Frank Gratkowski -sax, bscl.,cl.,fl
Wolter Wierbos – trombone
Dieter Manderscheid- bass
Gerry Hemmingway – drums

Mit der Trioformation mit Dieter Manderscheid und Gerry Hemingway habe ich 1995 eine lange ersehnte Idee realisiert, nachdem ich mit beiden Musikern diverse Konzerte in unterschiedlichsten Formationen gegeben habe (u.a. Grubenklang Orchester und Klaus König Orchester). Seit 2000 ist das Trio, durch den holländischen Posaunisten Wolter Wierbos, zum Quartett erweitert. Die Musik des Ensembles stellt sich zur Aufgabe, eine Synthese von Komposition und Improvisation zu schaffen in der alle Instrumente eine gleichberechtigte Funktion einnehmen und ein in sich geschlossenes Ganzes bilden.“
Frank Gratkowski

Frank Gratkowski:

Altsaxophon, Klarinette, Bassklarinette, Kontrabassklarinete, Flöte, Komposition
geb. 1963 in Hamburg.

Saxophonstudium an der Musikhochschule Köln bei Heiner Wiberny – Konzertexamen.

Weitere Studien u.a. bei Charlie Mariano, Sal Nistico und Steve Lacy.

Neben der Tätigkeit als Solist in verschiedensten internationalen Klein- und Großformationen (Grubenklang Orchester, Kaus König Orchester, Musikfabrik NRW, Tony Oxley Celebration Orchester, WDR Rundfunk Orchester, C.A.M.R., WDR Bigband etc.) gibt er seit 1990 Solokonzerte – er war mit seinem Soloprogramm Preisträger des Wettbewerbes „Musik Kreativ“, 1991 erschien eine Solo CD mit dem

Titel „Artikulationen“, 1999/2000 ausgedehnte USA Tourneen, eine weitere CD erscheint im Herbst 2001-, und arbeitet seit 1992 mit dem Pianisten Georg Graewe – Duo CD „VicissEtudes“ – zusammen (seit 1999 auch als Trio mit Paul Lovens, Schlagzeug – CD „Quicksand“)

Weitere eigene Formationen sind ein Duo mit dem Tenorsaxophonisten Matthias Schubert, ein Trio mit Gerry Hemingway – Schlagzeug und Dieter Manderscheid – Bass (CDs „Gestalten“ und „The Flume Factor“), welches 2000 mit dem holländischen Posaunisten Wolter Wierbos zum Quartett erweitert wird (CD wird im Frühjahr 2001 erscheinen), sowie ein Duo mit dem Italienischen Posaunisten Sebi Tramontana. 2000/01 wird er ebenfalls als Trioformation mit Wilbert De Jode (NL), Bass, und Paul Lovens (D), Schlagzeug, auf Tournee gehen.

Frank Gratkowski spielte auf nahezu jedem der großen deutschen Jazzfestivals, sowie auf zahlreichen internationalen Festivals, u. a. in Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Quebec, Les Mans, Muelhuus, Groningen, Nickelsdorf, Barcelona, Lithuania, Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, Bucharest.

Lehrtätigkeit an den Musikhochschulen in Köln, Hannover und Berlin. Weitere Zusammenarbeit u.a. mit Robert Dick, Herb Robertson, Marcio Mattos, Peter Kowald, Ray Anderson, Michael Moore, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, Louis Sclavis, John Betsch, David Moss, Jane Ira Bloom, Connie und Hannes Bauer, Fred van Hove, James Newton, Muhal Richard Abrams, Ernst Reijseger, Hamid Drake, Dieter Glawischnig, Theo Jörgensmann, Phil Minton, Mark Dresser , Mark Feldman, Michiel Braam, Mal Waldron.

Dieter Manderscheid

geb. 1956

Musikstudium in Saarbrücken und Köln 1977–84,

Kontinuierliche Präsenz auf deutschen und internationalen Festivals in verschiedenen Besetzungen, z.B.

