the infinitely variable scale of the violin and the sonority of the saxophone to the percussiveness of the drums and the infinite realm of imitation - only the human voice can do all that. And since it's all about voices, Erika Stucky with all her presence, energy and unrestrained spontaneity can't be missing. The Swiss comes to the UT with her band and the brand-new and yet already highly praised Jimi Hendrix project "Call me Helium". Stucky grew up in the hippie biotope of San Francisco and loved the electric guitar (half) god as a child - but especially because he sang lines like "Excuse me while I kiss the sky".
Erika Stucky (voc), Christy Doran (g), Jamaaladeen Tacuma (b) and Fredy Studer (dr)
Between avant-garde swing and groovy noise, an advance-beleaguered young German jazz band meets four celebrated young singers on Feb. 12, the first MusikZeit day of 2016. Concerts by Max Andrzejewski's Hut and Choir are slightly reminiscent of a dodgeball game at the beginning. Here one, there the other, a mixing of the two teams does not seem to be planned at all at first. But when the game takes its course, a unity like no other emerges from the initially initiated separation. There is a lot of quoting around, a lot of jumbling up and reassembling according to an astonishing new logic. And there is also plenty of room for passionate nonsense. The evening is opened by the singer with the most beautiful name in the world: Zola Mennenöh presents her unusual versions of American jazz and folk pearls. At her side: double bassist Greg Cohen, who has just recorded the excellent country album "High Noon" (ACT) with Hütte boss Max Andrzejewski and Kalle Kalima.