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Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones - here you find a video from Feb 2011

CD release: 'SOLOS' mp3

Solos #1 (for Jimi Hendrix). 16:25
Solos #2 (for Wien)...........9:55
Solos #3 (for Cecil Taylor). 15:24
Solos #4 (for Iannis Xenakis).5:56

recorded October 2000 in Vienna/A
released at Extraplatte / 2002 EX 513-2

R .E .V .I..E .W..S

SOLOS
(Extraplatte EX CD 513-2)

reviewed in The Wire Adventures in Modern Music 226, Dec. 2002, London
by John Cratchley
In his explorations of amplified saxophone, Austrian player Michael Fischer has come to favour sonority and texture over structure. These ten solo pieces for tenor and soprano don't dispense with form, however - you might describe them as freeform abstractions of shifting temperament. The pieces break into four seperate solo suites:"Solos #1" comprising two tracks (for Jimi Hendrix), the single track of "Solos #2" (for Wien), the four making up "Solos #3" (for Cecil Taylor), and another four for "Solos #4" (for Iannis Xenakis). "Solos #1" and "Solos #4" are played on amplified tenorsaxophone, allowing Fischer to bring in feedback as an integral component in the sound structure. Not surprisingly the opening solos dedicated to Hendrix are the most visceral and angular. Working with the full gamut of volume, from overblown shrieks to almost silent, breathless sighs, he explores in minute detail the sonic possibilities at his disposal. Where structure is less emphasised, Fischer gets the chance to explore the physical qualities of his instrument. At times, notes sound strangulated and purposely inhibited through lack of air supply, alternated with their overblown opposite. Similarly, he will move breath with grace and languor, contrasted elsewhere with tougher, sinewy contortions. Pitch also shifts continously leaving the listener with very few (and deliberately so) points of harmonic reference. Strangely, this does not render the music harsh or fractured. Instead, it sets up a dynamic progression based on an appreciation of texture rather than form. His interest in electronic music is evident in the dedication to Iannis Xenakis, but that doesn't make him overtly referential or too reverential. Electronics are a source of inspiration more than an active component, and his music is all the more intriguing for it. Amplification aside, he avoids adding electronic extensions to his instrument, yet his music carries hints of the way laptop players "vitalise sound". His sleevenotes also talk of "multiple was to create meaning" and his music personifies the fluidity of this approach. He builds sounds with painstaking detail, only to knock them down and come at them from a different angle in an attempt to capture nuances of mood - the rippling continuum of momentum rather than the architectural certainty of stasis

reviewed in THE CADENCE MAGAZINE March 2003, London
by Michael Rosenstein
Austrian reed player Michael Fischer is restlessly exploring the worlds of free Jazz, spontaneous improvisation, and electroacoustics in the company of musicians like William Parker, Burton Greene, Phil Durrant. These releases on the Viennese Extraplatte label showcase two sides of this intriguing player. Solos is a strident outing where Fischer pushes at the dynamic and textural extremes of the saxophone. Augmenting a full command of extended techniques with amplification and a sensibility shaped as much by the electronic music of Iannis Xenakis as by the vocabulary of free improvisation, he dives in with fusillades that are jarring in their contrast. Utilizing amplification and feedback, the first two pieces are shredded homages to Jimi Hendrix. Molten barrages of super-saturated overblowing are sprayed through intense amplification, distorting the rapid-fire lines and heated blasts into acid-burned feedback frenzy and flurries that snap like jolting, overoaded circuits. Jumping to the other end of the sonic spectrum, "Solos #2 (for Wien)" examines the micro-gestures of glitched overtones and sputtering, percussive pad popping. Yet even here, he aligns himself closely to the palette of electronics, with static bursts and oscillating waves of sympathetic harmonics. A series of shorter pieces are similar in approach to John Butcher's solo playing. Like Butcher, Fischer builds his solos out of the elemental components of brass, breath, reed, and keypads. While he brings a more expressionist bent to the approach, these pieces have a somewhat diffused impact, lacking Butcher's masterful conceptual command and clarity. The final series of pieces again utilize amplification and feedback, but here (with dedication to Xenakis) they ply contrasts in textures and densities in a more austere manner. The results sometimes sway more toward process and concept, struggling to sustain their sense of form over the course of the set.

