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b i o g r a p h y
interview
by mike heffley, from September '97«
foto« short
reviews«
T H O M A S • B O R G M A N N born 1955 in Münster, since more then 15 Years working as an improvising musician, is known as an energetic saxofonromanticist with a tendency to the all-too-human being little melodies, first at the early 80th mainly working with the BERLIN ART ENSEMBLE around Nick Steinhaus (‘81 GOETHE-Tour Southamerika, ‘82 Nickelsdorfer Konfrontationen ...) later on working with the SIRONE SEXTET (New York ‘87), HIDDEN Quartet (with Dietmar Diesner, Erik Balke, Jonas Akerblom), NOISE & TOYS (with Valery Dudkin, Sascha Kondraschkin), founded in ‘91 the ORKESTRA KITH’N KIN (with Hans Reichel, John Tchicai, Pat Thomas, Jay Oliver, Mark Sanders, Lol Coxhill and others); his most known work should be the Quartet RUF DER HEIMAT which he founded in ‘93 (with E.L. Petrowsky, Peter Brötzmann, Willi Kellers, Christoph Winckel), also the Trio BLUE ZOO with Borah Bergman & Peter Brötzmann, 1984 - 1996 he organized the Festival STAKKATO in Berlin, in ‘94 and ‘96 he was winner of the Berlin Jazz-Grant, in recent new groups he is working in BMC-Trio with Wilber Morris & Denis Charles; 4-tet ALLIANCE w/E.L. Petrowsky, DJ jayrope, Michael Griener; BOOM BOX w/Tony Buck & Joe Williamson. Since Denis Charles died in March ‘98, he is working with Reggie Nicholson on drums:BMN-TRIO. BORGMANN took part at concerts, tours and recordings with Brötzmann (Peter & Caspar), Hans Reichel, Andre Jaume, Jason Kahn, Tony Buck, Paul Lytton, Evan Parker, Conny Bauer, Johannes Bauer, Charles Gayle, Lol Coxhill, Phil Minton, Sirone, William Parker, Jason Hwang, Anthony Brown, Heinz Sauer, Thurston Moore, Enver Ismailov, Shoji Hano, Alex v. Schlippenbach, Vladimir Chekasin, Rashied Bak’r, Roy Campbell, Frank London, Melvin Poore, Perry Robinson, Vattel Cherry, Kip Hanrahan’s Latin Groove ... RADIO: NDR, HR, WDR, DeutschlandRadio, ORB, DDR II, RIAS, SR, Radio Russia, WKCR, BR, .... Festivals (recent): Kunstfestival Dresden ‘93, Festival Freiburg ‘93, Nickelsdorfer Konfrontationen ‘82 ‘94 (A), Festival Rive-de-Gier ‘94 (F), OST/WEST Festival Kassel ‘94, InterRegio Berlin ‘94, Jyväskyla Winterfestival ‘95 (FIN), Festival Eldena ‘95, Festival Mulhouse ‘95 ‘99 ‘01 (F), Festival Archangelsk ‘95 (GUS), AKUT-Festival, Mainz ‘96, Festival Bolzano ‘96 (I), Albert Ayler Memorial, New York’96, SKIFF-Festival New York’97, Festival Nancy ‘97 (F), Diagonale Magdeburg ‘97, Music Unlimited ‘97, Wels (A), Festival St. Ingbert ‘98, Nürnberger JazzTage ‘98, The Back Room, Berlin ‘99, Festival Groningen ‘99 (NL), JazzFest Berlin ‘99, Tampere Jazz Happening ‘99 (FIN), Recontres Internationales de Jazz de Nevers’99 (F, NOZART ‘01 ‘03) ... |
(find complete Discography with Infos & reviews beyond "Discography") MC & CATALOG +Diphonie One+ / BERLIN ART ENSEMBLE PPP-Verlag Berlin/N.Y.C . / ISBN-3-922-878-30-x CD *RUF DER HEIMAT* KCD 5067/EFA Petrowsky / Borgmann / WilliKellers/ Christoph Winckel »CD *MACHINE KAPUT* / RUF DER HEIMAT KCD 5070 Brötzmann/Borgmann/Winckel/ Kellers »CD *RIDE INTO THE BLUE* KCD 5069 / Borah Bergman, Peter Brötzmann, Borgmann »CD *BLUE ZOO* KCD 5074 / Bergman, Borgmann, Brötzmann »CD *BOOM SWING* KONNEX Records KCD 5082 / Borgmann, Wilber Morris, Denis Charles »CD *ORKESTRA KITH’N KIN* mp3 - file »CD*STALKERSONGS* mp3 - file »CD *ORGANIC* The LOTUS SOUND TLS 009 (USA) »CD *THE LAST CONCERT* mp3 - file »CD *...You See What We Sayin’?*
CIMP 188 (USA) mp3 - file »CD *COOLER SUITE*
GROB 539 c+p GROB 2003 mp3 - file LP *BLUE* / Borg-, Brötzmann, J. Voight, Charles / EREMITE-Records (USA) |
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>If you don’t know Thomas Borgmann’s name, you’ll
remember it after hearing him. His very linear but wholly free approach
to his horn recalls the great Sun Ra Arkestra saxophonist, John Gilmore< >He is a powerful, imaginative player< (JAZZ TIMES, USA, 9’98) >It’s hard to think of anyone who sounds
quite like him< >This guy knocks my socks off< >He has power, passion, technique, and range.
