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SUSAN WEINERT BAND
Germany
11 / 23 / 2001 |
Susan
WEINERT guitar
Martin
WEINERT bass guitar
Hardy
FISCHÖTTER drums
CD
releases:
Mysterious Stories 1992
Crunch Time 1994
The Bottom Line 1996
Point Of View 1999
Susan
& Martin Sinergy Release/d:
t.b.a. |
"Susan Weinert has carved out her own
niche in the cluttered world of guitarists. International
recognition is at her doorstep." (Mike Mainieri)
Formed in
1985 and starting in Germany, the Susan Weinert Band soon moved on
to Scandinavia, France, Belgium, Holland, Poland ... and the list
keeps growing, with a brief foray into the United States. And as
they continued to perform in clubs and theatres, close to two
hundred times a year, the trio consisting of Susan Weinert (guitar),
Martin Weinert (bass) and Hardy Fischötter (drums) grew to a single
entity, with a single musical brain.
The
style and technique of the three individuals is now characterized by
the complete understanding each has for the other two, and by the
common musical language they have developed. Susan's compositions
are characterized by creative versatility, freshness, a sense of
humour, and a style drawing on jazz, rock, and funk. The first CD
release from the Susan Weinert Band was Mysterious Stories, recorded
after several years of constant touring, something which enabled the
band to dispense with overdubs and complicated studio fixes. It was
followed by Crunch Time, with "energy-laden power fusion that has
reached the international level as they set a new standard for the
otherwise moribund genre of fusion" [Frankfurter
Zeitung]. In the mid-nineties,
Susan toured not only with her trio but also with other groups,
including the band of Chick Corea's bass player Jimmy Earl and Steps
Ahead. In addition, Susan and Martin Weinert are sought-after
teachers for clinics and work shops. The band's third release, The
Bottom Line, includes a very special addition to the trio.
Pianist/keyboardist Rachel Z (Weather Report, Gato Barbieri, Steps
Ahead) added a new dimension to the group, contributing much more
than a "special guest" appearance in fact she co-produced the
CD with her friend Susan. AUDIO, Europe's leading magazine for Hi-fi
and Music, praised the clever arrangements on The Bottom Line. Jazz
thing wrote, that the band gets better and better with every album.
There is far more emphasis on both melody and atmosphere, and both
cause and effect for this is the fact that for the first time Susan
plays acoustic guitar. Also a first is the appearance of acoustic
bass in the hands of the dedicated electric bassist, Martin
Weinert. Both fans and critics
may welcome now Point Of View, the band's brand new release. Susan
has invited three exciting young musicians to the recordings:
Jean-Yves Jung on piano, the highly acclaimed vocalist Michael
Schiefel from Berlin and Pierre Bertrand on tenor sax. Along with
drummer Hardy Fischötter aka Terminator H and Martin Weinert, again
displaying his virtuosity on the double bass, they bring to life
Susan's new arrangement and her new sound. While her music is
designed to give everyone an opportunity for improvisation, all the
band members are adamant about not using this as a platform for mere
exhibitionism. And one thing comes
through clearly from the brilliant solos, the sensitive melodies,
the complex rhythmic jokes, and the solid grooves: this band takes
great pleasure in playing, and never make it feel like hard work. No
doubt, Point of View gives evidence once again: as a composer, as a
performer and as an arranger, Susan Weinert is world
class. |
Susan
WEINERT guitar
|
Born June 24, 1965
Place of
birth Neunkirchen/Saar, Germany Worst
concert In 1984, after her consumption of half a bottle of
beer, the guitar produced bizarre, distant wails which didn't have
much to do with the actual structure of the piece but provided for
great amusement among the audience and the band. Since then strict
abstinence. First concert (seen) 1983
Pat Metheny First concert (played)
1982, Schullandheim Berschweiler, as bassist in the school
band First record owned 1971, a
Christmas album by "Heintje" |
Martin
WEINERT bass guitar
|
Born August 31, 1961
Place of
birth Neunkirchen/Saar, Germany
Worst
concert In 1984 in Tholey/Saarland: In the bar Stammbaum,
the concert was stopped after someone threw an egg at the
double-bass First concert (seen)
Weather Report, in 1978 First concert
(played) Evangelisches Gemeidezentrum Heinitz, in
1976 First record owned Deep
Purple, Made in Japan |
Hardy
FISCHÖTTER drums
|
Born April 12, 1961
Place of
birth Leonberg Worst
concert In Lübben/Spreewald. The only reaction from the
audience, which had until that point totally ignored the concert,
was to ask the organizers to end the concert immediately. When the
organizers didn't give into their demands, the audience pulled the
plug on the guitar during a solo. First concert
(seen) 1974, YES First concert
(played) Around 1967, piano recital; Around 1969,
drummer-hippie party First record
owned Single: "Down on the Corner" by Creedence Clearwater
Revival ; LP: "Tommy" by The Who |
all
data & photos from
|
www.susanweinert.com
|
Susan and Martin
Weinert have been performing together for more than 15 years as The
Susan Weinert Band, a trio featuring Susan Weinert on guitars,
Martin Weinert on bass and (the congenial) Hardy Fischötter on
drums. Over the years Susan has also been invited to perform as a
soloist with several musicians on the US jazz scene. She's appeared
with Mike Mainieri's legendary band Steps Ahead, Jimmy Earl (bassist
with Chick Corea) and Michael Ruff (keyboardist with Chaka Khan).
