MINYAN (2020)
Hollywood Reporter: 'Minyan': Film Review | Berlin 2020 Feb 22, 2020 by David Rooney
”He also benefits from strong collaborations with composers David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg, whose score brings rich cultural specificity, and with accomplished cinematographer Ole Bratt Birkeland (Judy), who shoots the film in wintry tones that in retrospect feel almost like black and white.”
Indiewire: Minyan’ Review: A Brighton Beach Boy Finds His Tribe in Elegant Gay Drama Feb 24, 2020 by Jude Dry
"It’s just across the street, but may as well be a world away. At least, that’s what the zany klezmer score Steel uses to weave his disparate narratives together seems to be saying. Almost every transition is eased by the kelp of a dizzying clarinet solo or lilting violin riff. It’s a neat trick, but it works."
Movable Fest: Berlin Film Fest 2020: A Community Makes a Man in “Minyan” Feb 22, 2020 by Stephen Saito
“One knows from McCann’s restless turn and the competing clarinets in David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg’s wonderfully docile score that David has yet to reconcile who he is internally, making his unease in any number of worlds that he’s naturally been assigned a place in particularly pronounced.”
Indiewire: 15 Must-See Films at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival Feb 19, 2020 by David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson, Kate Erbland, Jude Dry
”There are a lot of moving parts in “Minyan,” glued together by a hauntingly frenetic klezmer score, but it ensures the film never courts cliche.”
Screen Daily: ‘Minyan’: Berlin Review 23 Feb 2020 by Wendy Ide
Gentle rhythms and motifs are woven into the narrative: the covert draining and refilling of the ‘best’ vodka; the inspiring literature class; the score, klezmer infused jazz which anchors David’s story to the traditions of his family.
The Arts STL: NewFest 2020 | Report 6 Oct 22, 2020 By Sarah Boslaugh
Minyan is a leisurely film, running almost two hours, but it’s never boring thanks to the strength of the performances, the cinematography by Ole Bratt Birkeland, and especially the klezmer-inflected score by David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg.
BREATH & HAMMER RECORD REVIEWS (2020)
From David Harrington, Kronos Quartet:
‘Breath and Hammer’ is a masterful and joyous journey that rewards and delights the listener every moment of the way. I was beaming through the entire album, reinvigorated by the energy and imagination of each track and so happy to know that David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg have made a musical adventure that pulls us out of the static isolated silence of our fraught time. They have found a way to give music a huge refreshing burst of energy only true explorers are able to give. They bound to ecstatic heights of fantasy and show us a new bright path forward.
New Sounds on WQXR Radio April 30, 2020 by John Schaefer
“This record is kind of remarkable, you almost have to take their word for it when they tell you it’s nothing but clarinet and piano….A duo record- although it never sounds like just two players. David Krakauer, the New York-based clarinetist, and Kathleen Tagg the South African pianist who lives here in New York now, from their record together called Breath & Hammer. ”
Bandcamp: Best Jazz of May 2020 on Bandcamp Jun 19, 2020 by Dave Sumner, June 19 2020:
“The most compelling thing about this project from clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg is the way three different sources culminate in one convergence. The influences of klezmer, modern jazz, and classical find any number of meeting points, aided and abetted by the way the album was constructed: by recording Tagg and Krakauer sampling their instruments, editing them into little bits, then collaging them together to create something new. The compositional influence of a wide array of different musicians, as focused through the singular lens of Krakauer and Tagg, leads to new visions of older perspectives.”
NPR Classical, May 21 2020 (https://twitter.com/nprclassical/status/1263567182522388485):
“The genre-fluid clarinet genius DavidKrakauer joins pianist Kathleen Tagg for “The Geyser,” an appropriately titled outburst that kicks off their new album 'Breath and Hammer.'”
Downbeat Magazine on a performance at LPR, New York Feb 16, 2016 by Bill Milkowski
”Krakauer joined with the adventurous South African pianist Kathleen Tagg in an exciting new duo project known as Breath & Hammer. At the peak of their conversation, Krakauer sailed through virtuosic passages before taking off on a passionate, soul-stirring improvisation…Throughout their compelling duo set, Tagg joined prepared piano to electronics in increasingly brilliant applications."
