Some of my favorite jazz albums aren’t really jazz at all. Sometimes they’re classified as jazz because they don’t fit anywhere else. This music might be heavy on improvisation, heavy on extended jams, but light on melody and structure, and then boom! It’s considered jazz even though it’s more akin to something else. Kinema from the Akku Quintet, a jazz ensemble led by drummer Manuel Pasquinelli, qualifies as one of these albums. About halfway into these four extended tracks I realized that with the right vocals, or a few more tasty guitar solos, it could be mistaken for rock. But it’s not. That’s why I like this record so much.
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
Kinema from the Akku Quintet is another one of those jazz LPs I receive from Switzerland once in a while, courtesy of a nebulous mystery source. The Swiss jazz scene isn’t as consumed with defining jazz sub-genres as the scene here in the US. In Europe, jazz is still open to the expression of new sounds and new directions. It’s still fresh. Kinema is a great example of this–there’s plenty of groove, plenty of melody, plenty of beat. It’s a fairly typical “drummer as leader” jazz album because Pasquinelli is supportive of his fellow musicians, which include keyboardist Maja Nydegger, sax player Michael Gilsenan, guitarist Markus Ischer and bassist Andi Schnellmann. He’s not interested in percussion showcases, he’s interested in driving the tune toward its destination through sheer management skills.
Much of the innovation within the Akku Quintet is delivered by Ischer, however, who’s not afraid to introduce distortion and other effects to this pristine ensemble, and there are times when the music sounds downright psychedelic. That’s when the music from Kinema frees itself from the moorings of jazz tradition and the performers start to play a music that has no easy definition. On their website, Akku Quintet describes their music as “pulsating, driving minimal jazz with a post-punk twist,” but I think that ignores the melancholy side where the deeper emotions reside.
The Akku Quintet has been around for a while–this is their fifth album since 2010. Kinema has also been around my listening room for quite some time–you may have noticed me mentioning it in several reviews. That’s because it sounds incredible. Most of these Swiss LPs that show up on my doorstep are great pressings, silent and natural, and I even nominated Kinema for the LAOCAS ARYA list, which compiles and ranks the audiophile releases during each other. It sounds fresh, clean and dynamic.
In a way, Kinema reminds me of a similar album that I adored just a couple of years ago: New Dreams from Coates, Haslip and Kalaf. That’s another “jazz” album that defies description without being too “free” or experimental, and I found myself listening to that album whenever I had the chance. The Akku Quintet offers that same reward of good music, delivered by smart musicians who are definitely in the zone.
That’s funny music heavy on improvisation, extended jams, zero melody and structure, is exactly how I describe jazz! I also describe as a collage of noises from musical instruments