Evil Rabbit Records

02/04/2025

First review of the latest Evil Rabbit release by Eyal Hareuveni for Percorsi Musicali.
Thank you Eyal!

"...two long-time friends, who are masters of their instruments and the art of the moment, enjoy deep, playful, and nuanced conversations..."

ERR06: The Munderkingen Sessions, part 2, by Albert van Veenendaal & Meinrad Kneer

German, Berlin-based double bass player-composer Meinead Kneer and Dutch, Amsterdam-based pianist-composer-arranger-producer Albert van Veenendaal have played together for almost 25 years and collaborated in many musical endeavors. They founded the Evil Rabbit label, dedicated to contemporary improvised music rooted in the European culture, and collaborated in many projects, including the quintet President of the Globe, the trio Spoon 3, another trio with drummer Yunga Sun, and duo albums.
Kneer, who runs today alone the Evil Rabbit label, operates on the borders of modern jazz, free improvised, ethnic, and contemporary music. Van Veenendaal works with many national and international jazz, world, and classical musicians throughout Europe, and is considered a master of the prepared piano. He runs the Minimal Damage label, dedicated for adventurous music that doesn’t fit regular categories.
The Munderkingen Sessions, Part 1 was recorded at Kneer’s hometown, Munderkingen, in Germany during a three-day session in September 2024 (Evil Rabbit, 2007). The follow-up, Part 2, was recorded almost twenty years later at van Veenendaal’s ‘Secret House Studio’ in Amsterdam in a one-day session in February 2024.
Part 2 offers 17 short pieces that capture the intimate and introspective, exploratory, and genre-defying aesthetics of Kneer and van Veenendaal, “La Langue Universelle” as one of the pieces is aptly titled. These spontaneous and unhurried improvisations suggest instant, irreverent compositions that flow naturally, rely on profound rapport and an almost telepathic interplay, expand the sonic palette of the double bass and the piano with extended bowing techniques and distinct preparations, and never settle on familiar courses. Just two long-time friends, who are masters of their instruments and the art of the moment, enjoy deep, playful, and nuanced conversations and are not shy from occasional bold and even some noisy disagreements. Sometimes it is more than enough.

Eyal Hareuveni, 2 april 2025, percorsi musicali

German, Berlin-based double bass player-composer Meinead Kneer and Dutch, Amsterdam-based pianist-composer-arranger-producer Albert van Veenendaal have played together for almost 25 years and collaborated in many musical endeavors. They founded the Evil Rabbit label, dedicated to contemporary improv...

17/03/2025

Here's Ken Waxman's review of Evil Rabbit second latest release "Synomilies" by Peter Van Huffel, Meinrad Kneer & Yorgos Dimitriadis. -> "Free Jazz trio music at its finest."
Thank you Ken!

