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Bier/Goldsbury Quartet
feat. Herb Robertson & Matthias Bätzel -
 "A-Live at the A-Trane"
Konnex Records KCD 5113

Ernst Bier - Mack Goldsbury Quartet
In 1994 Mack Goldsbury and I decided to put together a co-operative group. At that time guitarist Frank Möbus and bassist Ed Schuller were our partners. We brought out our first CD, "At Night When You Go to Sleep" (Timescraper Records) in 1996 ... [more]

Cover: Jaanan

Mack Goldsbury - saxophone, piccoloflute, Herb Robertson - trumpet, Matthias Bätzel - hammond B-3 organ, Ernst Bier - drums

Recorded Live at the A-TRANE in Berlin, Germany
July 21, 2000
Recording and Mixing by Wolf Blazejczak
Mastering by Ahmed Chouraqui / ON AIR Studio
Cover painting: Jaanan
Text : Carina Prange
Translation : Marty Cook
Produced by Manfred Schiek & Ernst Bier

Ernst Bier plays BOSPHORUS CYMBALS

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Linernotes

Ernst Bier - Mack Goldsbury Quartet
In 1994 Mack Goldsbury and I decided to put together a co-operative group. At that time guitarist Frank Möbus and bassist Ed Schuller were our partners. We brought out our first CD, "At Night When You Go to Sleep" (Timescraper Records) in 1996. Trumpeter Herb Robertson moved from New York to Berlin, and since he had already played a lot with Mack and Ed when they were all living in New York, we invited him to join us.

Our second CD, "Next Move" (BEV records), with Herb as Guest, followed. Meanwhile, ED married and returned to New York, and Frank decided to concentrate on his own group, "Der Rote Bereich" and his recording projects with ACT records. That left us free to experiment and led us directly to Hammond B3 organist Matthais Bätzel. A new quartet was formed - and a new CD was recorded -

"A-LIVE AT THE A-TRANE "

Mack Goldsbury

Saxophonist and flautist Mack Goldsbury was born in Texas, and lived and worked in New York for many years. He moved to Berlin in 1992, and has since made it his permanent residence.

A professional musician since he was 17, Goldsbury has contributed to been involved in) a large number of CD productions. The borderline between jazz and pop has never gotten in his way: he has worked with such pop stars as the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Cher, and Frank Sinatra Jr., and with such jazz greats as Jaki Byard, John Scofield, Paul Motian, Billy Hart, Tim Berne, and Ray Anderson. He is equally at home with traditional and more experimental big bands - he has been a member of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the RIAS Radio Big Band, and the New York Composer's Orchestra under the direction of Wayne Horowitz and Bobby Previte. With his deep personal commitment to the music and unique "expansive, full-bodied tone" (Jazz Podium), Mack infuses creative excitement into every project he is involved with. This is particularly true for the current band. Working with organ players is familiar territory for Goldsbury; he has a played and recorded with some of the greatest organists in jazz This includes Brother Jack McDuff, Bobby Forester, John Patton, Charles Earland, David Braham, Clyde George and Andreas Böttcher. Besides his recordings with the Ernst Bier - Mack Goldsbury Quartet, he has recorded the album "Songs I love to Play" (Timescraper) with his own group, the Mack Goldsbury and the New York Connection, and the CD "Art of Duo - Savignyplatz" (Tutu Records) with bassist Ed Schuller.

Herb Robertson

Trumpeter Herb Robertson attended Boston's world-renowned Berklee College of Music. He then gravitated towards New York in1981where he became an integral part of New York's creative jazz scene. Since 1998 he has been shacked-up in Berlin's melting pot.

Besides trumpet, he is also at home with cornet, flugelhorn, and mini-trumpet. His work with Bobby Previte, Tim Berne, Marc Ducret, John Zorn, and Bill Frisell, and the with the German band Der Rote Bereich has distinguished him as an exceptional musical innovator. Drummer Bobby Previte describes him characteristically as "A wild card - a joker" - always good for surprising, original ideas, and thereby never completely predictable. Herb Robertson's current project is the "Herb Robertson Brass Ensemble, Entourage and Aboriginals". He is also well known for his involvement with theater and dance; examples are his work with the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation under the direction of David Behrman, and the "Track and Field" production with composer John Zorn.

Matthias Bätzel

Matthias Bätzel was born in Weimar, Germany in 1966. Encouraged to play music at an early age, he studied Violin and piano at Weimar's Franz Liszt College of Music. His wide-ranging musical interests range from classic to rock through jazz have pointed him towards the instrument that he plays today - the Hammond organ.

Since 1984 Bätzel has played in various soul-jazz and rock formations. His work as professor for jazz piano in Wiemar and his intensive collaboration with such international stars as Charlie Antolini, Emil Mangelsdorff, Silvia Droste, Dieter Ilg, Clark Terry, and Carla Bley have molded him into the wide-ranging creative instrumentalist he is today. Germany's "first jazz pedagogue", tenor saxophonist Joe Viera openly praises him: "His rhythms have drive, his chords have bite, his melodies structure, and his bass lines logic". After his work with the organ trio Grooveyard, Matthias formed the Matthias Bätzel trio in 1998. The group's album "Monk's Mood" appeared in 2002. He is currently involved in an intensive collaboration with the actor and singer Manfred Krug. It is a joining of forces in which many more musical surprises may be expected.

Ernst Bier

It is unimaginable to talk of the current German-American (world) jazz scene without mentioning Ernst Bier. A former student of master drummers Billy Brooks, Charlie Persip, Vernell Fournier, and Elvin Jones, his drumming has been lauded for its "high level of sensitivity, self-abandon, and invention", while the Bonn Magazine TV show highlighted his "musicality and scintillating play".

Like many European jazz musicians, Bier felt the magnetic pull of jazz's Mecca, and so in 1982 Bier turned up on the New York scene where he would remain until 1987. It was in New York that Bier began his continuing musical relationships and personal friendships with Mack Goldsbury, Ed Schuller, and Herb Robertson. Whether with the Perry Robertson Quartet, the Christoph Adams Trio or with such stars as Atilla Zoller, Chet Baker, Lester Bowie, and Walter Norris, Ernst Bier is seldom involved simply as a sideman. Besides his solid musical input, he is known for his enormous organizational talent. Since returning to Europe, Ernst has been continually on tour, working on and in a number of different projects. Looking for the liveliest music scene he could find, Bier settled in Berlin. His continuing series of workshops keeps Ernst in contact with the fundamentals: for young musicians his "Living School" has developed into an institution.