*

conducted instant compositions involving poetry, dance, fine-arts founded 2005
for more info see V.I.O.

Marcos Baggiani, drums >
Michael Fischer, saxophones, violin

get some soundfiles here
a video file here

Collaborations with many musicians at the Bimhuis, LoosFoundation, Zaal 100 a.o.

Baggiani / Fischer work together since 2003 within many collaboration projects, starting at the Bimhuis dance/music/performance improvisation lab The Meeting Point. Since then they developed their work in on-the-edge experimental performances f.i. together with japanese performer, singer and composer Daisuke Terauchi, Tamaho Myiake, dancer Makiko Ito, Eileen Standley (magpie comp.) and many others. Within improvised music set ups they performed with Wilbert de Joode, Thierry Ex, Andy Moore, Felicity Provan, Hilary Jeffery, Ivo Bol, Gregory Kazaroff, Oscar Jan Hoogeland, Gerry Jäger, Burton Greene a.o. They performed at reknown places for improvised music such as the Bimhuis, Zaal 100, Bethanienklooster, Loos Foundation/Den Haag, Trytone festival and other festivals such as MediaArtFestival Tussenland / Kasteel Groeneveld, NL 2007 or Festival Artacts, St. Johann / A when touring Austria 2006, also performing at WUK/Vienna, Theater Kikker/Utrecht,....

Marcos Baggiani studied in Buenos Aires and at Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten since he moved to the NL in 2001. Since then he works within the fields of Improvised Music, Jazz, Theater, Performance in cooperations with Mary Oliver, Rozemarie Heggen, Felicity Provan, Eric de Boeren, Oscar Jan Hoogland, Ernst Rijsiger, Steven Cohn, Joost Buis, Nathan Fuhr, Harald Austbo, Shazahd Ismaily, Meinrad Kneer, Yedo Gibson, Rodrigo Dominguez, Juan Arredondo, Jeronimo Carmona, Hernán Merlo, Santiago Vazquez, Wenchi Lazo, Enrique Norris, Pato Carpossi and dancers like Julyen Hamilton, Katie Duck, Jack Gallagher a.o. 2007 he was involved in a project of Trisha Brown at Documenta 12. Performed in NL, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, England, France, Germany, Uruguay and Venezuela.

interdisciplinary improvisation company based in Amsterdam, Berlin, Venezuela a.o.

Diana Gadish, Pere Gay i Faura,, Isabel Olle Carpintero, Valeria Primost> : dance
Daisuke Terauchi : voice, theremin, electronics
Peter Huber : trumpet
Michael Fischer : sopranosaxophone, violin
Marcos Baggiani : drums >

Performances at Bimhuis /Amsterdam, Loos Foundation /Den Haag, trytone festival /Zaal 100 /Amsterdam. festival TussenLand /Kasteel Groenevald/Barn, Muiderport Theater /Amsterdam, Badhuis Amsterdam, toured Austria 2006: festival 'artacts '06', Alte Fabrik /Steyrermühl, Imflieger /WUK Vienna

instant compositions

Tamaho Miyake, theremin, piano, vietnameese zither >
Daisuke Terauchi, voice, recorder, chaos pad >
Michael Fischer, saxophone, violin

Concerts incl. cooperations at Hiroshima, Kyoto, Shiga, Nagoya, Tokyo, with Rozemarie Heggen at DNK /Amsterdam; with Peter Jacquemyn at MediaArtSchool /Brussels and Porgy&Bess /Vienna >

Vienna Improvisers String Trio I Annette Giesriegl

instant compositions Annette Giesriegl, vioce, electronic devices >
Clementine Gasser, cello >
Karl Sayer, double bass
Michael Fischer, violin

This string trio with voice ambitioned in an instant compositional thinking, grounds its music on a diverse and strongly rooted theoretical and practical knowledge and orchestral thinking. Concentrated as well as relaxed interaction and stringent ideas give the quartett's homogenious soundcharacter a balanced evidence, explicit orientated on transparency and clearness. The artists are each involved since many years in projects within the international scene of improvised/new music, advanced jazz and interdisciplinarity with partners from literature, dance, theater, performance, film/video.