Paris-Move review by Thierry Docman, June 18 2020 (https://www.paris-move.com/reviews/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg-breath-hammer/):
‘Indispensable’ rating (highest possible)
“A musical alchemy is the key word of this superb album, which is not likely to go unnoticed” (Google Translated from French)
France Musique Alex Dutihl Open Jazz feature, 29 septembre 2020:
https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/open-jazz/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg-le-souffle-et-les-marteaux-87326
Citizen Jazz review by Gilles Guajarengues, June 28 2020 (https://www.citizenjazz.com/David-Krakauer-Kathleen-Tagg.html?utm_source=phplist348&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Newsletter+de+Citizen+Jazz):
“it's the feverishness, and a kind of frenetic effervescence, that characterizes the album”
“Krakauer and Tagg are more the type of people who wake up the dead. And believe it or not, they work like hell.” (Translated from French using DeepL– recommended software)
5planetes review by Francois Saddi, June 2020 (https://www.5planetes.com/en/disques/david-krakauer-et-kathleen-tagg_643):
“This album of "Jazz Klezmer" enriched with these multiple colours is a little marvel to be listened to again and again to perceive all its richness. Not to be missed!” (Translation theirs)
Appeared on a Mondo Jazz playlist by Ludovico Granvassu for All About Jazz:
MezzoTV Top Jazz September 2020
Album #28 out of top 40 September Transglobal World Music Chart: http://www.transglobalwmc.com/category/charts/monthly-charts/
Le Monde: Albums 11 Sep 2020 by Patrick Labesse
Joyeux, malin, truffé de clins d’œil et de fantaisie, ce pas de deux clarinette-piano pétille de légèreté, même dans ses moments plus introspectifs. De la musique klezmer ? Oui, sans doute mais bien plus encore. Pendant que le clarinettiste David Krakauer régale de ses notes suraiguës ou tendres, Kathleen Tagg, pianiste new-yorkaise née en Afrique du Sud, joue la brisure, la cassure impromptue, martèle ou effleure. Utilisant leurs propres compositions qu’ils tricotent et détricotent pour les sampler et faire des boucles, tous deux empruntent également le travail de quelques amis consentants, entre autres le clarinettiste et compositeur Kinan Azmeh (November 22), le percussionniste Roberto Juan Rodríguez (Shron), pensionnaire du label Tzadik de John Zorn, dont ils relisent deux compositions (Ebuhuel et Parzial). Excellent.
B! Ritmos, Candido Querol, September 3 2020
http://www.b-ritmos.com/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg/
You come back relaxed after the summer period and the first thing you find in your musical novelties is this time bomb…When listening to the album, the first thing that surprises you is the large number of different sounds even though they only use two instruments, clarinet and piano . As the authors explain, this is due to the way of working through layers of sounds that are superimposed and the great variety of effects that Tagg achieves over all with the keyboards and samplers of different authors.…don't ask me how Tagg gets those percussions because I don't understand it either.”
…To finish Berimbau , in homage to the African percussion instrument, Kathleen Tagg has composed this song and (I ask myself again without an answer) with her piano (and other effects) she takes you directly to the African continent. An album that is already making people talk and a live show (as you can see in the video) that with the effects of the sound artist Jesse Gilbert should be quite an experience. Unfortunately, once again, the promoters of this country have escaped.
Quadruple forte (ffff) rating from Télérama September 2020 (top rating possible), Anne Berthod:
Le clarinettiste américain David Krakauer et la pianiste sud-africaine Kathleen Tagg ont en commun d’avoir longtemps mijoté à New York. Ces deux concertistes classiques férus d’expérimentations y ont décloisonné leur jeu, l’un aux avant-postes du swing yiddish, l’autre à la pointe de la musique contemporaine, en s’y faisant quelques amis proches. C’est à ces dernies, du saxophoniste John Zorn au percussionniste cubain Roberto Rodriguez, qu’ils ont fait appel pour réaliser Breath & Hammer: une œuvre-puzzle composée pour moitié à partir d’extraits empruntés, déconstruits en boucles ou samples, puis réintégrés dans un jeu de Kapla sophistiqué. Le travail se fait sur ‘le souffle et le marteau’, c’est-à-dire par les sons de leur instruments, qu’ils débrident et superposent sur un vague air de forro brésilien un rythme de danzón cubain ou dans le sillage poignant de l’accordéoniste moldave Emil Kroitor. Le tandem doit son titre le plus entêtant (November 22) à une composition nostalgique du clarinettiste syrien Kinan Azmeh, dont l’épure sort magnifiée.
Selected Goosebumps, September 2020
“What a whimsical world is opening up before us! Authentic and seeming familiar, but completely state of the art.
All this music is created with the help of only two instruments, clarinet and piano. So well known and used widespread.
Everything changes when infinite imagination takes part. It’s the third instrument but most prolific. This duo is a true orchestra. David and Kathleen are playing unique compositions made out of small sounds, parties, and arrangements coming from all over the planet. US concert halls, John Zorn’s fantasies, Brazilian and Cuban rhythms, Syrian heritage, Moldavian temper, spirit of Afrika. That’s a variety of sources for them, all sounding in the Breath & Hammer mode.”
France Musique Open Jazz, Alex Dutilh, September 29, 2020
JazzAround Diane Cammaert September 18, 2020, orig. French:
https://jazzaroundmag.com/?p=26106
“On their own Table Pounding Records label, the duo Kathleen Tagg (composer and pianist) and David Krakauer (Grammy Award nominee) bring us an album that will take you on a journey that visits and innovates the very roots of klezmer. By interpreting compositions from a host of their friends, they breathe new life into klezmer, far from the beaten track. Our duo appropriate the song “November 22” by Syrian clarinetist and composer Kenan Azmeh. Already a basic masterpiece, Tagg brings his personal touch to it by adding loops and samples. We continue with a piece by Cuban percussionist Roberto Rodriguez (accomplice of Marc Ribot in a completely different register) in which Krakauer gives free rein to all his expression as a clarinetist. We let ourselves be lulled by the repetitive and bewitching rhythm of a piece by John Zorn on “Parzial” punctuated by piano keys with finesse. While Rob Curto's accordion is transformed into a clever marriage of frenzied rhythms, the clarinetist gives free rein to his virtuosity. To end this list of collaborators, let's not forget accordionist Emil Kroitor, who doesn't escape a beautiful interpretation of his composition, “Moldavian Journey”, either. The art and poetry of Krakauer who masters the klezmer, reviewed and visited by the creativity of Kathleen Tagg, gives a contemporary and singular sound to this album. The integrated buckles bring a touch of modernity without ever taking over. They blend completely into their music, with full respect for the roots of klezmer.
The album is also punctuated by original compositions where the paths of our two accomplices explode. Jazz, classical music and klezmer collide to offer music that transcends all stylistic and cultural boundaries.
This album will give you only one desire: to continue your wandering in search of their music as well as that of their companions. In short, a real electro-acoustic performance that will make you travel far beyond the confines of your living room. We are far from confinement …”
Rhythm-croises, 8 October 2020, Frédéric Gerchambeau, orig. French:
https://www.rythmes-croises.org/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg-breath-hammer/
“David KRAKAUER, a flamboyant clarinetist unquestionably elevated to the envied title of Lord of Klezmer, is therefore just as tireless as he is endowed with incredible talent. Not content with having his orchestra, his group and appearing brilliantly and brilliantly in various other formations, here he is now releasing an album as sublime as it is astonishing in duet with Kathleen TAGG. It must be said that this brilliant South African classical pianist who has been living in New York for nearly 20 years, is equally profuse in musical activity.
Klezmer and classic you will tell me? Antinomic? Contradictory? Think again, this surprising blend works wonderfully. God thunder have even dared some! And it is certainly not me who would blame them for this audacity, because if God is in their heart to energize them, it is indeed a delicious harmonic thunder which falls on us while listening to Breath & Hammer. The Breath of the Clarinet and the Hammer of the Piano.
