Schlippenbach Trio

Featuring: Evan Parker, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Paul Lovens

The historical importance, influence, and stature of the Schlippenbach Trio was cemented long ago. Formed in 1970 by German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach in the early days of European free jazz, the group also featured British saxophonist Evan Parker and German drummer Paul Lovens, and soon formed the core of the mighty Globe Unity Orchestra from that point on. As heard on its 1972 debut for FMP Pakistani Pomade - reissued by Cien Fuegos back in 2015 - its foundational music helped establish the group's feverish free improvisation as a dominant thread in the history of European free jazz. The intellectual and artistic curiosity of the group's members, to say nothing of their paradigm-shifting technique and collective sensibility, changed the course of free improv forever.

Recorded in a single day at the FMP-Studio in Berlin, Elf Bagatellen stands apart in the trio's discography. Eleven compact pieces - bagatelles in the classical sense - ranging from explosive collective statements to moments of startling delicacy. Schlippenbach's training under Bernd Alois Zimmermann at Cologne surfaces here in ways his fiercer recordings rarely reveal. The titles alone suggest a world of private references and cryptic humor: "Beelzebub's Tales: Revised," "Resurrection of Yarak," "Elster-Werda Nocturno." The Schlippenbach Trio soon snapped back into its working methodology on its follow-up album, Physics, in 1993, which further elevates the singularity of Elf Bagatellen. The album captured a different side of the trio and helped inform the modern classical tilt in European improvised music.

Cien Fuegos is delighted to reissue this undeniable classic, making it available on vinyl for the first time ever.