Dumont Dancer by Peter Ehwald's Double Trouble

When I first started planning a live recording in Aachen's Dumont in 2018, I never imagined that we would be recording the penultimate concert of our band. Likewise I could not have anticipated the unthinkable nature of the pandemic, which meant we did not record until fall 2021. We have a long history with the venue, the Dumont. Ever since 2011 we have finished nearly every tour in Armin's Club (more often than not in the wee hours of the morning). The size of the club, the 'genie in a bottle' Armin and the wild yet cosy vibe have always made it the perfect venue for our music. Indeed it's a second home for Jonas – he's Aachen's finest, after all.
When the pandemic first started in 2020 working on the music for the concert was our sole musical activity. For Dumont Dancer I wrote music which works as single pieces as well as a long form. In terms of the composition I was inter- ested in steering group improvisation and transitions, blurring the line for the listener between what is planned and what is created in the moment. Crucially, I wanted the musicians to have a maximum amount of creative freedom within the music. We rehearsed in the short windows of freedom we had during the pandemic. Once, Armin even unlocked the doors of Dumont for us for a few days and that feeling of making music together at last was beautiful beyond words.
This recording documents the first concert at the Dumont without regulations and with a sold-out house. I am so happy about the energy: the positive atmosphere both in the music and of the audience at this great venue. For me this album is an optimistic statement for the future of our live music. (...)

Berlin based saxophonist Peter Ehwald writes and performs music, along the tangency of Jazz and contemporary music. With his approach to rhythm rooted in the Jazz tradition, he uses unusual instrumentations and modern concepts of harmony to project the “here and now” in his energetic and yet elegiac improvisations.

peter-ehwald.net
Instagram
Facebook