A few wise columnists have argued that David KRAKAUER, only joining forces with a pianist, even if she is renowned, was engaging in a much more refined formula than usual. But as refined as the formula is, it is obvious from the first bars of the album that Breath & Hammer promises to be both particularly nervous, undoubtedly the syncopated and overexcited paw of David KRAKAUER, and crossed by lines Stunning pianists, Kathleen TAGG, a regular at concerts all over the world, showing that she too can set off in stunning chord and arpeggio suites.
The effervescence is permanent, hopping, joyful, and often even, frenzied. And to add that David KRAKAUER and Kathleen TAGG have found together a royal road to give to the music this enormous and refreshing torrent of energy that only true explorers are able to bring forth.
We could better describe this improbable duo and their impressive joint work!”
Songlines November 2020, Simon Broughton, ⅘ stars:
“This duo album with South African pianist Kathleen Tagg is as genre-defying as any.“
Amina Magazine, Nov/Dec 2020, Luigi Elongui:
“Les harmonies du jazz et l’élan créatif de l'expérimental se joignent aux airs classiques et aux effluves indicibles de nostalgie d’Europe centrale: un répertoire original, unique qui fait le charme de ce duo, le clarinettiste David Krakauer et la pianiste classique sud-africaine Kathleen Tagg. Des plages aux couleurs intenses, avec évocations insondables et escapades furtives. Le tout dans la synergie étonnante des deux interprètes habités par la même quête: un voyage sans frontières à la recherche de nouveaux sons, éclairé par l’héritage de deux énormes courant musicaux.”
Google translate:
“The harmonies of jazz and the creative impulse of the experimental join with classical tunes and the indescribable aromas of central European nostalgia: an original, unique repertoire that is the charm of this duo, clarinetist David Krakauer and classical pianist South African Kathleen Tagg. Beaches with intense colors, with unfathomable evocations and furtive escapades. All in the astonishing synergy of the two performers who share the same quest: a borderless journey in search of new sounds, illuminated by the heritage of two enormous musical movements.”
Telerama Sortir Review November 2020:
“Sur la scène de ce concert berlinois, le clarinettiste américain et la pianiste sud-africaine jouent derrière des cloisons transparentes: un détail amusant quand on connaît les pratiques décloisonnées de ces deux concertistes. L’un a débridé son jeu aux avant-postes du swing yiddish, l’autre á la pointe de la musique contemporaine. Or, les projections vidéo de leurs avatars quasi holographiques amplifient justement l’effet de leurs audacieuses déconstructions: des thèmes brillamment réarrangés façon jeu de Kapla, dans un superposition complexe, remuante, mais non moins lyrique de sons trafiqués à la vue du public jusque dans la ventre du piano. Entre danzón cubain et lamento moldave, le charme puissant des mélodies demeure.”
Google translate:
“On the stage of this Berlin concert, the American clarinetist and the South African pianist play behind transparent partitions: a funny detail when you know the open-ended practices of these two concert performers. One unleashed his playing at the forefront of Yiddish swing, the other at the forefront of contemporary music. However, the video projections of their almost holographic avatars amplify the effect of their daring deconstructions: themes brilliantly rearranged in Kapla's game style, in a complex, restless, but no less lyrical superposition of sounds tampered with in the public's view even in the belly of the piano. Between Cuban danzón and Moldavian lamento, the powerful charm of the melodies remains.”
Keyboard Recording Home Studio magazine (Sept. / Oct. 2020 issue), Abel Durand:
“David Krakauer, à la clarinette, et Kathleen Tagg, aux piano et “piano orchestra”, nous proposent un album où l'alchimie musicale est évidente. Ces deux musiciens hors pair jonglent entre le klezmer, le jazz, et le musique classique. Quelques boucles électro viennent surprendre nos oreilles et donner à cet album un ton de modernité.”
