Al-Riyahi takes you to dream worlds at the Saalfelden Jazz Festival

Since yesterday, artistic director Mario Steidl and his team have been counting on a varied and balanced mix for the multi-day event in the Pinzgau mountains. While during the day the dance gesture often dominates the many free concerts – yesterday, for example, the East Tyrolean line-up Jimmy and the Goofballs left little to be desired and offered crunchy ska with a bit of hip-hop to get your hips moving – there on the main stage as well as on the discovery track, Short Cuts emphasizes sophisticated fare that you definitely have to work for.

Although: in the case of Riahi, who did the work required for the festival with her colleagues Dorian Concept (electronics) and Manu Mayr (bass) as well as the wonderful images of Lu Zon, the audience actually had to let go. For almost an hour we went through a variety of emotional states between intermittent rhythms and oscillating sounds, where we were allowed to immerse ourselves in gentle sounds, to be pulled out of the calm again after a short time by the composer's sharp accents.

Mayer’s bass playing ran through the entire piece like a heartbeat, while Concept refined his structures layer by layer. Once a melodic arc had formed in the mist, the winding, meditative gesture changed direction – though it was never certain, this dream was always in danger of exploding. In between, speech and singing samples were set and the musician repeatedly ascended to the front of the stage herself. There was a huge, well-deserved round of applause at the end for this courageous opening of the main stage.

As a result, the trio of Chris Davis, Daniel Erdmann and his colleagues were not allowed to complain about a lack of support. While the Canadian pianist’s album “Run the Gauntlet,” due out in a few weeks, has been impressively immersed in dissonant areas (not to mention Robert Hirst’s incredibly exciting playing), Erdmann’s German-French duo treatment has become a highlight of the day. It’s no wonder you have such famous colleagues as violinist Theo Ceccaldi or bassist Robert Locascio by your side. The sextet, made up of three Germans and three French musicians, lets the voices vibrate, passing balls to each other as if blindly, while duly balancing the beautiful harmonies and the powerful explosions.

Finally, two more formations made their places tremble: Vienna Noise and the experimental trio Radian, who demonstrated in Otto-Gruber-Halle that fragile moments, changing structures and cathartic discharge are by no means mutually exclusive. Incidentally, Manu Maier was able to celebrate here for the second time, taking to the stage instead of regular guitarist John Norman with bassist Martin Siewert and drummer Martin Brandlmayr. And at the end of the day, the famous band The End, consisting of the exceptional saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Kjetil Muster, as well as the singer Sofia Jernberg, amazed the audience on the main stage with their high-energy jazz. It is no coincidence that Gustafsson, who was very busy in Saalfelden this year, said at the beginning with a wink: “The end is here, the end is near. Be careful.”

The female bipolar has nothing to do with caution. The Austrian indie rock band played their usual exciting and powerful set at Kunsthaus Nexus around the same time, where the wide age range of the audience was also evident. This jazz festival has long been accessible to everyone, regardless of whether you are into the cultured experience or just want to have a good time with your best friends. Social and political gestures and musical prowess go hand in hand. There is still a lot on the program until Sunday that you definitely shouldn’t miss.

(By Christoph Gressner/APA)

(service – )