His playing is exciting and multi-faceted. There is a variety to be
found in his solos that often
escapes other talented sax players. Most of what emerges from his lips
has the aura of the timeless classic about it< >A Wild Melancholic< >Borgmann blew tenor & soprano over all evolutions’ circumstances
of musical power of feeling< >His stamina is to be applauded< >Thomas Borgmann's description of himself as
a 'saxofonromanticist' encapsulates his relationschip to these strands
in free music's evolution.
Borgmann's assumption of the Romantic mantle cuts both way. In fulfilling
the Romantic agenda of breaking down music's established canons, of investing
an intrinsic, trancendental meaning to music, and to tie his concepts
to corresponding ideas in literaturem, visual arts and philosophy, he
blurs the destinction between what is deformative and what is reformative
in present-day free music. When Borgmann cuts through the brays and thunderclaps
with a solidly Coltranish cycle of fourths, it is ambiguous whether he
is introducing a reformative element, or a deformative pastiche. >A Blowing Bundle Of Energy< (Münstersche Zeitung) >Borgmann made everyone prick up their ear's
and listen attentively. His powerful strenght, full forced saxofone
playing and ability to bring
about a change.< >From the beginning Thomas Borgmann has struck
me as such an artist: he's directed, passionate, bold and abitious< ==> to be found in the January ‘99 issue of ‘CADENCE JAZZ MAGAZINE’: The Record Poll ‘98, category musicians listed Thomas Borgmann on position 5 ! >Thomas Borgmann blies heerlich verspielte, lyrische Chorusse auf
dem Tenor und dem Sopran, ließ es pfeifen und raunzen.< >...wurde Borgmann dichter, zupackender, schreiender, um schließlich
in die hymnische Intensität des späten Coltrane oder eines Pharoah Sanders
zu münden.< >...auf dem Sopransax bewegte sich Borgmann in ausladenden Improvisationen
und mit vollem, warmen Ton, auf von John Coltrane vorgezeichneten Spuren.
In ekstatischen Momenten lüpft er eine Ecke des Vorhangs zu einer anderen
Welt.< >Thomas Borgmann spielte lyrisch, sensibler und mit mehr hymnischen
Gestus als Brötzmann< >Wenn der FREE JAZZ eine Stilistik oder Schule ist, dann gehört
heute zu seinen aufstrebensten Schülern und Protagonisten der deutsche
Saxofonist Thomas Borgmann< >Gewaltige, totale, fieberhafte Energie. Peter Brötzmann und Thomas
Borgmann laden damit ihre Saxofone auf. sie richten sich sofort auf den
Höhepunkt ein. Sie erklimmen ihn nicht, sie sind bereits da.< >He has power, passion, technique, and range.
His playing is exciting and multi-faceted. There is a variety to be
found in his solos that often
escapes other talented sax players. Most of what emerges from his lips
has the aura of timeless classic about it. < >Borgmann blies Tenor & Soprano über alle Evolutionzustände
musikalischer Empfindungskraft< |
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