Christopher Dell - Dancers on a Plane (Konnex, 1998)

Christopher Dell, vibes
Heinz Sauer, tenor sax
Stephan Schmolck, bass

Recorded 1998

Performance Studios, Frankfurt
Engineer: Stefan Noltemeyer

I first encountered German vibist Christopher Dell as a sideman on Snijbloemen, an album by clarinetist Theo Jörgensmann's quartet. At the time, Dell was in his mid 30s with several recordings of his own, including Other Voices, Other Rooms (L+R, 1995), cut at Systems Two in Brooklyn with Americans Jim Black and Billy Drews in the band. Other Voices feels like a mismatch of talents, as the Americans seem more focused on bebop, leaving Dell outside of his comfort zone. The exception is the title track, on which Drews' soprano and Dell's vibes float mysteriously over Black's drums.

I found Dancers on a Plane in Jamey Ebersold's print catalog and ordered it along with several other CDs. But I was not charged for my order, and it was not sent. Ebersold had not entered the world of dot.commerce, leaving me in the dark about the order. So I gave up, but over a year later I received the entire order - and at last I had what I wanted. 

Dancers on a Plane is performed by a trio: vibes, bass and tenor sax. I know of no other group using that configuration. Tenorist Heinz Sauer was active recording on German labels such as Enja, L+R, and ACT, but I was not familiar with his recordings. On Dancers on a Plane, he produces sounds ranging from ethereal to majestic over Dell's chiming foundation.

Bassist Stephan Schmolck was a regular member of Sauer's groups. His contribution to Dancers on a Plane is essential to the group, not only for providing a bottom to their sound, but also for adding textures ranging from plucked and bowed strings to percussive raps on his bass's wooden body. 

It is challenging to analyze Dancers on a Plane track by track. The overall impression is of sounds floating in ever-shifting patterns. Some are based on repetitive figures played by vibes or bass; others are softly mysterious. Linear paths are pursued by any of the three players, only to become implicated in free interplay. On track 4, a bowed bass and vibes somehow generate a loop of what sounds like raindrops throughout most of the track's 6:38 minutes. Dynamics and space are employed to great effect throughout.

I recently learned that in 1998 Dancers on a Plane earned the prestigious “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik/ Viertelsjahresliste” (Quarterly List of the German Record Critics’ Award). Apparently, my homegrown appreciation for the album is connected to intellectual merits I was unaware of. As described by Dell on his enw website, "With Dancers on a Plane a new synthesis evolves, which in a new way brings New Music and the Frankfurt School in contemporary jazz together." Dancers On A Plane | Christopher Dell. I have a paltry understanding of the intellectual traditions of European music, but it's comforting to discover that my appreciation of Dell's work is not merely personal preference.

Once difficult to find, Dancers on a Plane is currently available as a download or streaming on Qobuz.

Finally, there is some confusion regarding the recording date. The CD booklet reports 1997. Dell identifies the recording date as 1998 and the release date as 1999.