The Leipzig bassist Andreas Pientka sets massive, monumental music in scene with his tentet on "Tiefe Nacht" (trans.: Deep Night). Seven brass players two trumpets, a trombone, a tuba and three saxophones as well as a rhythm group composed of Pientka himself as well as the pianist Niklas Roever and the drummer Alex Parzhuber bring the music to life, and the flutist Camila Moukarzel-Ortega also intervenes occasionally in the action. Pientka actually composed this music for orchestra, but the Corona pandemic thwarted his goal and so he opted for this brass-heavy and much more jazz-inspired instrumentation.
Pientka was inspired by the composition process of Goethe's "Faust", and the elementary questions of a place in the world also occupy the bassist's mind. "I was always interested in many different things, but always kept dealing with the core question of my musical place in this regard," Pientka explained. "That's what drove me. I am driven by a certain restlessness and never had the feeling of having found my place. This search never stops and leads you to try out new things and develop further."
The music in "Tiefe Nacht" is dense and gripping, which again and again takes the time for solo improvisations and reduced interludes, in which the bass takes the lead or piano and drums set important accents "Piano and percussion provide a kind of basic framework and act rather supportively," Pientka stated. "Both are very, very important to make dynamics clear and to contribute this special jazz vibe."
