Christina Fuchs 'No Tango' Quartet / Down Under 2012
International Jazz co-operations form one of Artpipes' main cores in terms of production output.
Our organisation sees cultural exchange as a valuable contribution to the professional and personal development of artists in general, and hopes this tool will resonate further in the future to cultivate wider global understanding among audiences, students and the artists themselves. Collaboration is not simply two ensembles, groups or artists meeting to produce, present and tour, it is the end result of a coming together of minds and energy. It is what is produced when otherwise individual energies combine to merge in a completely new level of creative synergy, thinking, approach and production.
Artpipes e.V. presents
CHRISTINA FUCHS 'NO TANGO' QUARTET DOWN UNDER 2012
Artpipes e.V. first international cultural exchange project featured the Christina Fuchs Quartet ‘No Tango’ from Cologne, Germany and the Andrea Keller Quartet from Melbourne, Australia. Artpipes headed down to Australia with CFQ ‘No Tango’ in October 2012 to present two combined octet concerts and one solo concert for the quartet at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival in Victoria, as well as a series of concerts for the German quartet in Alice Springs, Adelaide, Wollongong, Sydney and Canberra. The collaboration featuring Christina Fuchs 'No Tango' Quartet and Andrea Keller Quartet was recorded and later broadcast by ABC Jazz. As part of this project, Artpipes secured Australian funding on behalf of Andrea Keller to commission her compositional contribution to this project, 'Meditations on Light', organised the collaboration in co-operation with Wangaratta Jazz Festival Australia, and organised generous German funding allowing the project to take place and the Cologne quartet to tour Australia with their music, including a workshop in Alice Springs and a cultural visit to the country's iconic Uluru.
Despite the immense geographical distance between these two, there are some striking similarities that come to the fore, including both bandleaders’ continual experimentation with unusual settings within their genre. For Artpipes, it was an obvious choice to produce a collaboration between these two seemingly different, but similar musical worlds, both led by female composers/performers/bandleaders. The goal being to unite the potential of these two award-winning ensembles and provide a setting for contemporary cultural exchange between artists.
Christina Fuchs ‘No Tango’ Quartet, Cologne, Germany
Christina Fuchs (Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Composition)
Florian Stadler (Accordion)
Ulla Oster (Double Bass)
Christoph Hillmann (Drums & Percussion)
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'No Tango' is saxophonist/composer Christina Fuchs’ quartet. It is one of the more unique ensembles in the Cologne jazz scene and has been an individual, creative force in the German and International Jazz scene for over a decade. This band proves that innovative jazz can be delicate, humorous, and lyrical. Their combination of jazz, ethnic music and modern compositional technique fascinates from the first beat. The WDR Jazz Prize winner 2014, Fuchs is an established figure in her homeland, bearing a large output of both large and small ensemble work, as well as cross-disciplinary projects.
Andrea Keller Quartet - Melbourne, Australia
Andrea Keller (Piano, Composition)
Eugene Ball (Trumpet)
Ian Whitehurst (Saxophone)
Joe Talia (Drums)
More information about the artist: www.andreakellerpiano.com
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Andrea Keller Quartet create music that is "a marker of just how good Australian jazz is” (Stapleton 2006). Their bass-less line up has been a leading force in developing an intimate chamber music-like approach to the group's output. Stemming from the jazz tradition, AKQ bring a wide array of influences, ranging from European art music through to electronica, merging to create a strongly identifiable and unique sound. ARIA and Australian Jazz Bell award-winners, performances have included Moers Festival, Melbourne International Jazz Festival and Wangaratta Jazz Festival.
