Strave by Strave

Serge Bringolf is a drummer and composer hailing from France. He has worked with numerous musicians, the most well known of which is work that he did with Jaco Pastorius in the 1980s. Bringolf's music is often characterized as jazz-rock, but it is more appropriately placed squarely within the Zeuhl genre. One can hear very clear strains of Magma's influence throughout all of his solo work, nonetheless Bringolf's sound has more often been compared with that of early Zao, Art Zoyd and Jaques Thollot. His moves are outstandingly tight.

Reissue of Serge Bringolf’s first album (1980), Strave is an impressive effort. Classified as zeuhl, but including lots of jazz in it, it has a unique sound. Since Bringolf being a drummer, the drums are very important on this album. Add the incredible bass work of François Grillot, the impressive brass section consisting of Jean Golanet (trumpet), Philippe Gisselmann (saxophones) and Pascal Beck (trombone) & you have a good idea of what the music sounds like. You just need to throw in some great wordless (scat) vocals. The album consists of 4 long tracks, ranging from fifteen to approximately twenty minutes. A truly inspiring mixture of genres.

The first track of the album, ”Délire”, is probably my favourite as it shows the intensity that Bringolf’s band is able of. It is a perfect example of fusion between jazz and zeuhl.

“Strave” is good too. It is not the greatest piece of the album though but some powerful violin parts are quite impressive, giving an almost folk note to the composition. This piece also features a great drumming performance. “Utopie” is more of a ‘classic’ zeuhl piece. I love its intriguing, but lively mood. The vocals are particularly worth a special mention and the level of composition is once again great. It also features some of the greatest bass lines I have heard, and this is definitely Grillot’s best performance on this album.

The album ends with “Jodwerssen”, track that may be described as a synthesis of the previous tracks, mixing the best elements of each – notably the bass and trumpet remarkable performances, the drums’ jazzy feel, the virtuoso violin and the vocal works.

Tsevir Leirbag (from Progressive Ears web site)

Réédition du double vinyl de 1980 qui débuta la carrière musicale de Serge Bringolf. Enregistré chez Jacky Barbier (« À l’ouest de la Grosne »), ce premier opus comporte 4 longs morceaux (à l’époque 1 par face !) qui développent un jazz fortement marqué par la Zeuhl. Une énergie féroce ! Ce big band cuivré (pas moins de 10 instrumentistes) est emmené par une basse vibrante. Aux croisées du jazz, de la Zeuhl et du rock.

Soleil Zeuhl has been created as a non-profit organization in autumn 1998 by Alain Lebon. Back then, the idea was to reissue on CD the Zeuhl segment of the French 70s musical scene (to be short, the bands influenced by Magma), segment which was widely forsaken by the labels of the period, including those dedicated to reissues.

soleilzeuhl.com