Born: July 5, 1983 Primary Instrument: Reeds
'Moon and its clouds always guiding me through a life of lives...' (lyrics from 012)
'He wails in on alto sax, like a banshee trying to charm a cobra.' Dan McClenaghan at allaboutjazz.com about Sha.
“R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient”, is Sha’s (*1983) answer to the question about influences on his music. Isa Wiss (vocals), Mik Keusen (piano), Thomas Tavano (bass) und Julian Sartorius (drums) have been working with him in his band Banryu since 2004 and with 'Chessboxing Volume One' are now presenting their first album. Sha conveys the meaning of the Japanese band name 'Banryu' as follows: “Banryu, the dragon ready for jumping, lets everything come up and roll by, while not loosing its tension and posture at any moment and ready to strike anytime...” All the pieces of music were composed by Sha during the past few years, the lyrics of the first song being made up by Isa Wiss. They are titled with numbers only, and their poetic and energetic message unfolds with their sound, form and groove. During the past years, Sha has gained a considerable amount of international experience playing bass and contrabass clarinets, especially with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin but also with Mik Keusen’s Blau. With his own band, he shows additional facets to his art of making music and plays more frequently alto sax and the Asian khen in addition to the bass clarinets. With the description ’Volume One’, Sha announces, with that ironic seriousness typical of him, that musical chessboxing could become a future discipline.
Text: Kim Longin, Ronin Rhythm Records
Order the CD at the webshop: http://www.roninrhythmrecords.com/shop/
In the USA 'chessboxing volume one' is available via Wayside Music: http://www.waysidemusic.com/
German distributor for 'chessboxing volume one': All My Music http://www.amm.de/
“Sha brillierte durch ein klanglich stupendes Solo auf der imposanten Kontrabass-Klarinette.“ Ueli Bernays NZZ CH
“Sha's bass clarinet haloed everything in mysterious ambient soundwashes“ Stuart Nicholson The Observer UK
“Whenever the monosyllabically named Sha steps into the spotlight, the reed player evokes the modal improvisations of musicians like John Coltrane and Jan Garbarek.” Brent Burton Washington City Paper USA
“Multi-reedist Sha is essential to the Ronin experience. He plays mostly bass and contrabass clarinets, and his contribution is by and large almost subliminal: low rumbles and distance groans that fill in the open spaces in tight textures. But on “Modul 45” he wails in on alto sax, like a banshee trying to charm a cobra.” Dan McClenaghan www.allaboutjazz.com USA
Sha's Banryu, Chessboxing Volume One (Ronin Rhythm Records, 2008)
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Primary Instrument:
Reeds
