A. Markus Stauss' musical pedigree and affinities
Albert
Ayler, John Coltrane, Pharao Sanders, Gato Barbieri, der junge Jan
Garbarek (alle ts); Jimmy Lyons (as), Wolfgang Dauner (p), Gόnther
Hampel (vib, bcl); Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix; The Art
Ensemble of Chicago, Doors, King Crimson
B. Markus Stauss' musical Concepts
Markus
Stauss commented the basis of his musical writing and playing, as well
the conceptuality of his playing concepts on May 13, 1997 in a
discussion with this author (The recording and Stauss' explicative
graphs are kept in the archive).
I. The parameters of his music he organises as follows:
In this graph the horizontals and the verticals are to be understood as
a two-shell spheres or concentric rings with their axes in different
angles, able to rotate independently, being in movement or fixed.
Stauss calls this model the "time and (re)production sphere".
II. The constituting three colons of his music are:
A) Sound / tone colour of different quality and the related subjective perceptions
B) textures / patterns / stratum overlays (stratifications). They occur during:
a composing
b improvisation
c their interaction
d dissociation, produced by diverging playing instructions
C) Energies in different states of matter, changes of these states, the emergence of new energies just because of these changes
III. Conflicting pairs/contrast create fields of tension, in/on which music happens:
1. long musical development harsh changes
2. communicating improvisation improvisation according to differing concepts
3. elaborate and very precisely reproduced compositions rough and raw
and occasionally somewhat inaccurate interpretations of written
material
4. lyric, romantic, sophisticated interpretation brute force
IV. Musical constellations
The concepts I to III allow for different possibilities of playing.
The
three colons, the constituents (three legged chairs don't totter) of
Stauss' music carry the play and tension field, on which the musician
can take up positions. From above the sun, a double sphere, the "time
and (re)production sphere", radiates on these different positions and
delivers energy, different positions become differently radiated.
There's a choice to be made from among these different positions, from
where the above floating sphere to observe.
V. What are the consequences ?
(citation)
My interest in positions, alterations, changes and new light make
questions about and attributions to style irrelevant. The often used
expression "stylistic crossover" relates to positions who explicitly
belong to a style, the change in position is perceived as a change in
style; stylistic featuring is happening in the listeners head, they are
listening habitudes.
Standardised pairs are dissolved (free pulse < -- > free improvisations / compositions < -- > Groove, etc. ).
The
topic is to be illuminated in relation to colour + energy + patterns.
It's not only to be used as a fix point or for recognition.
Process and structure of playing and writing are researched and questioned permanently. An example:
Are precise tempi equal to groove ?
On what does improvisation orient itself ?
"Anything goes" is not possible.
Markus Stauss, CH-Basel