Berliner JazzFest
Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt/M.
New Jazz Festival Moers
Kölner JazzHaus Festival

Salzburger Festspiele (Österreich)
Tampere Jazz Happening (Finnland)
The Knitting Factory Festival (USA)
Jazz Yatra (Indien)
Jazzfestival Vancouver (Kanada) etc. .

Konzertreisen im Auftrag des Goethe Instituts nach Asien, Afrika, Nord- und Südamerika.

1990 Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik
(Chicago Breakdown im Duo mit Thomas Heberer)

Mitarbeit beim Aufbau der Offenen JazzHaus Schule Köln (Veröffentlichung Resonanzen ’85 : Offene JazzHaus Schule),

Workshops (u.a. Darmstädter Ferienkurse)

Lehraufträge an den Musikhochschulen Frankfurt/M. (’91 – ’98) und Köln (seit ’94)
WOLTER WIERBOS
(NL) trombone is considered one of the world’s leading trombone players. He has played throughout all of Europe and has toured numerous times throughout Canada and USA, Japan, and Indonesia, He can be heard on more than 70 cd’s and lps. Wierbos has many awards to his name including the Laren Jazzpodium Prijs, the Podiumprijs for Jazz and Improvised Music and the most important Dutch jazz prize, the Boy Edgar Prijs. Since 1979 he has played with numerous music ensembles: Cumulus (w/ Ab Baars and Harry de Wit), JC Tans and the Rockets, Sean Bergin’s MOB, Theo Loevendie Quintet, Guus Janssen Septet, Loos (Peter van Bergen), Celebration of Difference (w/ Jarmo Hoogendijk and Ben van den Dungen) and theater, dance, television and film projects. He

has been invited to play with The EX, Gruppo Sportivo, and the Nieuw Ensemble (led by Ed Spanjaard). He has also played with Henry Threadgill, The Berlin Contemporazy Jazz Orchestra (led by Alexander von Schlippenbach), the European Big Band (led by Cecil Taylor), the John Carter Project, Butch Morris and Tom Cora. He is currently active with the Maarten Altena Ensemble, Misha Mengelberg’s ICP, the Podium Trio (w/ Jan Kuiper and Paul van Kemenade), Gerry Hemingway Quintet, Curtis Clark Sextet, Franky Douglas‘ Sunchild, Bik Bent Braam, Albrecht Maurer Quartet and Available Jelly. He also plays children’s concerts with Ernst Reijseger and Alan „Gunga“ Purves and maintains a solo career.

Gerry Hemingway

Gerry Hemingway has been composing and performing solo and ensemble music since 1974. Mr. Hemingway’s newest working band is a quartet with either Ray Anderson, Robin Eubanks-trombone or Herb Robertson-trumpet, Ellery Eskelin-tenor sax and either Mark Dresser, Drew Gress or Mike Formanek on bass. The band performed 40 concerts in the US in 1998 and it’s first recording, Johnny’s Corner Song was released on the Auricle Record label in March of 1998.
This follows twelve years of performances and recordings of his European based quintet whose final cd was released on GM Recordings in the fall of 1999 and is entitled Waltzes, Two-Steps and Other Matters of the Heart. Previous recordings include, Special Detail (91), Down to the Wire (93), Demon Chaser (94) and The Marmalade King (95) all on the Swiss Hat Art label and Slamadam (95) and Perfect World (96) on Random Acoustics. The group gave it’s final performances this past summer at the 1998 Nickelsdorf Konfrontation and at the Clusone Festival ’98.

Recent recordings of his music for solo percussion include Electro-Acoustic Solo Works (84-95) and Acoustic Solo Works (83-94) on the Random Acoustics label. Previous vinyl editions, both just about of print, include Solo Works on Auricle Records and Tubworks on the Sound Aspects label.