Standard creative music configuration for many years, the reeds, double bass and drums trio lends itself to many interpretations and considerations. In its purest form it showcases the players performing like acrobats without a safety net which in musical terms would be the addition of one or more chordal instruments. Both Van Huffel/Kneer/Dimitriadis (VKD) and the AALY Trio operate this way, with the reedists – Canadian Peter Van Huffel with VKD and Swede Mats Gustafsson with the AALY – adding to their balancing act(s) by switching among various horns while in the equivalent of mid-air.
AALY, which also includes fellow Swedes bassist Peter Janson and drummer Kjell Nordeson as well as Gustafsson playing tenor and baritone saxophones, flute and harmonica has been around since the 1990s and is named for an Art Ensemble of Chicago’s contrafact of Albert Ayler’s name, consistently shows its allegiance to unbridled Free Jazz. An ad hoc collaboration among three musicians busy in Berlin, VKD consists of German bassist Meinrad Kneer and Greek percussionist Yorgos Dimitriadis with Van Huffel playing alto and baritone saxophones. Still the eight track on Synomilies – the ancient term for salons – are no less ferocious than the 11 on Sustain.
Working out intersective variations, Van Huffel’s stentorian snorts, strained smears and slapping tongue percussion are precisely balanced by thick, sul ponticello bass string rubs and Dimitriadis’ vigorous drags and ruffs. Different tracks are set up to express the baritone saxophone’s bottom-feeding bites and the alto saxophone’s vibrating altissimo squeals. In most cases the tandem response from Kneer involve strident shudder , while the drummer proffers moderated paradiddles and pitter patter.
Operating as closely as synchronized swimmers doesn’t means that individual expression is muted though. On “A Tree Has A Thousand Ears” for instance, Dimitriadis’breaks up the time with whirls, ratchets, clatters and clunks from small instruments, cymbal scours and the noise created by lug loosening. The saxophonist’s response includes tongue slaps and reed elaboration but also straight-ahead output that keeps the exposition linear.
On “Convergence” however it’s Kneer’s slowly stroked string buzzing and sudden twangs which define the piece. Bass drum pumps and reed screeches complete the picture with timbres from opposite pitch elevations. Eventually though it become almost impossible to distinguish reed from string timbres.
Overall with a combination of ratcheting percussion asides, allied woody string strokes and fragmented reed movement from irregular doits to Aylerian screams, VKD certifies the continued validity of exploratory Free Jazz trio music.
That approach is expressed twofold by the AALY Trio with Gustafsson’s additional arsenal of horns. He’s no shrinking violet when it comes to screaming flattement and multiphonics from thick saxophones expositions. Just the same he brings the same tongue pressure and transverse splatter from flute note bending on “Your Prayer”, where his crying spills meet double bass thwacks and drum/cymbal rattles; as he does with screechy harmonica wails on “Cover Yourself”, as Janson responsively clicks stings from high up the bass strings near the tuning pegs. Raising the excitement level at points and especially on “Egypt Rock” Gustafsson yelps and whoops – often vocalizing through the saxophones’ body tubes – as Nordeson outputs Caribbean-styled drum resonations in between multiphonic reed scoops and spills.
As indicated, as with VKD, this is scarcely a one-man show, with the bassist and drummer amplifying the tunes which include subtlety as well as stress. There are instances as Nordeson’s palm slapping introduction to “Rock Out”, as well as march tempo elsewhere. There’s also Janson’s measured walking bass intro to “Why I Don’t Go Back” and his near-flamenco strums on other tracks. All of this is expressed within the raw or reflective outpourings from Gustafsson’s many horns.
Along with banshee wails and thick vibrations the AALY Trio maintains a horizontal flow in its music. Making it too another exemplar of exploratory Free Jazz trio music at its finest.
Ken Waxman, 17 march 2025, jazzword

AALY Trio Sustain Silkheart SHCD 167 Standard creative music configuration for many years, the reeds, double bass and drums trio lends itself to many interpretations and considerations. In its purest form it showcases the players performing like acrobats without a safety net which in musical terms w...

04/03/2025

I'm happy to see two Evil Rabbit Records releases pop up between all these masters of the double bass... pure bliss!
Thank you Klaus Wiedenhöft!

ERR21: Sequoia - "Rotations" (w/ Antonio Borghini, Klaus Kürvers & Miles Perkin)
ERR30: Meinrad Kneer - "Vocabularies"

playlist “and now jazz – BASS” 22-23 Uhr 06.02.2025

Sequoia „Interlude I“
Barry Guy „She took the sacred rattle and used it“
Arild Andersen „Ghosts/Old Stev/Landloper“
J.F. Jenny-Clarke „Scott“
Sebastian Gramss „Was ist da“
Bassmasse 45 „Spicca II“
Sequoia „Lifts & escalators“
Meinrad Kneer „Musik für Schmetterlinge“
Barre Phillips „Quintaddendum“
Joelle Léandre/Rafal Mazur „V“
Szilard Mezei Tubass Quintet „Osaka blues“
CD „Sequoia - Rotations“ evil rabbit ERR 21
CD „Barry Guy - Portrait“ Intakt CD 123
CD „Arild Andersen - Landloper“ ECM 2826
CD „J.F. Jenny-Clarke - Unison“ CMP CD 32
CD „Sebastian Gramss - Atopie“ JHM 213
CD „Bassmasse 13/45“ rent a dog rad 2018
CD „Sequoia - Rotations“ evil rabbit ERR 21
CD „Meinrad Kneer - Vocabularies“ evil rabbit records ERR 30
CD „Barre’s Trio – No pieces“ Emouvance emv 1003
CD „Joelle Léandre - Beauty/Resistance“ Not Two MW 1013
CD „Szilard Mezei Tubass Quintet – Rested turquoise“ no business NBCD 142

Radiot RadioT Chemnitz Sachsen nichtkommerziell BFR Buergerradio chemnitz2025 Medien

01/03/2025

Wonderful review by the one and only Herman te Loo for Jazz Flits!
Thank you Herman!

