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Original Liner Notes by Mike Hennessey (9.10.96)

There's a 35 year old jazz Keller in Germany that deserves to be much more widely known. He's Rick Keller, a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and this is his first album. More than any other kind of music, improvised jazz tends to be a very personal form of expression and what strikes one immediately about the music on this album is that Rick Keller has a most distinctive improvisational approach and he delivers his statements with conviction , commitment and sincerity. Furthermore, the music is refreshingly cliché-free.

Making a debut album represents a considerable challenge for a musician, because he has everything to prove - he cannot rest on an existing reputation. And the challenge is heightened when he decides to record a program of original compositions, because the listener doesn´t have the assistance of familiarity in responding to the music.

Another positive feature of the recording is that it brings together like minded musicians of three different nationalities- which underlines another of the great attributes of jazz: its universality. Although he has no previous recordings to his credit as a leader, Rick Keller has chalked up a most impressive list of credits as far as musical associates are concerned, having played or recorded with drummer Charly Antolini and guitarist/bassist Wolfgang Schmid (with whom he worked, on and off, for almost five years, Benny Bailey, Claudio Roditi, Dusko Goykovic, Ed Thigpen, Chaka Khan, Barbar Dennerlein, AlGrey, Billy Cobham, Joe Sample, George Russell among many others

Keller was born and raised in North Syracuse, New York, on August 4, 1961 and his first musical instrument was an accordian, which his parents gave to him when he was four years old. He learned to read music - but then , after a while, decided baseball was more fun. But when he was eleven, he developed a yen to play the saxophone. He acquired an instrument, played in his school wind ensemble and - testimony to his natural aptitude - made very rapid progress, to the extent that he took part in solo saxophone competitions from the age of thirteen.

Awarded a scholarship to the University of Miami, he determined to apply himself conscientiously to the study of music with the aim of becoming a professional musician. After four years of study with the jazz faculty, he felt it was time to get some practical experience. His good friend, pianist David Ake, told him that there was substantial support for the arts in Europe - so, in 1983, they both decided to move to Munich which they knew as the home of ECM records. But gigs did not come easily and, after two years, Keller opted for a change of scene and returned to the States to begin a master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

However dissatisfaction with the program and the difficult economics involved prompted him to return to Munich - a city which had three manifest advantages: it was the home of a former girlfriend, and also of Charly Antolini and Wolfgang Schmid - musicians with whom Keller had the opportunity to work extensively. "It was thanks to these two musicians that I recieved sufficient exposure to become involved in the commercial music scene in Germany - although this distracted me from my original goal of supporting myself by playing only my kind of music."But the plus element of the experience, Keller is quick to admit, was that working in studios and on television demanded a high level of proficiency, and the need to interact with his colleagues helped push him to his creative limits. Says Keller: "I feel very fortunate to have participated in so many productions in the studios where I have been able to monitor my musical developement. I am not content with everything I have done, but I try to be honest with myself when I evaluate the results and continuously strive to become a better musician."

There speaks a dedicated professional.
Much of the music is in modal form, with free-flowing lines, often unconventional intervals and effective use of dynamics. It is well organized music, but it generally has a nice loose swing about it- thanks to the sympathetic work of bassist Eugen Apostolidis and drummer Guido May.

"The Time Will Tell" features Keller on soprano saxophone, stating the theme in unison with the guitar of Australian Steve McKenna. Like Keller, McKenna and former Maynard Ferguson pianist Doug Bickel have excellent technical command and good creative imaginations. I have no knowledge of how much the group has played together - given the current sad situation far too many groups chasing far too few gigs, probably not very much at all. But you would scarcely suspect it from this performance.

On "Waltz For Wayne", though a nod in the direction of Wayne Shorter, there are distinct elements of Coltrane's ballad style - particularly the wistful, yearning notes in the high register- in Keller's tenor work. After the line, to which McKenna plays a counter melody, there follow melodic and mellow solos by McKenna and Bickel, the latter developing his ideas logically and building tension against the splashing cymbals and relaxed time of Guido May. Keller then returns to take the piece out with restrained, reflective, poiniant notes, re-echoing the Coltrane cry.

The up-tempo "Movin' right along" is appropriately titeled because move right along is what it does. Again Keller and McKenna again phrase the head together on this modal piece, there''s a groovy solo from Bickel and some enterprising improvisation from McKenna. After a stirring drum solo, the piece builds to a tempestuous grandstand finish.

"Spring " opens in tone poem mode, with Keller playing pastoral soprano lines against McKenna's arpeggios. Then the guitar, using the chorus device, sets up a latin rhythm to reintroduce the beautifully plaintive sound of Keller's haunting soprano. There follow fine solos by McKenna and Bickel- highly percussive, single note work - and then Keller's soprano returns, again phrasing with the guitar to reprise the theme.The piece ends with some impassioned free improvisation by Keller against the insistent latin rhythm and a reiterated bass figure.

"Not Meant to Be" opens with Keller on tenor saxophone delivering a low key threnodic improvisation which is thoughtful, reflective and which makes effective use of space. He then raises the temperature with flurries of notes and finally settles down into ballad tempo as piano, bass and drums join in. Again we hear that most affecting crying tone in the upper register and Keller produces some unusual melodic turns of phrase with great feeling and sensitivity. After a lyrical piano interlude, Keller returns to bring the piece to a quiet, restful conclusion.The final Tune, "Trane's Way" is a briskly swinging catchy minor waltz and the most straight-ahead piece on the album. It opens with an ad-lib passage by the full-toned bass of Apostolidis, who then sets the waltztime beat for the theme. There are imaginative solos from Keller (against some fine chord work by Bickel which is reminiscent of Tyner), then a bustling solo from Bickel before the repeat of the theme.

Altogether a most stimulating and original first album. No doubt about it, America's loss is Germany's gain.

 MIKE HENNESSEY