Bartsch: Randori

Repetition and variation are such exhausted compositional means; what "new" music could they still produce? The question may be asked by those who have not yet heard Nik Bärtsch's quartet. With piano; bass guitar; drums and percussion; they set the stage. First surprise: the jazz line-up plays funk. Second surprise: The funk is on the spot. They always play the same thing! One motif time after time after time... Third surprise: they don't always play the same thing; it does change; but only minimally... After a quarter of an hour; the thing has a name: Steve Reich meets James Brown.