Yesterday I attended the first concert in a series of three of the Session Work Festival at "Porgy & Bess", one of the most distinguished concert venues for jazz music in Vienna.
The first concert comprised three sets, starting with the band Luna*Lab and ending with the presentation of four new works composed by Viola Falb and Phil Yaeger for the "Session Works Composers Orchestra."
However, I liked the second set, the "Dickbauer Collective", best. The core of this band is formed by Klaus Dickbauer (alto sax and bs clarinet) and his two nephews Stephan (tenor sax/clarinet) and Johannes (violin). This party of three is rounded up with Christian Wendt (bass) and Patrice Heral (drums).
What makes the music of this band outstanding, at least for me, is the constant evasion of listening expectations. That starts already with the instruments they chose, as violin and cello might not be what comes first to mind for jazz music with saxophones. But of course, it's not only the instrumentation that sticks in mind. It fact, it is the personal style of the band that allows a broad width of music that sounds completely different yet coherent with their other pieces.
The "Dickbauer Collective" presented music from their new album "Mosquito Warrior", which was also the last song they played that evening. This song, compared with their songs "Damals mit 4" or "Increments of Cool" are perfect examples for the variety of expressions they are capable of. In addition, the beat-boxing of drummer Patrice Heral added a good portion of humor to their performance.
Of all three bands of this evening, they also had the most congenial stage appearance. Especially the casual and easy-going announcements of Johannes Dickbauer between the songs made the audience enjoy their set probably as much as the band itself.
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