Evil Rabbit Records, ERR37:
"Synomilies", by Van Huffel / Kneer / Dimitriadis

Hoewel saxofonist Peter van Huffel en bassist Meinrad Kneer samen optrekken in het kwintet van de laatste, waar composities het uitgangspunt zijn voor hun im- provisatie, houden ze allebei ook van het vrije werk. Op dit nieuwe album (dat verscheen op Kneers label Evil Rabbit) vinden ze de Griekse slagwerker Yorgos Dimitriadis aan hun zijde, die net als de Canadees en de Duitser een plek heeft gevonden in de vruchtbare improscene van Berlijn. De acht stukken die ze op ‘Synomilies’ brengen, bestrijken een breed scala, van ritme- en melodieloze soundscapes op de randen van de stilte (zoals ‘A Tree has a thousand ears’) tot ou- derwetse, energieke freejazz (‘Beasts and creatures’). Van Huffel kiest vooral voor de baritonsax, en met zijn lange lijnen combineert hij dan perfect met de gestre- ken bas, die in handen van Kneer altijd loepzuiver is. Dimitriadis kleurt en rommelt en laat zijn bekkens zin- gen waar dat kan. Bovenal wordt er met oren op steeltjes geluisterd, zodat het eindresultaat steeds veel meer is dan de afzonderlijke bijdragen.

Herman te Loo, 17 february 2025, jazz flits number 434

01/03/2025

Look at this playing list!
Thank you Jeff Golick from Destination Out!

INCLUDING:
ERR38: "Temporal Driftness" by Floridis / Bauer / Hertenstein

Audio & playlist from February 16, 2025

28/01/2025

And here are two playlists by Klaus Wiedenhöft from Radio T, Chemnitz - feat. Evil Rabbit Records!
Thank you Klaus!

including:
ERR10: Baars / Kneer - "Windfall"
ERR17: Mark Lotz / Meinrad Kneer - "U-ex(perimental)"
ERR18: Klare / Platz / Kneer / Elgart - "Modern Primitive"
ERR20: Baars / Kneer / Elgart - "Give no quarter"
ERR21: Saquoia - "Rotations"
ERR22: Baars / Kneer / Elgart - "Live at Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf 2012"
ERR23: The Core Trio live, feat Matthew Shipp -
ERR30: Meinrad Kneer - "Vocabularies"
ERR31: Andreas Willers - "Haerae"

playlist “and now jazz” 22-23 Uhr 09.01.2025
Dado Moroni Trio „Just one of those things“
Russ Lossing „Invention I“ / „Invention IV“
Akira Sakata/Kazuhisa Uchihashi „Don’t cry“
Satoko Fujii Quartet „Dog days of summer“
Joe Fonda Quartet „Listen to Dr. Cornel West“
The Core Trio „set 1“ (part)
CD „Dado Moroni Trio – Morges 2009“ TCB 02502
CD „Russ Lossing – Inventions“ Bl**er Music Songs 002 CD
CD „Akira Sakata/Kazuhisa Uchihashi – Patina“ innocentrecords ICR-028
CD „Satoko Fujii Quartet – Dog days of summer“ Libra 204-076
CD „Joe Fonda Quartet – Eyes on the horizon“ Long Song Records LSRCD 163/2024
CD „The Core Trio live feat. Matthew Shipp“ evil rabbit ERR 23