Mr. Hemingway received a Guggenheim fellowship in May of 2000 for the composition of a new work for orchestra and three improvisors entitled „Sideband“. It will eventually be combined with an earliar commission from the Kansas City Symphony of a concerto for percussionist and orchestra entitled „Terrains“ for a cd release of Mr. Hemingway’s orchestral work. In January of 1999 he completed two commissions, one from Arcadian Arts with funding from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust for a string quartet entitled „Contigualis“. The other entitled „The Visiting Tank“ for string quartet plus live electronics was commissioned by the Parabola Arts Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. The program which was presented at Merkin Hall in New York City in February 1999 was rounded out with two other chamber works that are revisions of earliar commissions including „Aurora“ for sextet and „Circus“, originally commissioned by clarinetist Don Byron, for quintet. The entire program was released as a collection of Mr. Hemingway’s chamber works in the fall of 1999 on Tzadik Records.

Mr. Hemingway also performed in duet with pianist Cecil Taylor in May of 1999 on the invitation of De Singel in Antwerp, Belgium.

One of his more recent commissions was from the Holland Festival and NPS radio of the Netherlands and was performed in June of 1998. The commission was for a co-composition with the Amsterdam based composer Guus Jannsen. Entitled „Cycles“, the work used a unique computer controlled conducting system that allowed the ensemble to play in multiple tempos. In addition to receiving fellowships from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation on the Arts, he has also received four prior commissions from the Parabola Arts Foundation with funding from N.Y.S.C.A. including „Aivilik Rays“, a concert length work for solo work for tape and percussion, „Polar“, a quadrophonic electronic work, „Lattice Bright in Glory’s Lambence“ which was premiered by Mr. Hemingway’s mixed quintet at Merkin Hall in January of ’95 and „Ghost’s of Reason“, a chamber work for the Episteme ensemble which was premiered at Town Hall in New York City in March of 1991. A recording of that project was made in 1995 and will eventually be released on CRI records.

His work as a composer and percussionist includes recordings and performances with Derek Bailey, Leo Smith, Oliver Lake, Kenny Wheeler, Frank Gratkowski, George Lewis, John Cale and Hank Roberts among many others. He was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet from 1983-1995 and more recently has been performing as a member of the Reggie Workman Ensemble. He is a core member of Anthony Davis‘ Episteme Ensemble and has performed and recorded as a featured soloist on Mr. Davis‘ violin concerto „Maps“ as well as the opera „Under the Double Moon“ and „Tania“. The latter was recorded in April of 1999.

Mr. Hemingway also participates in a many collaborative projects including BassDrumBone with Ray Anderson and Mark Helias (for 24 years!). There most recent recording is called Cooked to Perfection released on Auricle Records in March of 1999. Other projects include a trio with German pianist Georg Graewe and cellist Ernst Reijseger whose CD’s include, Sonic Fiction, available on the hat Art label, View From Points West CD on Music & Arts, Zwei Nachte in Berlin on Sound Aspects, Flex 27 on Random Acoustics and more recently on Music & Arts, Saturn Cycle. Another ongoing collaboration is a duo with Marilyn Crispell which toured Europe and recorded for Knitting Factory Works in the early summer of ’92 as well as a cooperative trio Marilyn Crispell and Barry Guy whose recording Cascades was released in December of 1995. The cooperative quartet, Tambastics with flutist Robert Dick, Denman Maroney on piano and bassist Mark Dresser whose debut CD is on Music & Arts performed at the 1999 Ulrichsberg Kaliedophon in May of this year. Mr Hemingway is also co-leader of the Iliad Quartet with James Emery for whom he composed an extended suite entitled „Double Blues Crossing“, underwritten by the Meet the Composer/Readers Digest Commissioning program. Mr. Hemingway also performs regularly as a duo, with LOndon based saxophonist, John Butcher and with live electronics and saxophone virtuoso, Earl Howard. „Tom & Gerry“ is another duo with Thomas Lehn who performs live analog electronics. He also has performed and recorded with vocalist Andrea Goodman known for her work with Meredith Monk. They have released a recording on Ruby Throated Records entitled Divine Doorways. His work for multimedia includes Waterways, for multiple slide projectors, tape and percussion, as well as an ongoing collaboration with video artist/animator Beth Warshafsky.