(Free Improvisation) Martin Klapper, Birgit Ulher, Jurgen Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen - 2000, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009
EAC extraction logfile from 4. September 2010, 12:23
Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern / Momentaufnahmen
Used drive  : HL-DT-STDVD-ROM GDR8162B   Adapter: 1  ID: 1
Read mode               : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache      : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction                      : 102
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out          : Yes
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks   : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations       : Yes
Used interface                              : Installed external ASPI interface
Gap handling                                : Appended to previous track
Used output format              : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate                : 768 kBit/s
Quality                         : High
Add ID3 tag                     : No
Command line compressor         : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" %s
TOC of the extracted CD
     Track |   Start  |  Length  | Start sector | End sector
    ---------------------------------------------------------
        1  |  0:00.00 |  4:39.57 |         0    |    20981
        2  |  4:39.57 |  2:35.73 |     20982    |    32679
        3  |  7:15.55 |  9:14.26 |     32680    |    74255
        4  | 16:30.06 |  3:18.63 |     74256    |    89168
        5  | 19:48.69 |  6:46.43 |     89169    |   119661
        6  | 26:35.37 |  3:37.25 |    119662    |   135961
        7  | 30:12.62 |  6:02.45 |    135962    |   163156
        8  | 36:15.32 |  6:55.46 |    163157    |   194327
        9  | 43:11.03 |  5:48.13 |    194328    |   220440
       10  | 48:59.16 |  4:37.27 |    220441    |   241242
       11  | 53:36.43 |  3:18.62 |    241243    |   256154
       12  | 56:55.30 |  3:52.46 |    256155    |   273600
Track  1
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\01 - MA 01.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.00
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC C5316AFC
     Copy CRC C5316AFC
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  2
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\02 - MA 02.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC E984B623
     Copy CRC E984B623
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  3
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\03 - MA 03.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 84.0 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC CC60B4ED
     Copy CRC CC60B4ED
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  4
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\04 - MA 04.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC AF8E2396
     Copy CRC AF8E2396
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  5
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\05 - MA 05.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC B02271BB
     Copy CRC B02271BB
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  6
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\06 - MA 06.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 5CF38BD0
     Copy CRC 5CF38BD0
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  7
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\07 - MA 07.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 70.7 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC F720CC00
     Copy CRC F720CC00
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  8
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\08 - MA 08.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.52
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 6DE75586
     Copy CRC 6DE75586
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track  9
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\09 - MA 09.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 29BBA5EE
     Copy CRC 29BBA5EE
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track 10
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\10 - MA 10.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.50
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 2F9662DD
     Copy CRC 2F9662DD
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track 11
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\11 - MA 11.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.51
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 9D97C343
     Copy CRC 9D97C343
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
Track 12
     Filename D:\torrents.ru\! up\Klapper Ulher Morgenstern - Momentaufnahmen\12 - MA 12.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:06.52
     Peak level 97.1 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 6FABA7F7
     Copy CRC 6FABA7F7
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK
None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database
No errors occurred
End of status report

REM GENRE Jazz
REM DATE 1999
REM DISCID AF0E400C
REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.99pb5"
PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
TITLE "Momentaufnahmen"
FILE "01 - MA 01.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 01"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 02"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 04:33:06
FILE "02 - MA 02.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 03 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 03"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 02:29:22
FILE "03 - MA 03.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 04 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 04"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 09:07:50
FILE "04 - MA 04.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 05 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 05"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 03:12:12
FILE "05 - MA 05.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 06 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 06"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 06:39:67
FILE "06 - MA 06.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 07 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 07"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 03:30:49
FILE "07 - MA 07.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 08 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 08"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 05:55:68
FILE "08 - MA 08.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 09 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 09"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 06:48:70
FILE "09 - MA 09.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 10 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 10"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 05:41:38
FILE "10 - MA 10.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 11 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 11"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 04:30:51
FILE "11 - MA 11.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 12 AUDIO
    TITLE "MA 12"
    PERFORMER "Klapper - Ulher - Morgenstern"
    INDEX 00 03:12:10
FILE "12 - MA 12.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

Momentaufnahmen is a strong studio session by three young musicians from the German free improvising scene, not the gutsy one that saw the rise of Peter Brötzmann in the 1960s, but the minimal, more experimental one of the 1990s, from which players like Axel Dörner and Franz Hautzinger arose. Trumpeter Birgit Ulher follows a path similar to these two sonic extremists, as she focuses on mouth and piston sounds, tongue tricks, and textures, instead of phrasing and conventional playing. The up and coming (at least in 1999-2000) trumpeter is surrounded by bassist Jürgen Morgenstern and Martin Klapper on toys and electronics. Morgenstern turns out to be a limited player. His role is confined to following the developments as opposed to pitching in new ideas. His work is nonetheless suitable. The wild card throughout this CD is Klapper. Whenever a strange, unusual sound is heard, the listener's mind turns to him: He uses squeaky toys, funny percussion instruments (like the vibraslap), kazoos, and non-intrusive electronics. It does not turn the whole thing into a circus -- Klapper remains tasteful, but unsettling. His contribution contrasts heavily with the more austere grounds of Ulher and Morgenstern. Tracks two, three, and 11 (all tracks are untitled) are all refreshing free improvisations. Momentaufnahmen is stronger and more captivating than Umlaut, Ulher's other release in NURNICHTNUR's Improvisers series.