playlist “and now jazz – feat. evil rabbit” 22-23 Uhr 16.01.2025
Meinrad Kneer „Sketch I“
Ab Baars / Meinrad Kneer „Wood-wind“
Baars/Kneer/Elgart „Tale of the bewildered bee“
Baars/Kneer/Elgart „Nickelsdorf suite #1 – part I“
Klare/Platz/Kneer/Elgart „Puppet party“
Andreas Willers „Mnemo“
CD „Meinrad Kneer – Vocabularies“ evil rabbit records ERR 30
CD „Ab Baars / Meinrad Kneer – Windfall“ evil rabbit records ERR 10
CD „Baars/Kneer/Elgart - Give no quarter“ evil rabbit records ERR 20
CD „Baars/Kneer/Elgart – Live at Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf 2012“
evil rabbit records ERR 22
CD „Baars/Kneer/Elgart - Give no quarter“ evil rabbit records ERR 18
CD „Andreas Willers – Haerae“ evil rabbit records ERR 31
Mark Alban Lotz / Meinrad Kneer „In the mouth / Moment“ / „Movement and variation“
Sequoia „Passing by“
Meinrad Kneer „Navigation spatiale“
CD „Mark Alban Lotz / Meinrad Kneer – u-ex(perimental)“ evil rabbit records ERR 17
CD „Sequoia - Rotations“ evil rabbit ERR 21
CD „Meinrad Kneer – Vocabularies“ evil rabbit records ERR 30

Radiot RadioT Chemnitz Sachsen nichtkommerziell BFR Buergerradio chemnitz2025 Medien

28/01/2025

Constantin Sieg with airplay of Evil Rabbit's ERR37: Synomilies, by Van Huffel / Kneer / Dimitriadis.
Thank you Constantin!

Listen to his podcast!

online until Feb, 3rd Peter van Huffel’s Callisto: Meandering demons (TremAzul/CleanFeed, title 1+2) Doug Wilde: The sixth dimension (DW, 1+2+3) Carn Davidson 9: Reverence (CD, 3+4) van Huffel/Kneer/Dimitriadis: Synomilies (Evil Rabbit, 4+5) Angell & Crane: Angell & Crane (For The Living And The D...

27/01/2025

Our good friend Andrzej Nowak wrote about the last four releases by Evil Rabbit Records!
Thank you Andrzej!

ERR38: Floridis / Bauer / Hertenstein - "Temporal Driftness"
ERR37: Van Huffel / Kneer / Dimitriadis - "Synomilies"
ERR36: George Dumitriu - "Monk on Viola"
ERR35: AoA Impro Group - "Live at Pariser Platz"

muzyka improwizowana, freely improvised music

24/01/2025

Review by Christoph Haunschmid for FreiStil.
Thank you!

ERR38: Floridis / Bauer / Hertenstein - "Temporal Driftness"

Man lässt sich treiben, zumindest vorübergehend, aber dafür gleich elfmal. Und das ist absolut hörenswert. Holzbläser Floros Floridis, Bassist Matthias Bauer und Schlagwerker Joe Hertenstein bringen ihre Impro-Happen bei Meinrad Kneers Evil Rabbit Records in Berlin heraus. Ziemlich entspannt reihen die drei Stück an Stück. Famos funktioniert die ausbalancierte Kommunikation in Augenhöhe, keiner versucht Dominanz zu gewinnen. Floridis’ ebenso exaktes wie spontanes Spiel an Klarinette, Bassklarinette und Altosaxofon geht in ausdrucksstarke Austauschbeziehungen zum gezupften wie gestrichenen Bass Bauers. Hertenstein, Deutscher mit vorübergehendem Wohnsitz New York, bringt die rhythmischen Belange auf den Punkt, verbindet, hält zusammen. Ein sehr kompaktes Trio, dessen Sounds schlüssig sind und bei allem Anspruch durchaus zugänglich klingen. Die Tracks sind abwechslungsreich, manchmal forsch (Drift 3), manchmal ruhig und melancholisch (Drift 😎, eine fast traurige Bassklarinette wird sensibel von Bass und Schlagzeug begleitet. Sehr zurückhaltend gestalten die drei das Ende (Drift11). Das hört sich fast an, als würden die zuvor gemachten Statements wieder in Frage gestellt. Ein schöner Augenblick.
Christoph Haunschmid, january 2025, freistil

08/01/2025

Wonderful new review by expert Jan Granlie for salt-peanuts!
Thank you Jan, also for the nice words about Evil Rabbit Records!

"An excellent free jazz disc from three excellent musicians."

