An evening with „Stephan Kurmann Strings“ at the Jazztone is one of those events not to be missed. The combo was founded by the charismatic bass player Stephan Kurmann in the 80ies. While the band has released 5 CDs since then, apart from Stephan, only Andy Scherrer on saxophone is still an original member. What began in 1987 as a septet including a string quartet, sax, bass and drums, is now a quintet comprised of Stephan Kurmann, Andy Scherrer, Alieksey Vianna on guitar, Adam Taubitz on violin and Julio Barreto on drums.
All of them are professional musicians of international acclaim who either lead their own bands or contribute their skills as Sideman in various other groupings. Stephan Kurmann is of course also well known as the founder of the other exquiste Jazz club in the region, the „Bird’s Eye“ in Basel, where he can be either found on stage or indirectly through his acting as program director. His homepage is a rich source of material about his projects, and you can listen to all things „Stephan Kurmann Strings“.
The current quintet represents on the one hand a continuum of the beginnings, with the majority of its members still on strings. On the other hand one doesn’t notice any bias in its sound since the harmonious virtuosity and creativity is intense and always integrating one another and picking from different jazz styles. Stephan Kurmann is framing, soloing and providing fine rhythm with classic and latin influences through his bass. Alieksey Vianna clearly adds a Brazilian twist and at times direction combined with classic elegance through his guitar play. The Cuban drummer Julio Barreto provides a very subtle and sophisticated pulse, perhaps one can call it percussion on drums – if that exists. Adam Taubitz is melting right in with his violin. While he is at home in both the classical (he has played in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) and jazz world, he is a master of improvising without getting carried away. And the outstanding Andy Scherrer on saxophone (he has been called the Swiss national jazz saxophone teacher) links it all together in fine melodies, perhaps adding the right amount of tradition to perfectly balance everything out.
To sum it up, this jazz quintet swings, grooves, lives – in wonderful colors of sound and imagination.