"An incredible quartet of voice and strings with an attitude of electro-acoustic sound production, immense journeys in sound crossing the areas of conflict between meditation and impulsiveness." squidco
"VIST AG's coherent mix of inspired probing and technical underpinning, their subtleties so precious in a world where, too commonly, substance is mistaken for bushwash whereas barrenness is used as creed, a shield for modernist intellectuals to hide behind."
Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes

"Landscapes of sounds are here developed as islands of acoustic concentration within the drift of everyday sounds and musical floods. It's an effort against 'acoustic pollution', as Murray Schafer, guru of the 'sound-ecology' stated, for the consciously and self-consciously intended purpose of structured sound as victual."
Dieter Kaufmann, composer, head of Inst. electroac., experim. music, Univ. Vienna


VIST AG is invited by curators of series for new music and was guest at Festival Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon.


CD release: 'VIST AG' mp3
dedicated to Bela Mago jr.
resonance 1 03:11
resonance 2 04:01
resonance 3 05:21
resonance 4 08:46
resonance 5 09:43
resonance 6 12:02
resonance 7 05:47
resonance 8 02:59

recorded at Amann Studios Vienna
released at Creative Sources Recordings / 2008 CS 118

F I S C H E R / S M I T H
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones, voice
Gary Smith, stereo-guitarCD release: 'TOMASET - 6 IMPROVISATIONS'

Tomaset #1 15:36
Tomaset #2 10:07 mp3
Tomaset #3 15:01
Tomaset #4 10:51
Tomaset #5. 5:25
Tomaset #6. 2:29

 

 

 

recorded June 2001, Schlierbach/A
released at Extraplatte / 2002 EX 503-2

 

R .E .V .I .E .W .S

TOMASET
(Extraplatte, EX 503-2)

reviewed in The Wire Adventures in Modern Music 222, Aug. 2002, London
by John Cratchley
Guitarist Gary Smith first came to prominence in the mid-70s with The Acme Quartet performing improvised fusion. In the 80s, however, he took an extended recording sabbatical that lasted almost a decade. Since then, he has produced a series of exeptional albums. Add this one to the list. The period away from the recording scene gave him time to nurture and solidity an absolutely unique signature on his stereo electric guitar. He is perfectly at home in either solo or group settings. His partner on this recording, tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Fischer, has equally impressive credentials, and together they produce music of power and delicacy.
Recorded live and spontaneously direct to minidisc on a recent European tour, Tomaset captures both the intimacy and immediacy of improvised music at its best. Smith is most recognisable for his undulating pendulum swings along the length of th fretboard, which he enhances with unequivocal directness and openness of tone. He can switch from light. fingertip touches to fluid note runs or heavy, concrete blocks of sound within an instant. Fischer matches this arsenal with an equal diversity and accuracy. His soprano tone ranges from a reedy screech to a breathy dulcet sigh, and he is expressive in either short, staccato bursts or complex, sinewy forays. He can also match Smith for power, as his tenor playing demonstrates. Both players have a penchant for the percussive, with Fischer using the 'slap key' technique to produce a range of air-primed pops (not unlike the technique employed by Pharoah Sanders), and Smith tapping the overamplified guitar strings, especially in the bass register, to great effect. The guitarist also uses controlled feedback to produce banshee wails of spine-tingling invective, or gentle, murmuring hums to coincide with Fischers vocal interjections.
Here, both players wield their improvisational power with discrimination. Tone and texture never jar, even though they are frequently juxtaposed, and it is always possible to differentiate every nuance. Recorded in what Fischer describes as a dining room with minimal technical enhancement, the CD captures the ebb and flow of their combined approach to perfection.

