Parisien / Peirani / Schaerer / Wollny - Out of Land

For once, here’s a band for which the word 'supergroup' is completely apposite. Swiss vocalist Andreas Schaerer, German pianist Michael Wollny, French accordionist Vincent Peirani and his saxophonist compatriot Emile Parisien are four of the brightest and most charismatic stars in European jazz, and they have now formed themselves into a quartet. Between them, they have so far garnered no fewer than twelve German ECHO Jazz awards, as well as just about every distinction of importance in their own countries. They are in their mid- to late thirties, and their new live recording “Out of Land” demonstrates why they are at the very pinnacle of jazz musicians of their generation. It is because they are re-defining the possibilities of their instruments; not just cutting loose from the boundaries of jazz, but doing it in a way which energizes and inspires audiences of all generations.

The pivot and connector for this top-flight group of musical allies and equal partners has been Peirani. He had previously played with all three of the others, and has brought them together. The quartet member he has had the closest connection with is Parisien: they have been kindred spirits since working together in Daniel Humair’s quartet. They work as a regular duo, and in the group “Living Being”. Michael Wollny had been enlisted by Peirani at the end of 2012 for the latter’s ACT debut CD “Thrill Box”, and the two have continued to bring their combined “resourcefulness, erudition and shared relish for risk” (John Fordham in The Guardian) to their 2016 ACT album “Tandem”. Schaerer had first met Peirani two years previously, when he had invited the Frenchman to join his band “Hildegard Lernt Fliegen” as a guest for their concert in Paris. After that, both wanted to do more together, but the overladen state of their diaries conspired against it. It was only when Schaerer received invitations from Budapest and Berne which gave him carte blanche to put together any project he wanted, that he was able to enrol Peirani for a project - for which the accordionist also wanted to involve both Parisien and Wollny…

The four searched long and hard for the right name to put on their new band’s birth certificate. Schaerer sent Peirani a whole raft of suggestions, including the indeterminate “Out of...”. To which Peirani responded promptly with “Out of Land”. “That was it, we'd nailed it,” remembers Schaerer. The phrase “Out of Land” is intended to bring to mind that specific sense of leaving solid ground, and of venturing into terrain where it is far from obvious how things are going to develop. That was certainly a part of the concept: staying open to the ideas of the others, keeping the excitement intact, seeing what will happen musically in the moment. They did three days of rehearsals without prior preparation, and then went off to appear on stage together. Schaerer found it all very fulfilling: “It is simply a dream, almost a spiritual form of making music. It’s about being able to address one’s own visions in conditions of complete spontaneity, and also about transparency of communication with the others. These musicians can really do that!”