Has Spike Jones become some sort of exemplar for certain players in the improvising tradition? Certainly there are times when the sounds produced by the likes of composers John Zorn and Willem Breuker or drummers Günter "Baby" Sommer and Han Bennink veer perilously close to the musical mayhem perpetuated by Jones and his anarchistic City Slickers in their 1940s heyday.
But while the products of Jones' sound factory were presented as divertissements, pure and not so simple, there's often a more serious undercurrent to present day "noise making." For a start, musicians are confirming that every sort of sound can be musical, not just those parts of the well-tempered scale. Secondly, in opposition to the dour demeanor and funereal air of most neo-con performers, they're allowing the audience to laugh good naturedly at the music being producing and to have fun listening. Laughter doesn't necessarily mean hostility or derision. Serious artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Misha Mengelberg have proven that good times and important musical statements aren't mutually exclusive impulses.
That philosophy could extend to this fascinating disc. Wild card is Czech-born multi-media artist Martin Klapper, who introduces the shades of sound created by many toys and electronics to the mix. German trumpeter Birgit Ulher, another visual artist, who has involved herself in improvisation with the likes of British drummer Roger Turner, complements Klapper's conception. Using the trumpet in a way unimagined by Armstrong, she seems to see it as a three-valve noise producer, whose smears and breaths preclude straight melodies. Holding everything together is German bassist Jürgen Morgenstern, who may have the most academic musical education of the three, but who doesn't let his diploma stand in the way of generating a whiz bang hullabaloo of his own.
Klapper, whose improv history includes recordings with Turner and saxophonist John Butcher, doesn't toy with his toys. Toots, quacks and moos from stuffed animals may enliven "MA 06," for instance, but they stitch together a sonic landscape that includes small circular brass breaths and Morgenstern seemingly exploring the insides of his bass.
Kissing sounds that can be expelled from a trumpet mouthpiece have never been more appropriately used than on "MA 08." There they join the cacophony parade that includes what sounds like glass breaking, aluminum foil being shredded, a plastic toy being squeezed, slide whistle tooting and some under-his-breath muttering from Morgenstern -- and that's only in the first two minutes. Despite the ongoing diversions, the bassist's variegated arco work and powerful string pulling helps maintain interest until the track finishes.
Perhaps that's why out-and-out free improv sessions like this are so refreshing and absorbing at the same time. The best improvised music has always been about the sound of surprise. Smiling astonishment at what you're hearing makes Momentaufnahmen an experience you won't soon forget.

Peter Niklas Wilson, in his liners to Umlaut, is right to point out the considerable differences that exist between improvised music and (free) jazz, these two albums featuring German trumpeter Birgit Ulher being most definitely examples of the former. On Momentaufnahmen she's joined by bassist Jürgen Morgenstern and Martin Klapper (toys and electronics) for twelve tracks of scratchy, jittery, nervous improv. It's arresting and impressive, but exhausting stuff. After about half an hour of peeps, honks and splutters - not all by any means originating from Klapper's kindergarten arsenal of duck calls, ocarinas and kazoos, either - you feel like a break. I suppose you don't have the play the whole CD through from start to finish though. Klapper is certainly very good at what he does, but ultimately toys tend to sound like, well, toys. They also inevitably recall the anarchic generation of London-based improvisers that appeared on the scene at the end of the 70s, notably Steve Beresford and Terry Day, who put them to superb and subversive use in Four Pullovers and Alterations. It's probably not all that surprising then to find another British past master of this musical kung fu aboard here, in the form of percussionist Roger Turner, who joins bassist Ulrich Phillipp in the Put trio. In accordance with my customary practice, I recorded (selected tracks from) both these albums back to back on a C90 cassette to take out on the road. Not noticing that I'd inadvertently nudged the auto reverse button, I listened to a good two minutes of "ø", the first track on Umlaut (yes, strange characters abound, not only in the recording studio but also as track titles..) before realising it. There's the same rapid fire chatter, beautifully executed and predictably unpredictable, the same mastery of extended techniques (Ulher is on superb form), but just one of those Beresford raspberries, or an irreverent snatch of cheesy organ or lo-fi dub would somehow just add a little extra sparkle. Once more, an album as packed as this one is with myriad sudden changes of direction needs some concentration.