reviewed in THE CADENCE MAGAZINE March 2003, London
by Michael Rosenstein
The duets with Smith on "Tomaset" give Fischer a like-minded sparring partner. The somewhat cavernous live recording pits Fischer's effuse horn playing with Smith's splayed electric guitar. It is no surprise that Smith started out as a rock player. Crying outburts and sputtering cascades of notes are combined with tapped harmonics and bent sustain. His lines are in a constant flux, heading off with an aggressive charge and then pulling back to regroup. Fischer revels in the constantly evolving soundscapes, by turns using his horn to fill in the chinks left by Smith's guitar or spraying out waves to carry the pieces off in new directions. Throughout the set, the music builds in intensity and drops back to quiet, scuttling gestures. Both Smith and Fischer are textural players, so momentum builds more out of gathered density than through propulsive force. At times, this leads the two into faltering deadends. When, about mid-way through, they begin to let loose and play with an unfettered abandon, the music builds energy and direction the two have been searchin for. Though the level is sustained for much of the duration, too often they lose focus. By the time they have reached the end of the set, they seem to be searching for a way to tie everything together. The two display plenty of ingenuity and ideas. What they lack is a voice to anchor the proceedings.

*

FISCHER / GREENE / MENRATH
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Burton Greene, piano
Andi Menrath, drums, table percussion

CD release: 'THESE SPIRITS OF ELSEWHERE'

Prospect. . . . . . . . . 13:37
Polyzoon. . . . . . . . .. 0:15
Painting the Blus Red.. 7:22 mp3
Relativity. . . . . . . . . 3:24
Spirits Abroad. . . . . 25:54

rec. Jan. 2000 in Amsterdam
released at Extraplatte / 2000 EX 434-2

Narada Burton Greene was born in Chicago, Illinois in June 1937. He had seven years of classical music training with Isadore Buchalter of the Fine Arts Building. Burton studied jazz theory and harmony with Dick Marx and continued his music education in the 'School of the Streets' of the mid 1950's from such luminaries as Billy Green and Ira Sullivan. He arrived in New York in '62 and formed probably the first spontaneous composition group with bassist Alan Silva in '63: The Free Form Improvisation Ensemble. He joined the Jazz Composers Guild in '64 (organized by Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor) and formed his first recorded quartett in '65 which included Marion Brown and Henry Grimes. He performed in New York in the 60's with such people as Sam Rivers, Rashied Ali, Albert Ayler, Patty Waters, Byard Lancaster, Gato Barbieri, etc.
Burton was involved with the New Music Concert Series in Town Hall and YMHA organized by Max Poolikoff which included panel discussions with Morton Feldman and Earl Brown. He moved to Europe in 1969 first to Paris, then to Amsterdam. Since that time he has toured and recorded extensivly in both Western and Eastern Europe with occasional tours in America.
Burton Greene has recorded over 35 records and CDs of his compositions in many and varied contexts. As an eclectic composer and performer, his works are involved with jazz, contemporary classics, electronics, and a great variety of folklore musics. Burton has collaborated with many musicians, among them are John Tchicai, Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker, Han Bennink, Keshavan Maslak, Sunny Murray, Frank Wright, Sean Bergin, Paul Stocker, Theo Loevendie, Martin van Duynhoven, Clarence Becton, Perry Robinson, Roswell Rudd, Tjithe Vogel, Raoul van der Weide, Tom Jones, Tobias Delius, Michael Moore, Akki Hak, Lou Grassi, Wilber Morris, Roy Campell, etc., etc. burtongreene.com

*

 

F I S C H E R / G R E E N E / D R E S S E R
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Burton Greene, piano
Mark Dresser, bass

F I S C H E R / D U R R A N T / E D W A R D S / M E N R A T H
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Phil Durrant, violin
John Edwards, bass
Andi Menrath, drums, percussion

at 'Konfrontationen 2000', Nickelsdorf/Austria

F I S C H E R / P A R K E R / C H A R L E S
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
William Parker, bass
Denis Charles, drums

CD release: 'NEW YORK 3 : GIVE'
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxohpones
William Parker, acoustic bass
Denis Charles, drums

Exploration NY 302 33:05 mp3
Exploration NY 303 35:52
Exploration NY 304. 5:59

recorded November 1997 in New York
released at Extraplatte / 1999 EX 383-2

 

 

W I E N 3
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones, violin
Hermann Stangassinger, acoustic bass
Hannes Schweiger, drums, percussion