“David Krakauer, on clarinet, and Kathleen Tagg, on piano and“ piano orchestra ”, offer us an album where the musical alchemy is evident. These two outstanding musicians juggle between klezmer, jazz, and classical music. A few electro loops come to surprise our ears and give this album a modern tone. "
From John Schaefer, New Sounds April 30 2020 https://www.newsounds.org/story/4361-new-releases-april-2020/?fbclid=IwAR18lzXxbDwpfvutlHrSJcDTGBvwBepCSf_DmZBC45VHod1isbty8zY7h-o
ASCAP New Music Friday playlist, May 2020
Best Jazz of May 2020 on Bandcamp, Dave Sumner, June 19 2020 (https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-jazz/the-best-jazz-on-bandcamp-may-2020)
NPR Classical, May 21 2020 (https://twitter.com/nprclassical/status/1263567182522388485)
Paris-Move review by Thierry Docman, June 18 2020 (https://www.paris-move.com/reviews/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg-breath-hammer/)
Citizen Jazz review by Gilles Guajarengues, June 28 2020 (https://www.citizenjazz.com/David-Krakauer-Kathleen-Tagg.html?utm_source=phplist348&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Newsletter+de+Citizen+Jazz)
France
5planetes review by Francois Saddi, June 2020 (https://www.5planetes.com/en/disques/david-krakauer-et-kathleen-tagg_643)
Ireland
103.2 Dublin City FM, DJ Nigel Wood, 29 June 2020:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/djnigelw?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djnigelwood/
France
Le Monde, Patrick Labesse, 11 September 2020 (https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2020/09/11/selection-albums-bach-le-quatuor-ardeo-bowie-callahan-terrenoire-et-krakauer_6051849_3246.html)
B! Ritmos, Candido Querol, September 3 2020
http://www.b-ritmos.com/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg/
Transglobal World Music Charts / Mondophon auf Radio ARA, September 2020:
France
Quadruple forte (ffff) rating from Télérama September 2020 (top rating possible), Anne Berthod:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EpDsd_VhllImXu5j5F6w4Nem3-Jo0EmV/view?usp=sharing
Selected Goosebumps, September 2020
Email: sgbumps@gmail.com
France
France Musique Open Jazz, Alex Dutilh, September 29, 2020
France
JazzAround Diane Cammaert September 18, 2020, orig. French:
https://jazzaroundmag.com/?p=26106
France
Rhythm-croises, 8 October 2020, Frédéric Gerchambeau, orig. French:
https://www.rythmes-croises.org/david-krakauer-kathleen-tagg-breath-hammer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric-Gerchambeau-316182318814858/
France
Monte Carlo Doualiya, 13 October 2020:
France
Le Jazz sur France Musique, Nathalie Piolé, Esprits voyageurs : Nicole Willis, Christophe Marguet, David Krakauer, Kathleen Tagg, Freddie Hubbard and more, 16 October 2020:
U.K.
Songlines November 2020, Simon Broughton, ⅘ stars
France
Amina Magazine, Nov/Dec 2020, Luigi Elongui
France
Telerama Sortir Review November 2020
Keyboard Recording Home Studio magazine (Sept. / Oct. 2020 issue), Abel Durand
France
Patrice Dalmagne on Emission Chemins de Terre
https://www.cheminsdeterre.com/d%C3%A9cembre-2020
http://radio_rennes.vestaradio
U.S.
