This classical column is being invaded by "jazz"!
The fact is that the term "classical" music is no longer limited to historical figures such as Bach and Co right up to some contemporary composers, but also embraces serious music-making in the growing contemporary jazz-classical "crossover".
The boundaries seem always shifting. "Pops" are recognisable with their popularity, but Chamber Music NZ’s recent concert by the United Kingdom’s brilliant L’Arpeggiata group in Dunedin received a standing ovation for the way it modernised Henry Purcell’s tunes with brilliant improvisations. It was jazzed-up classical that the composer himself would have loved.
Brandt approaches his music very seriously, having been co-founder of Germany’s electro-acoustic ensemble Brandt Bauer Frick. He has produced eight clever CD tracks on which he plays most instruments (including piano), although aided by a group of guitarists in one track, with trombonist, cellist and player on the hang drum in others. Mixed with his electronic manipulating, he creates a different sound, "songs that build up like dance tunes but don’t feel like club music at all".
He succeeds with music that is experimental, minimalist at times, but very interesting. There is a strong beat throughout and a clever progression from the first to last track, with the title composition Eternal Something (with its major cello role), the bright Casa Fiesta and On The Move providing the climactic finish. Brandt succeeds in his aim to let the music evolve in a raw manner and have "an explosion-like energy in the pieces". He makes crossover work in a seriously new classical manner that jazz fans should like, too.
Verdict: Music has eternal interest.