CD release: 'WIEN 3'

china 12:39
stir up 5:41
radical priorities 0:54
that's dialectic? yeah! 2:52 mp3
weill das eis bricht 2:36
sprightliness 5:50
ngo - never get overawed 8:10
necessary illusions 7:31
ulterior motive 8:44
you can't eat golden dumplings 6:41
miracle 3:43

rec. Sept. 2002 at ELAK Vienna/A
released at Extraplatte / 2002 EX 520-2

CD: 'FUSS'
rec. May 2002 at WUK Vienna/A
the CD is available on request

WIEN 3
(Extraplatte EX 520-2)

reviewed in MUSIC MANUAL spring 2003, Vienna
by Hans-Dieter Grünefeld
Instant music often is self satisfied. The Trio WIEN 3 doesn't think in this way. For Michael Fischer (ss, ts, v), Hermann Stangassinger (ac.b) and Hannes Schweiger (dr, perc) the instant moment is an item of concentration, from where musical inspiration is obtained.They start f.i.with short motives or just a kind of bordun like in the piece "China", play a circle around it, to evolve different kinds of melody fragments. Gradually they approach higher energy levels, though constantly leaning on tonal centers. "That's dialectic? Yeah!" - you only can agree with them. In a subtle art they put the particles together into a lyrical tone-form that even can swing like a nightclub song, "Weill das Eis bricht".The field, where WIEN 3 is playing, spontaneity is an asthetic value, which pays attention to timbre and formation.

reviewed in THE WIRE 232 June 2003, London
by John Cratchley
Viennese saxophonist and violinist Michael Fischer's last two recordings - one solo, the other a duo with guitarist Gary Smith - precipitated a move towards a combination of New Music and free Improvisation. This trio recording with Hermann Stangassinger on double bass and Hannes Schweiger on drums and percussion could be a culmination of that manoeuvre. Fischer is a theorist for whom the need to intellectualise his music acts as the goad or impetus to experiment further. As expressed in the sleevenotes, part of the trio's manifesto sees them defining their work as "an answer to the atrophy of human communication". In musical terms, atrophy is taken to mean a reliance on repetitive and therefore inhibitive forms. Well, the trio are in no danger of faltering on this precept. They constantly shift their improvisational ground, while maintaining a consistently high level of interaction. Fortunately, the theorist in Fischer does not lead to the music's cerebral confinement. These thoroughly accessible improvisations demonstrate considerable diversity and lightness of touch. The trio's range allows them to explore a variety of structures and forms, from blasting sax/bass/drums free Improv to highly controlled pieces that showcase Fischer's pizzicato violin explorations and Schweiger's percussive minutiae. The exploration of the possibilities of new sounds is also high on the collective agenda. As a saxophonist, Fischer has long experimented with multiphonic effects but this CD also allows him free range with his violin. Particularly effective are his slowly bowed and drawn out creaks that literally put the music under stress and duress. The trio are most effective at creating diversity of mood through what they describe as "new aggregate states and nonconformistic sound associations". In other words, the combined instrumentation available to this new trio allows them to examine new ground while reinforcing some already existing conventions. "Ulterior Motive" is a slow blues delivered with a marvellous slackness of drive reminiscent of Art Pepper, which underlines the trio's ability to play straight ahead with conviction.

K A N T O V I C
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Wolfgang Fuchs, turntabels, devices
Alex Wallner, guitar, prep. guitar
Andi Menrath, drums, percussion

With Wolfgang Fuchs and Alex Wallner, the electronic side, and Michael Fischer and Andi Menrath, the accoustic side, KANTOVIC showed a think tank of experimental sound-laboratory, initially founded on interest and invitation of both sides November 2000. One of the aims of KANTOVIC was to show the essential points of intersection of electronic and accoustic improvised music besides the "zeitgeist"-way, besides the mainstream tendencies, to create a laboratory for creative works.
Fischer's and Menrath's international activities with their duo called "WIEN 2" provided us with experiences from such collaborations as with Irene Schweizer, Peter Kowald, Joe Williamson, Phil Durrant, John Edwards.
Fuchs and Wallner, known as "Das Fax-Mattinger" were involved in several musical projects playing in conventional and commercial fields till the increase of their reception of composed, new and free improvised music made them change the way of thinking, feeling, hearing.

