What could be the reason, in the beginning of the third millenium, for publishing a CD of songs from the Great American Songbook? Aren´t there already enough recordings of these songs by the Great Ones? Milestones in the development of this form of music, examples of outstanding musicality, able to fill even the most talented musicians with awe -why try to compete with them? To think about it, aren´t there also enough examples of recordings done by musicians of later generations which, upon comparison, are generally found to be lacking something, simply because of their preoccupation with keeping that particular style alive? Upon listening to the new CD of the Glauco Venier / Klaus Gesing Duo it becomes clear very quickly why these two exceptional musicians don´t need to fear comparisons of this sort: Comparisons are not valid in such an individual and spontaneous musical context. Klaus Gesing and Glauco Venier 'play' music in the truest sense of the word - songs are changed, separated, put together again, themes are modified, broken into little pieces or quoted word by word. Transitions appear, along with new harmonies. Arrangements come into existence and are discarded shortly afterwards, rhythms twisted, made faster, made slower ... Klaus Gesing and Glauco Venier play a risky game. They go on stage without having agreed on either the order of the tunes or any possible arrangements. Consequently, they continue not only to surprise their audiences, but also themselves ... In this way they construct musical archs spanning distances in time that are characterized by great intensitiy and intimacy at the same time. The rewards of this exceedingly adventurous way of improvising are apparent in their new CD '...play Songs' (Recorded live in Slovenia, February 2002). This CD is a bow to jazz history because the repertoire goes back to the very beginnings - but it´s also a return to the essence of improvisation, departing from the more trodden paths of contemporary jazz practice: With childlike naivity and the earnest inherent in it, they leave behind all musical borders and stylistic presets and consequently find the space to concentrate on the musical moment and on the force that lies in its passing ...
Klaus Gesing was born in Düsseldorf/Germany on the 13th of December 1968.
Music has always been there, although it wasn´t until he changed to the tenorsaxophon at the age of 17(after some years of classical clarinet), that his improvisational talents became obvious. Encouraged and inspired by his teacher Johannes Seidemann, he started to move very fast and only two years later he won the Youth Jazz Competition of Northrhine-Westfalia (just the name of a german county).
As an immediate consequence, he was sent around half of the planet playing in the Youth Jazz Orchestra of Northrhine-Westfalia, a band sponsored by the german council of arts and the Goethe Institut. With this band he played in India, Australia, Singapur in 1988 and 1989-90 in South America, and he returned with a deep affection for folkmusic in general, that was not going to leave him again.
With confidence, due to his early success, he decided to make music his profession and immersed into studies of Jazz and classical music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague/ Netherlands. His teachers were, among others, John Ruocco(Jazz) and Leo van Oostrom (Classical Saxophone), who, in retrospect, ranks among the few deeply inspiring and respected teachers that one can meet on his way to the mastery of an instrument.
Another one of these great players and educators was Dave Liebman. Gesing met him in the course of a masterclass in The Hague, and was encouraged to focus on the sopranosaxophone for quite a while. He was invited twice by Liebman to come to the States and pass some time in the company of fellow musicians and teachers from around the world. (among them for example Michael Brecker). On and of they continued to meet on stages around europe since that time.
