interdisciplinary improvisation company

instant compositions

radiostudio setup manipulations

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.

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

Listen to an excerpt of GIVE
Exploration NY 302 33:05
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:

N E E D
Michael Fischer, tenor- and soprano saxophones
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

GO GUITARS & THE. 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

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