Fabian Dudek - Isolated Flowers

In 2019 Fabian Dudek released Creating Meaning, the debut album of his then newly formed quartet. The following tour was sponsored by the Musikfonds and the CD and concerts were met with enthusiastic reactions - also in the media. The newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger simply called the record a "masterpiece", the FAZ described Dudek as a "real high fligher of contemporary jazz" and stated: "Unpredictable twists and turns, contrasts and sonic densifications certainly have demanding character, but on the other hand the music consistently offers points of access on the emotional level." The Journal Frankfurt noted: "The virtuoso escapades of the young alto and soprano saxophonist fascinate with their playful complexity; furthermore, Dudek impresses as an imaginative composer and can sound almost lyrical at times."

The new album of the quartet around Fabian Dudek documents the compositional development of the bandleader and the confluence of this extraordinary constellation. "We have significantly expanded our spectrum," Dudek states, "with regard to the collaborative development of my pieces as well as in the spontaneous interaction in improvisations."

For Dudek, both aspects are essential for the music. "Due to the Corona restrictions, we played fewer concerts than planned in 2020/21. Therefore, we rehearsed all the more and consistently worked on details. This is extremely important, because even though my pieces are notated quite elaborately, every time we play together we enter unknown territories. Depending on how the others perceive what I've come up with and how they enrich my ideas with their own thoughts and feelings, a new kind of language emerges." The pieces are formulated by everyone together, Dudek says about their nonhierarchical communication. This equal footing among the band members can lead to Dudek’s compositional suggestions being extensively rearranged or even discarded altogether. As an example he cites “I Can't”, the album's in comparison most conventional track, of which almost half of the original notation went to the trash can. With a surprising result: "While I was writing the piece, I never would have thought that it would become a ballad.“

Dudek cites duality as a characterizing element of Isolated Flowers. He's referring to the tension between intellect and emotionality, complexity and deep feelings, the tension that defines collective playing. And to the influences that inspired his writing and evoked moods between melancholy and revolt. "I listen to a lot of New Music and enjoy its 'sophisticated' details, but I also like catchy pop music. Straightforward rhythms, as in soul music, appeal to me just as much as a complex pulse that you can feel, but where you don't completely understand what's going on.“

The title track, “Isolated Flowers”, has a story that exemplifies Dudek's overall approach. "I had bought a camera during the lockdown, shot a series of nature photographs, and wrote German texts to go with them. Then the translation machine turned my wording ‘alleinstehende Blumen’ into 'isolated flowers'. On one hand, that's even more romantic; on the other hand, the machine exacerbated the depressed feeling and mercilessly intensified my mood of being locked in at the time." But the record is by no means a pandemic album, Dudek emphasizes: "Other current issues concern me just as much, such as climate politics, weapon exports and migration." The confrontation between nature and industry is reflected in “Pretty Ugly”, whose title can intentionally be read in several ways. "The idea for this piece came to me while visiting a Roger Melis exhibition. One of his photographs shows a beautiful landscape with a cement factory right in the middle." “Reality, The Hypocrite” transfers Dudek's anger at hypocrites in politics into expressive sounds, “Sick Days” is also an artistic commentary on present times. “Here the synthesizer, wafting and slowly drifting out of tune, symbolizes an indefinable sense of uncertainty and powerlessness."

Passion, determination, urgency: Fabian Dudek's explosive saxophone modulations always give the impression as if he is blowing his soul out. And that's exactly the case. "I've been playing the saxophone for years, and with this band I can finally play the way I imagine," Dudek says. As sources of inspiration he cites Frank Gratkowski, with whom he is currently completing his master's degree, American saxophone mastermind Henry Threadgill, soul wizard James Brown and funk jazz legend Maceo Parker, trumpet virtuoso Ambrose Akinmusire and Charles Ives. "I enjoy reassembling puzzle pieces differently when I compose. But what matters in the end is being in the moment, rather than obediently following rules or stubbornly sticking to concepts. The compositional framework is only built to be used as a launching ramp - toward complete ecstasy."

It is evident that the quartet repeatedly reached unleashed states during the two recording at the Loft in Cologne. Accordingly, Fabian Dudek considers Isolated Flowers primarily to be a reflection on the time in which the album was created. It is quite possible that the pieces will, at least in parts, sound different already at upcoming concerts. However, the underlying attitude of the accomplished individualists will not change. With a juvenile verve and determined creative will, the band around Fabian Dudek is living out the freedoms of contemporary jazz. They create long arcs of tension and a captivating intensity that leaves no one untouched.