Michel Pilz (Picture by Valerios Ioannidis)

By Martin Schray

Once I grew to become more and more in free jazz on the finish of the Nineteen Eighties,
I shortly ended up on the FMP label by way of recordings by Peter Brötzmann and
Alexander von Schlippenbach. Quickly I got here throughout a moderately much less distinguished
trio with Paul Lovens on drums, Peter Kowald on bass and the bass
clarinetist Michel Pilz, who was unknown to me till then. Carpathes,
their 1976 album, presents Pilz within the middle as he seems all through the
document both in solo performances, duos with Kowald or in a trio with
Kowald and Lovens. I used to be thrilled by the sound of the instrument and Pilz’s
improvisational potentialities, Carpathes has been one in every of my favourite free
jazz albums to this present day and when it was potential, I attempted to see the person
reside. However sadly, this can now not be potential, as he has simply
handed away shortly after his 78th birthday.

Michel Pilz was born on October twenty eighth, 1945 in Unhealthy Neustadt/Saale in Germany
however grew up in Luxembourg and studied classical clarinet on the
conservatory there. He determined to play jazz and grew to become a member of Manfred
Schoof’s quintet in 1968, the place he met Alexander von Schlippenbach, Buschi
Niebergall and Mani Neumeier. He was to stay musically related to
Schlippenbach, particularly, for many of his profession. Within the Seventies, Pilz
toured within the Center East, Asia and South America with the German All Stars
quintet, Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra and, in Japan, with
trumpeter Itaru Oki, one other musical pal for life. Then he performed within the
above-mentioned trio with Peter Kowald and Paul Lovens and was a member of
the clarinet pool Clarinet Distinction with Perry Robinson, Theo Jörgensmann,
Bernd Konrad and Hans Kumpf from 1975 to 1977. Pilz based his personal group
in 1977 with Buschi Niebergall and trumpeter Itaru Oki and was additionally a
member of the brand new Manfred Schoof Quintet (with Jasper van’t Hof, Günter
Lenz and Ralf Hübner). Right here, Pilz was additionally in a position to present a special face,
as Schoof’s band progressively pushed the free components into the background and
made room for extra composed types of jazz music. A extra reasonable tone
prevailed, because the group typically improvised on modal reference methods with out
getting misplaced in clichés. In October, 1999, Pilz newly fashioned trio
represented Germany on the European Jazz Pageant in Damascus. He favored to
tour the world and in an interview, he himself described specific stops
as probably the most hanging recollections: “Excursions by the Soviet Union with an
indescribably enthusiastic viewers and extraordinarily warm-hearted
hospitality.” In his final years, Pilz resided in Luxembourg once more, the place he
was educating and enjoying smaller native occasions. In Western Europe,
particularly in Germany and France, he continued to play occasional live shows,
primarily together with his trio, together with Christian Ramond on bass and Klaus Kugel on
drums (typically prolonged by Peter A. Schmid). Itaru Oki typically joined the
group to type the Pilz-Oki Quartet for chosen dates. 4 years in the past, Pilz
stuffed in spontaneously for Charles Gayle on the

Freejazzsaar Pageant

in Saarbrücken, the place he performed in a spontaneous quartet with Frank Paul
Schubert (saxophone), Stefan Scheib (bass), and Klaus Kugel (drums). A late
spotlight in his profession was the truth that he recorded with Jean-Noël
Cognard for the percussionist’s Disques Bloc Thyristors label.

There are lots of albums with Michel Pilz, which can be very recommendable. The
two L’Étau albums for Disques Bloc Thyristors are completely glorious,

Choses Clandestines

(2014) and

Script Unique

(2021), with Keith Tippett on piano, Paul Rogers on bass and Jean-Noël
Cognard on drums. Different albums that gained’t disappoint you’re Aux Antipodes
De La Froideur (2018), once more with Cognard on drums, Quentin Rollet on
saxophones and Marcio Mattos on bass as properly as

Binôme

(2010), a duo with Cognard, each on the identical label. Carpathes is a hidden
FMP gem, as is One Yr – Afternoon & Night with Itaru Oki and Ralf
R. Hübner (FMP, 1980). One other nice album is Celeste with Buschi
Niebergall on bass and Uwe Schmitt on drums (Trion, 1979). Jamabiko, his
quartet recording with Oki, Niebergall and Muhammad Ali on drums is
completely value listening to and naturally all of the Globe Unity Orchestra
albums Pilz has contributed to.

The free jazz world has misplaced a terrific stylist and sound magician. One other
nice loss this 12 months.

Watch and take heed to Michel Pilz with Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers and
Jean-Noël Cognard: