Carl Zinsius Project:
The Music of Carla Bley
The Carl Zinsius Project is a chamber ensemble, improvisation collective and groove machine all in one. And plays its very own version of European jazz in the 21st century.
On their debut album, the ensemble interprets the repertoire of US composer Carla Bley with great curiosity and open ears.
The artist, who died in October 2023, is certainly one of the most important, if not the most important jazz composer of our time. Bley wrote pieces for pianist & her first husband Paul Bley as early as the 1960s, becoming part of the avant-garde jazz movement. As conductor & arranger for Charlie Haden’s “Liberation Music Orchestra”, composer of the jazz opera “Escalator Over The Hill”, founder of her own label and setting the tone in a male domain, Bley has always been a role model without equal.
On the album “Five Banana – The Music of Carla Bley” – a bow to Bley’s work from the 60’s to the 2000’s – the young musicians, who drummer Carl Zinsius drummed up for the album, reinterpret Bley’s pieces with a lot of joy in playing & room for improvisation.
Strange, intimate & humorous compositions meet beautiful, simple yet surprising melodies and give an insight into the work of this unique composer.
The band
Anais Pasanau Miró - Clarinet
Classically trained, Anais’ musical interest has never been limited to a single musical genre. Be it free improvisation, the interaction of different arts, or the world of Brazilian music, she pursues all disciplines with great devotion. Next to playing in Classical chamber music settings, she leads her own project "Mondo Chôro" playing traditional brazilian music.
Willem Suilen - Piano
Willem Suilen began playing the piano at the age of 14. After finishing high school, he started his studies at prestigious conservatories, including the Conservatorium of Maastricht, the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. He specialized in jazz and improvised music.For Suilen, music is an eternal quest for sound. He is constantly evolving, seeking to expand his knowledge and create a fresh and original musical product. This manifests itself in his compositions and improvisations.
Conrad Noll - Bass
Noll initially had classical cello lessons from the age of eight. In his teens, he began to take an interest in jazz and, starting in 2007, first became self-taught with the double bass before eventually making it his main instrument. He then studied double bass and cello, both with a Bachelor's degree, at the University of Music and Dance Cologne. He is active in various formations, such as Sebastian Gramss' Bassmasse, Yaroslav Likhachev's quartet and Daniel Tamayo's quintet. With his own "Conrad's Quintet" he mainly plays original compositions and arrangements of compositions by double bassist Oscar Pettiford.
Carl Zinsius - Drums
Carl Zinsius studied Jazz-drums at the Conservatorium Maastricht (NL) and the Siena Jazz University (I) and took lessons with Jorge Rossy, Marc Miralta & Drori Mondlak. In the course of his career Carl had the chance to work as a drummer & percussionist in numerous contexts ranging from improvised music in duo settings or Brazilian music in small ensemble to traditional & contemporary Jazz in bigband or Classical music in chamber orchestra.