Mountain Lake PBS, Creating a composition during the COVID crisis, November 20 2020:
France
Cyril Camus, Krakauer-Tagg Duo : du souffle et des marteaux pour abattre les murs du confinement, Ariel’s Corner/Miranda, November 2020:
Nicky Shrire, Fine Music Radio Inc. December 29 2020
https://iono.fm/s/6?fbclid=IwAR0oV7aMJDH68gfQe8jtFVEmYTujexG85Mb9GA9TtPG0lwyxZp-IyhIKuHk
Contact: info@nickyshrire.com
https://www.facebook.com/nickyschriremusic/
Germany
Jean Trouillet, Greedy for Best Music Global Radioshow January 20 2021:
France
Calypso World Jean-Noel Potin:
“This is a superbly turned out artist, a performer broaching scant detour between conception and delivery, and a musician of such grand endowment that I can only add a complimentary hey-ho of underlining the great industry, unsparing discipline with which she honored her natural gift and therefore the music she plays and the public she plays to…
We have here a pianist who has true independence of the fingers, the virtue about which we hear more spoken than demonstrated. Tagg’s sound was clean, vocal/instrumental, balanced, carefully pruned of heaviness…
This artist with her well-honed ability to maintain contrapuntal clarity though endless stretches of linear writing and also create vertical masses of non-contrapuntal sound when called for (think of the best efforts of Botticelli and Tiziano combined in one person), brought lilt and poise and a charming softness…
New York Concert Review of New York debut recital: Carnegie Hall
“While pianist Kathleen Tagg did much to reflect the composer’s religious ecstasy in the middle with saintly chords, it was the bookends that were the reality: shrieks and wails on Krakauer’s clarinet, glissando screams on Haimovitz’s cello, and scary harmonics on Kay Stern’s violin.” San Francisco Classical Voice https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/jewish-music-festival/context-speaks-volumes-at-berkeleys-jewish-music-festival
“The Tagg-Krakauer duo took the Beethoven Room by storm as they presented one of the
most remarkable concerts I have ever attended anywhere in the world. Each work on the programme was arranged or composed by either Tagg or Krakauer and this added a personal dimension to their performance, as creation and recreation elided in an astonishing display of indescribably stunning, mesmerising musicianship…Opening with Syrian clarinettist and composer Kinan Azmeh’s November 22nd – a work epitomising the essence of Middle Eastern aesthetics – Tagg and Krakauer embarked on what Krakauer termed “a multicultural journey”. It was far more than that; it entered into the heart of humankind exploring connective artistic tissues while teasing out and celebrating the differences...
this was a phenomenal performance that stood at the heart of multicultural musicianship. Tagg’s compo
This was music-making at its best: joyful abandonment without a trace of inhibition. CUE Magazine
“…This is music as a reflection of man’s madness. It is pleasure verging on pain. It is not to be listened to, it is to be felt, touched and eaten…It is Soul of Fire, one of the most remarkable musical productions yet to have emerged from South Africa…their art drowns their audiences in deluges of sound and emotion, as they wage war against the musical predictability that would corrode their work and extinguish the blaze of their souls…”
Darren Taylor, Voice of America
"it is Tagg, the ever consummate professional that emerges as the real star of the show. Her artistic integrity and musical reliability remain undimmed throughout as she coaxes an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colour from the piano where languidly sensuous moments intertwine with flashes of tempestuous fire and eloquently spaced silences. Grippingly executed martellato passages, offset against arpeggio flourishes and chord punctuations display Tagg’s complete mastery of the flamenco idiom."
CUE Festival Newspaper of the South African National Arts Festival
Tagg successfully combined her outstanding technique with deep musicality and safe memory, and played the three movements expressively, evocatively and nimbly… beautifully coloured tonal variations created striking dynamic contrasts… the night before last’s interpretation convinced with more than enough brilliance…
Die Burger
If you have happened upon the term virtuoso before, I suggest you fold it away neatly when in the “closet blues” presence of duo Kathleen Tagg and Zanne Stapelberg. Words will fall short… an untamable, and unforgettable, venture…”
What’s On in Cape Town
… a musically expressive and atmospheric performance by Kathleen Tagg…
The Argus
Die wisselende stemming- speels, uitbundig, stormagtig an teer- is deur Tagg raak in klank geskilder. Hopelik kry sy dikwels kans om in haar land te speel
Die Burger
“...Each is a little work of art of imaginative sounds and poetic lyrics . I would not be surprised if many of the songs are not included later in the Afrikaans song treasury...Kathleen Tagg evidences again in this second collaboration with Stapelberg that she has a gift for music in translating word nuances . Each song is a showpiece of its ingenious intercourse with a colorful palette of sound…” Volksblad