W I E N 2 . feat. Elisabeth.Harnik
Elisabeth Harnik, piano
Michael Fischer, saxophones
Andi Menrath, drums

W I E N 2
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Andi Menrath, drums

Michael about Andi:
The music he plays is uplifting, supporting and gives; it is bright, motivating; strong ideas are part of the whole flow of ideas, density, loosness,... No borders, only trying to support the musical essence of the moment.
Michael about the music:
I feel there is always a tendency of facing borders and tabus, analyzing and then discussing them musically.

Andi about Michael:
He has these challenging long standing, intense ideas and surprising changes; he’s open for everything that may happen, he never says "no"; playing with him makes me find a creative entrance to his soul.
Andi about the music:
I’m feeling very well at the unusual moments - trying to feature the upper register of my instrument.
 
Founded 1999

M E N . A N D . P R O G R E S S
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Ludwig Bekic, alto- and baritonesaxophones
Paul Urbanek, keys
Christian Weber, bass
Karl Sayer, bass
Gerhard Herrman, drums
Andi Menrath, drums

at Jazzfestival Wiesen, July 1999

CD release: 'MASS MEDIAS TRIUMPH'

Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Ludwig Bekic, alto- and baritonesaxophones
Karl Sayer, upright-bass
Christian Weber, upright-bass
Gerhard Herrmann, drums
Andi Menrath, drums
Oliver Mochmann, guitar
Oliver Kent, piano

rec. Sept. 1997 at WUK Vienna
released 1998, Extraplatte 363-2
Listen to MASS MEDIAS TRIUMPH: "Furnace"

N E E D
Michael Fischer, tenor- and sopranosaxophones
Mik Fladerer, guitar, trumpet
MC: 'RESIDUUM'
rec. May 1997 in Vienna/A, released 1997, residual needs recordings

W I E N 4
Michael Fischer, saxophones
Karl Sayer, electric bass
Gerhard Herrmann, Andi Menrath, drums


F I R E .O N. T H E .R O O F agitation and music, free improvising ensemble
Agnes Heginger, voice
Michael Fischer, saxophones
Colorandi, flute, percussion
Alexander Machacek, electric guitar
Gerhard Herrmann, drums
concept, directions, participation by Michael Fischer, Vienna 2000

W I E N 5
Michael Fischer, Ludwig Bekic, saxophones
Richard Koch, trumpet
Christian Weber, acoustic bass
Andi Menrath, drums

T H E. T R A I N E E S. O F. T H E. C O S M O S : 'networking' ; free improvising ensemble
Jacqueline Schwarz, Elisabeth Schimana voice, electronic
Ludwig Bekic, Michael Fischer, saxophones
Christian Weber, Karl Sayer, acoustic bass
Gerhard Hermann, Andi Menrath, drums
concept, directions, participation by Michael Fischer
live and simultaneously as internet live stream, WUK, Vienna 1998


G O. G U I T A R S .and .T H E .F R E E .S P I R I T S .O R C H E S T R A
free acting collective coordinated by hand-signs
Michael Fladerer, Max Mayerhofer, Jil Y. Creek, electric guitars
Fredi Z. Jelinek, Thomas Berghammer, trumpets
Colorandi, flute, percussion
Agnes Heginger, voice
Alexander Borek, Michael Fischer, Walter "Tarzan" Lameraner, Walter Gahr, saxophones
Andi Menrath, drums
in cooperation with the dance improvisation collectiv THE4
concept, conduction, participation by Michael Fischer; WUK Grosser Saal, Vienna 2000

V O X. Q U I E T I S. E T .T U M U L T U S Improvised Music ensemble for churches
Jacqueline Schwarz, voice
Michael Fischer, saxophones
Christian Weber, acoustic bass

M I C H A E L .F I S C H E R .T R I O Improvised Music and compositions by Michael Fischer
Michael Fischer, saxophones
Karl Sayer, acoustic bass
Gerhard Hermann, drums

 

with financial support by SKE-fonds..

 

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