Nickelsdorf. Stiu ca va spune ceva acest cuvant, da, el e, indicatorul de la fosta frontiera Schengen, primul cum intri in Austria.
Nu Nova Rock de pe campiile panonice, ci Konfrontationen, in curte la Hans Falb. 30 ani au trecut peste acest festival despre care un american pe numele lui John Randono a grait asa: “The Konfrontationen deserves its reputation as one of the finest homes for creative music. And because of its organization, it is more than simply a music festival. The international interactivity and the openness of dialogue between listeners and musicians makes it a truly unique cultural crucible.”

A crucible is a heat-resistant container in which materials can be heated to very high temperatures, daca e sa ne luam dupa Wikipedia, si poate ca au dreptate, pentru ca eu si cativa amici jaddisti ne incalzim de vreo 6 ani sufletele pacatoase in cazanele de la Jazzgalerie.

Cand s-a apucat acu 30 ani de aceasta indeletnicire, pe Hans nu stia ce-l asteapta, a avut o naivitate si-o nebunie care l-au impins pina la urma sa creeze un mit. ( chiar cu riscul unui fault din partea fiscului austriac care a amestecat bonurile fiscale ale restaurantului cu partiturile muzicienilor)…

Hans Falb: “In 1976 we started up when Vienna was still a musical desert. In the first two years, we put on a colourful mix of concerts with swing, Dixieland, blues and boogie-woogie. The first real free jazz concert then took place in 1978 with Hannibal Marvin Petersen, the trumpeter from Texas. From then on, it was clear to us that we wanted to put on uncompromising music of the widest range possible”

Widest si wildest. La inceput free jazzul afro-american ( in primii ani au urcat pe scena Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, Oliver Lake, Joseph Jarman, David Murray, Jimmy Lyons) iar de prin 1985 miscarea free improv europeana care capatase o identitate puternica ( Peter Brotzmann, Schlippenbach, Paul Lovens, Irene Schweizer, Joelle Leandre, Evan Parker, John Tilbury) . Si Hans a insistat pentru ca stia ca si publicul de jazz are prejudecatile lui. Si asa, de prin anii 90, deviceurile electronice au pasit si-n curte la Jazzgalerie. Si-au electrocutat simturile fanilor veniti din Europa sau Statele Unite.

Azi, JazzGalerie Nickelsdorf e un fel de Mecca a muzicii improvizate. Atmosfera de aici e greu de gasit in alta parte. De fapt, dupa ce pasesti prin curte sau pe iarba de la Kleylehof ( prin foste grajduri de animale reamenajate de artisti plastici) si te lasi cucerit de combinatia muzica-pace-muzica-liniste-bere austriaca, nu prea-ti mai vine sa cauti alte festivaluri…

Festivalul a propus (sau a omagiat mai degraba) mereu muzicieni grei si provocatori. In 2009 ei s-au chemat Mats Gustafsson, Joe Mcphee, Irene Schweizer, Paul Lovens, Georg Graewe, Otomo Yoshihide, Louis Moholo, Axel Dorner, John Butcher sau Veryan Weston. Nume pe care le gasim in multe alte line-upuri de festival, dar care la Nickelsdorf capata o aura aparte… Aici nu exista culise, artistii coboara in mijlocul audientei dupa concerte, scena e inconjurata de spectatori… Muzica improvizata e si un dialog intre artisti si public, dar aici se produce o adevarata comuniune….

Andrew Choate:
“The amazing thing about Nickelsdorf is that you can see people believing in what they do to an extent that you have never seen before. And when that happens to coincide with one of the only things I believe in, you see why the place would keep drawing me back. Very hard to resist such a place that is full of the music that is not only close to my heart, but that has had such a great amount of influence over the shape of my heart.”

V-am tot citat din americanii veniti la Nickelsdorf, pentru ca este intr-adevar foarte interesant si un pic de neinteles din afara sa vezi cum pasionati de muzici experimentale si improvizatorice vin din San Francisco sau New York tocmai la Nickelsdorf….E un exemplu care va spune probabil mai multe decat orice …

Hans Falb: “There is an anecdote from the world of music… …about two musicians who meet at the airport in New York. One of them asks, "Where are you flying to?" The other answers, "To Vienna." The first one says, "Where the hell is Vienna?", to which the second replies, "You dont know Vienna? Its just next to Nickelsdorf!"