Four men, a little wood, a lot of brass - and a whole arsenal of
multifarious percussion instruments: Talking Horns enchant and entertain
with musical stories from their past, present and future, told in
their own, highly eloquent musical diction. Purists and category
fetishists be warned: Talking Horns speak equally to the mind and
the emotions - to the delight of the "average listener"
(if she really exists) and the jazz aficionado alike. For the Talking
Horns, jazz is the universal musical language, one that speaks directly
to all hearts everywhere.
The four musicians take us on a virtuoso musical voyage from free
jazz to New Orleans with stopovers at swing and bebop - seamlessly
and with self-deprecating irony, and without insider attitude. When
these horns start talking the joint starts jumping - and grooving
and swinging and stomping and even getting' down funky. White-hot
horn arrangements alternate with lyrical, introspective passages,
and temperamental excursions into the world of Latin rhythms magically
morph into adventures in avant garde chamber music.
The great fascination of the Talking Horns is the way they unfold
their imaginative musical microcosm without the use of "special
effects": no rhythm backup, no electronics, no amplifiers. The musicians
bring to the stage an exceptional virtuosity and a total love of
performing live music which inspires them to wrest from their instruments
every remotely possible variety of sound, enabling them to create
an incredible variety of sonic and musical structures. Through constant
role reversals (such as when the saxophone plays the baseline to
a tuba solo) the Talking Horns achieve a musical density almost
orchestral in scope - you can almost see a big band if you just
close your eyes …