Temporal Driftness, by Floridis / Bauer / Hertenstein

Når det dukker opp utgivelser fra selskapet Evil Rabbit, så vet vi nesten kva vi får. Det er et selskap som ikke bryr seg særlig mye om store salg og kommersiell jazz og improvisert musikk. Her er det utvilsomt den musikalske kvaliteten som står i høgsetet, og vi får, nesten aldri, den lettbente jazzen.
Klarinettisten og altsaksofonisten Floros Floridis kommer fra Thessaloniki i Hellas. Han studerte fysikk og matematikk ved Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki. Han utforsket sin åpenbare kreativitet utover vitenskapen, og studerte deretter klassisk klarinett under den rumenske professoren Konstantin Ugureanou, og startet sin karriere som profesjonell musiker på slutten av 1970-tallet. Han regnes som en av jazzens hovedfigurer i Hellas, ikke minst fordi han sammen med pianisten Sakis Papadimitriou i 1979 spilte inn det første moderne jazzalbumet som ble produsert i Hellas – Improvising at Barakos (som dobbel LP). Han har samarbeidet med musiker som Peter Kowald, Guenter «Baby» Sommer, Paul Lytton, Nicky Skopelitis, Paul Lovens, Phil Wachsman, Louis Moholo, Vincent Chancey, Ivo Papazov og en rekke andre. Og i Berlin har han jobbet med blant andre Matthias Bauer, Jan Roder, Chris Dahlgren, Olaf Rupp, Harri Sjöström, Gerhard Gschlössl og Dag Magnus Narvesen. Han har gjort konserter og festivaler i Hellas, Europa, Kina, Australia og USA med et stort antall europeiske og amerikanske musikere, så som Evan Parker, Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Irene Schweitzer, Ivo Papazov, Andrew Cyrille, Barre Phillips, Conny Bauer, Johannes Bauer, Sirone, William Parker, Steve McCall, Andre Jaume, Barry Guy og ei røys med andre frittgående musikere.
Bassisten Matthias Bauer er en av de viktige musikerne i Berlin. Han har spesialisert seg på samtidsmusikk og har gjort et stort repertoar av solokomposisjoner for kontrabass. Han spilte med mange internasjonalt anerkjente musikere på den frie improvisatorscenen og deltok i forskjellige ensembler og festivaler. Og trommeslageren Joe Hertenstein har utgitt seks album som leder med bandene HNH, POLYLEMMA, Future Drone, TØRN, og hans trio med saksofonisten og klarinettisten Michael Moore og bassisten Greg Cohen.
På denne utgivelsen får vi 11 sekvenser med tittelen «drift 1 – 11», og alt er innspilt i Zentrifuge i Berlin den 15. februar 2023. Og fra start til mål er dette fritt improvisert musikk fra tre musikere som går rett inn i folden av spennende innspillinger på Evil Rabbit.
Jeg fascineres nesten alltid av musikere som trakterer bassklarinetten i et landskap hvor Eric Dolphy ligger ett eller annet sted i bakgrunnen, hvor instrumentet trakteres fritt og med spennende ut- og innspill sammen med utmerket bass-spill og drivende godt trommespill. At Floridis har oppsøkt Berlin og Tyskland for å utvikle denne musikken er på mange måter helt naturlig. For hele veien ligger salige Peter Brötzmann og lurer i bakgrunnen, særlig i de strekkene hvor Floridis spiller «vanlig» klarinett. Han er en utmerket bassklarinettist, og med et ytterst kreativt og fint bass-spill og et trommespill som binder det hele sammen på utmerket vis, er dette blitt en strålende utgivelse med fritt akustisk, improvisert musikk som er en god fortsettelse på den tyske frijazzbølgen som på mange måter, åpnet opp for denne musikken i Europa.
De 11 «strekkene» henger fint sammen, samtidig som de er varierte og spennende. Og det virker som de tre musikerne er helt på linje når det gjelder hvilken musikalsk veg de vil bevege seg inn i. En utmerket frijazzplate fra tre utmerkede musikere.
Jan Granlie, 2 january 2025, salt-peanuts

salt peanuts* er et ledende skandinavisk nettidsskrift for improvisert og annen sterk musikk