Sebastian Gramss' States of Play

Three years ago, Sebastian Gramss, the versatile bassist who loves experiment brought together 13 double bassists on stage at Enjoy Jazz to honour their late colleague Stefano Scodanibbio who had passed away too early. Two years ago, he was a member of the fulminant trio with Erwin Ditzner and Elliott Sharp. Last year, he doubled the double bass in duo with avant-gardist William Parker. And the logical next question is: what is he doing this year? In 2017, Sebastian Gramss is coming to Heidelberg with an extravagant nonet plus electronic and visual reinforcement. The project is called States of Play and dedicates itself to a “radical manipulation of music’s essential architecture”. Meaning: real-time melody deconstruction from rhythms and grooves abundantly created by the big band and its superb soloist, and then putting it together anew. This music essentially changes while it is being created, it polyrhythmically expands familiar structures and can take on new shapes at any second. The two rhythm groups and the wind players consistently shift from different levels and are countered by a live prepared player piano which acts as a precise order-giving music machine. We look forward to experiencing the infinite possibilities and creative improvisations resulting from this setting.