However, until now it's The Susan Weinert Band that's been Susan's
and Martin's primary focus, establishing itself on the international
Jazz scene and becoming a regular on the European Club and festival
circuit. The four worldwide CD releases "Mysterious Stories" (1992),
"Crunch Time" (1994), "The Bottom Line" (1996) and "Point Of View"
(1999) all released by intuition / schott music) are the fruit of
this cooperation.
|
On the last Band album "Point Of View",
a clear turn to acoustic music was already noticeable. Susan and
Martin Weinert now continue this development on their new duo CD
"synergy", with Susan on classical guitar and Martin on double bass.
Susan Weinert: "When we went to the studio I brought an entire
armada of guitars and all kinds of electronic gadgets. We began the
recording with the classical guitar and the double bass and felt so
comfortable with the sound that we decided to record the entire CD
this way. If someone would have told me before I probably would have
called him crazy." This new direction proved to be a stroke of luck;
the transparent sound lets the compositions shine in a whole new
light. While the band's CDs are characterized by a very dense and
groove oriented sound, on "synergy" Susan and Martin's acoustic
concepts give the tracks a fascinating lightness and beauty. Every
note expresses the common ground these two musicians, developed in
over 1500 concerts. Martin Weinert: "Susan and I have already played
so much different music together and still or maybe because of that
it is still a fascinating feeling to stand together on stage and to
improvise. Improvisations means for us to detach ourselves from old
and well-established things, really to let go and to create room or
new things." The roots of Susan and Martin Weinert's
music lie in traditional jazz, with influences such as Charlie
Parker, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and Sonny Rollins. However, the
Weinerts did not get stuck imitating old jazz pieces. The influence
of David Lieberman and Richie Beirach (who taught Susan the crafts
in the eighties) can be heard, as well as those of John Abercrombie
(with his sound cascades), virtuoso Allan Horldworth and Scott
Henderson (with his merciless power). The work of these musicians
make up what Susan considers her most important influences. In 1990,
Susan began composing her own songs, developing a distinctive
originality, in many ways similar to what she achieved as an
instrumentalist. Susan prefers the polished and sometimes abstract
harmonies that have always inspired her to new high altitude flights
on the fingerboard. Putting her formidable technique to use, she is
able to give her playing a quality of cheerful lightness. Susan
Weinert: " I don't consider practicing with my instrument as a bad
thing. I always put the realization of my compositional ideas in the
foreground. I never liked it if I did not have the right vocabulary
over a harmony to phrase a conclusive musical expression in the form
of a melody line. It always drove me to practice longer, to be more
persistent, and to explore new possibilities of technical transfer
(in other words, to learn the craft)." Over the foundation of
Martin's base lines (sometimes powerfully swinging, sometimes
elegant), Susan constructs her melody lines in an almost
minimalistic style. With several thousand hours of playing together
behind them, the two speak their own language. Susan Weinert:
"Martin is very important to my musical development. He understands
my ideas. He feels what I want and what is beneficial for each
individual composition. His playing inspires me and drive me on.
Over all these years, I've never felt of boredom or constricted by
habit. On the contrary, our cooperation gets more and more
prolific." |
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In co-operation
with Goethe Institut
and Stability Pact for Southeastern
Europe |
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