Gabriel Coburger Quartet, one of the outstanding jazz groups from Germany, which plays a mixture of experimental, free jazz and world beat, will be in Taipei over the coming week for a four-concert tour.
The first show will be at The Shannon on Sunday, followed by a show at the Taipei German Cultural Center on Monday. They will also perform at the Riverside Music Cafe next Friday and at the Living Room next Saturday.
The four members of the Hamburg-based group all have solid music education and performance backgrounds. The front man -- saxophonist, flutist and composer Gabriel Coburger -- studied at the Hamburger Musikhochschule and began playing as the first alto saxophonist in various German big bands and orchestras in 1990.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GCO
He continued studying music at the New School in New York and began performing regular concerts in New York with his quartet in 1997. So far, the quartet has recorded or been featured on seven CDs.
For the four concerts, the group will perform their original compositions. Coburger's saxophone or flute usually carries the lead melody and has a flow that follows unexpected routes.
Wolf Kerschek's piano and vibraphone give the music its aura, providing the background instrumentation to songs. The drummer Dirk Dhonau and the bassist/electric guitarist Sven Kerschek take charge of all groove changes.
Jazz musician Roland Schneider describes the music of GCQ as "lyrical passages, as well as highly energetic explorations of the music [that] create a sound of surprise for both the listener and the musician."
Performance notes:
What: Gabriel Coburger Quartet
Time & Location:
★ Sunday, 6pm at The Shannon, 6 Tunhua N Rd, Taipei (台北市敦化北路6號)
★ Monday, 7pm at Taipei German Cultural Center (台北德國文化中心), 12F, 20 Heping W Rd, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市和平西路一段20號12樓)
★ March 11, 9:30pm at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), B1, 2, Lane 244 Roosevelt Rd, (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1)
★ March 12, 10pm at The Living Room (小客廳), 3F, 8 Nanking E Rd, Sec 5 (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓)
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