When a band fills the room from the very first notes, nothing can really go wrong. This was the case at Max Löbner's KLSD concert at naTo on Sunday evening. The hall with just under 100 seats is almost sold out and the audience fills it with goodwill and anticipation, typical of a festival opening weekend. Max Löbner is this year's winner of the Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Prize, which is awarded annually by the city to "talented young musicians" and presented on this evening.

KLSD, with two electric guitars, alto saxophone and drums, bring different energies with them the moment they enter the stage. The first appears tense, not giving the audience a glance. The next one rushes to his instrument with anticipation. The last one strolls casually to his seat. Löbner himself tests a note and I sit expectantly in my seat. What will the first musical action be? What sound, what momentum will the music have as it sweeps through the stands? At KLSD, it sounds direct and bold. Direct, in that it immediately introduces the listener to the band's sound world: distorted guitar chords, negotiating dissonance and consonance, plus low-pitched drums in calculated confusion. Fat, in that the instruments can be heard excellently and cover the entire frequency range in a balanced way.

The four musicians, all in their mid-twenties, have been playing together for over two years and move naturally in the rather rare sound of this line-up. It seems to be part of the concept that all band members contribute equally to the action. Nevertheless, Eddy Sonnenschein in particular fires up the audience with unexpected drum fills. Max Löbner shakes complex riffs out of his wrist while at the same time appreciating the playing of his colleagues with enthusiastic looks. But Julian Drach and Fridolin Krön also make a significant contribution to the band's overall sound. Krön shines as a concentrated accompanist and soloist on the second guitar, without overstretching the bow. Drach's saxophone playing is honest and direct, as if there was only the music at any given moment. The soprano saxophone he plays in the last piece is reminiscent of Coltrane's late performances of "My Favorite Things".

The sonic palette ranges from Captain Beefheart-like chaos passages to graceful indie guitar arpeggios. Löbner's guitar role models are presumably Gary Moore and Allan Holdsworth rather than Wes Montgomery. Not every piece is well rounded, but the band is still in its infancy and, as the competition for the Jazz Newcomer Award states, "a special artistic development can be expected".

TEXT: JAKOB OBLESER