Location: Velden, Bluesiana
Concert date: 04/24/2007
Attendance: 8
Ticket price: 20 euros
Bluesiana has long since turned into a proper sandbox for the wild musical games of master players from all over the world. Which isn’t the least bit strange, since on top of its always excellent vibe, it offers a cozy spot, in the warm shelter of its own living room, to take in musical outpourings of every conceivable shade. This time, the gentlemen trying to settle comfortably into its embrace were Alex Schultz & Raphael Wressnig, who, together with their buddy Sax Gordon, had kindly dropped by our Postojna blues festival about a month ago. Despite the already traditional “excessive” interest of the Slovenian audience in this kind of event, they were greeted at the Jamski Dvorec by an enviable number of music lovers back then. In Austria there are obviously fewer of them, because when my better half and I walked into Bluesiana about half an hour before the scheduled start, we spent a long while all alone, listening to the always welcome antics of Clapton.
The situation got funnier by the minute. By the time the concert was supposed to kick off at 8:30 PM, a whopping eight of us had gathered in front of the Bluesiana stage. And half of those strongly resembled family friends of the ever-friendly Gudrun, who had apparently decided, by the way, to drop in on the always smiling first lady of Bluesiana. This incredible response from the masses also led to the concert being pushed back by an hour or so. A wise decision that soon proved a needless waste of time, it thoroughly shook up the originally planned program for the evening. So instead of a strictly professional show, we got a relaxed jam session that felt more like one of the trio’s rehearsals. The late hour also meant a shorter set list with no usual break. Still, the very welcome laid-back approach strongly echoed Postojna, except that this time, with no vocalist, we were treated to a completely instrumental, jazzy evening that overflowed with improvisation and other showcases of mostly Schultz’s and Raphael’s virtuosity. The set list was also very similar to the Postojna one, with Boom Bello and Banana Boogaloo standing out more this time, both of them Raphael’s creations, which was very noticeable in the performance itself. Gordon’s absence left the master of the Hammond plenty of room to maneuver, and the young man put it to good use with acrobatics across the black and white keys of his beloved B3. I can safely say the young keyboardist was the star of the evening. Definitely the most dominant member of this ragtag trio, who, in his dedication, didn’t show the slightest bit of dismay over the dismal turnout. T-Bone Jumps Again also got a particularly warm reception, and it showed that Gordon’s absence hurt the presence of blues more than it helped. Personally, I was looking forward to less emphasis on jazz, which I’d been convinced back in Postojna was mostly Sax Gordon’s thing. That’s also where the one big disappointment of the evening lies, at least as far as little old me is concerned, and it goes on the blues account, of which there was once again only a sample. It only showed up at the end of the night, when, truth be told, I was already pretty worn out from shaking off every possible form of jazz expression. This time the Hammond even supplied a bass line that was maybe a touch too soft for blues, while Schultz, with his thin guitar tone, cheerfully strolled up and down every musical scale imaginable. Jazz ones too, of course, which both masters obviously feel most at home in. Which, in the end, is only fair. Either way, Alex Schultz and Raphael Wressnig didn’t disappoint this time either. I once again witnessed an evening of top-notch musical artistry, though in the end I still chose to trade it for the much-needed comfort of my own bed.
Set List
1.Back on 2.Soulful Strut 3.T-Bone Jumps Again 4.Banana Boogaloo 5.Last Train To Aaltar 6.Boom Bello 7.Hot Wheels 8.Something Special 9.All About My Girl 10.Blues
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