Vienna Art Orchestra – Nightride of a Lonely Saxophoneplayer, Part 1 (CD2054)

The Vienna Art Orchestra in full flight. In October 1985 the orchestra toured Switzerland under Mathias Rüegg, with concerts in Le Locle, Hunziken, Geneva and Basel. Nightride of a Lonely Saxophoneplayer captures that tour live. This is Part 1, and the story continues on Part 2.

The big band is at full strength with 15 musicians: Lauren Newton on vocals, Wolfgang Puschnig, Harry Sokal and Roman Schwaller on saxophones, Herbert Joos, Bumi Fian and Hannes Kottek on trumpets, Christian Radovan on trombone, Jon Sass on tuba, Andy Manndorff on guitar, Uli Scherer on keyboards, Heiri Känzig on bass, Joris Dudlion drums and Tom Nicholas on percussion. The six long Rüegg compositions show everything the VAO stood for. “Perpetuum Mobile” drives relentlessly forward, “Ragtime” plays with jazz history, and “Lexicon of Musical Invective” and “5-String Pinocchio” bring Rüegg’s typical humour and sharp arrangements. There’s lots of room for the soloists, and the orchestra plays with drive, precision and fun.

Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

The mid-1980s were the Vienna Art Orchestra’s peak. The band played dozens of concerts in a few months at festivals across Europe, from Montreux and Molde to Moers and East Berlin. They topped nearly every jazz poll and became Austria’s official cultural ambassador in music. The pace was hard on everyone, and tensions grew inside the band. This was also when Hannes Kottek took over lead trumpet for the first time, and when the VAO moved to Moers Music.

The tour shown on this album was a homecoming for Mathias Rüegg, who was born in Zurich. A concert on this tour, on October 16, 1985, mixed his project The Minimalism of Erik Satie with the music from this album. The concerts were later released on two parts. Funnily enough, the title track “Nightride of a Lonely Saxophoneplayer” is on Part 2, along with pieces like “Tears in Atlanta” and “Mutzerl”, a Rüegg arrangement of Mozart.

Many of the musicians here also appear on other Moers releases. Sokal and Känzig play in the trio Depart, Puschnig and Reisinger in the Pat Brothers, and two years later the orchestra recorded the live double album Inside Out, Live ‘87, again in Switzerland.

Tracklist

1. Perpetuum Mobile – 10:44

2. 4106 – 7:09

3. Seven Changes – 11:26

4. 5-String Pinocchio – 11:41

5. Lexicon of Musical Invective – 8:28

6. Ragtime – 9:31

All compositions by Mathias Rüegg. Total running time: approx. 59 minutes

Personnel

• Mathias Rüegg – conductor, composer, arranger

• Lauren Newton – vocals

• Hannes Kottek – lead trumpet

• Herbert Joos – trumpet, flugelhorn

• Bumi Fian – trumpet

• Christian Radovan – trombone

• Jon Sass – tuba

• Wolfgang Puschnig – alto saxophone, flute

• Harry Sokal – soprano & tenor saxophone, flute

• Roman Schwaller – tenor saxophone, clarinet

• Andy Manndorff – guitar

• Uli Scherer – keyboards

• Heiri Känzig – bass

• Joris Dudli – drums

• Tom Nicholas – percussion

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD2054

• Recorded: Live, October 1985, Le Locle, Hunziken, Geneva and Basel (Switzerland)

• Price: €14.00