Oliver Schwerdt - grand piano, percussion, little instruments
Barry Guy - double bass
Baby Sommer - drums, cymbals, percussion

01 Fucking Ballads (24'37)
02 In the Vein of Beauty (13'18)

Brilliant.
Robert D. Bielecki

Baby Sommer spielt, trotz seiner da 78 Jahre auf dem Buckel,
den wilden Tambour mitsamt Kokosnussgaul,
als hätte er sich schon bei Frankenhausen eine Triangel in den Hosenboden gerissen.
Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy

Great title, you're killing me!
Phil Zampino

Total happy. Sehr speziell!
Maya Homburger

Konstruktiv verspielt. So out!
Christian Lillinger

Sehr spannend, frisch!
Robert Landfermann

Intensity and escalation are central characteristics of this recording.
Schwerdt's performance is of great, impulsive power,
a cornucopia of ideas, a constant stream of consciousness and energy.
This is a radical attack, powerful and complex at the same time.
The whole thing is a forward-flowing river.
Martin Schray,The Free Jazz Collective

Fucking Ballads is adeclaration of sonic defiance, a rallying cry.
This ensemble is on a mission to disrupt the conventions of jazz.
Schwerdt's piano leads the charge into parts unknown
as the dissonance and melodies twist and turn with reckless abandon, defying expectations at every turn.
Amidst the semi-controlled chaos, there is a method to the madness.
Schwerdt and his esteemed cohorts traverse the harmonic landscape with the precision of seasoned navigators, weaving disparate elements together into a cohesive tapestry of sound.
The result is a collection of ,balladsʻ that are as unpredictable as they are exhilarating
‒ a testament to the boundless possibilities of musical expression.
With Barry Guy's bass rumbling like thunder and Gunter Baby Sommer's drums
propelling the music forward with relentless energy amid shifty treatments on his cymbals,
and other percussion instruments, each track on the album becomes a sonic escapade.
The trio creates a symphony of rebellion.
A stark free-form interplay that challenges listeners to rethink their preconceived notions of what jazz can be.
It is a rollercoaster ride that will have the listener
pondering the meaning of existence one moment and laughing at the absurdity of it all the next.
Glenn Astarita,All About Jazz

Remembering the pleasure of the first whole concert set of my piano trio with Baby Sommer and Barry Guy happend in 2018, I later was proud of the release of ist recording as the album entitled One For My Baby And One More For The Bass. The year after I took care of continuing my trio/quintet work with Christian Lillinger featuring Peter Brötzmann (listen to Hot Ass/Beauty Legs, Bambule!!) and John Dikeman (once to be released as Steadfast Noon). In 2020 it became possible to formulate once more a new chapter of my adventurous vast ensemble  E U P H O R I U M _ f r e a k e s t r a. This session (once to be released as Refutnokatplünck!) contributed by musicians like Sven-Ake Johansson and Frank Gratkowski also turned out to be the starting point of broadening the camber music aspects of the ensemble.
The starting point fo the aesthetically fired rocket of the year 2021 was set at the festival in Peitz, to which I was invited to present my 1st solo concert. Driven by the intensity of that performance I soon hit the road with Baby. Invited to play our trio music with Barry at the festival in Saarbruecken I was curious about his abillity to deal with the absence of the functioning hearing to his left. Today I am still amazed by the intensity of the applause for our concert occured the following night. It was Joe McPhee who emerged from the audience. Stretching out his hands elatedly towards us he shouted out: „The fucking best!!!“. Already outside the venue the man standing next to John Edwards ssemed deeply impressed by our performance: Hans Oberlechner. Since that I am already happily looking forward to seeing the trio at the festival in St. Johann.
At the Leipzig date one month and a half later the night is luckily going to take Julian Sartorius as well into account. Having been invited for safety’s sake before the Saarbruecken approval of Baby’S fitness he now takes part in the first set encountering my piano and Axel Doerner’s trumpet (once to be released as Jul Fuel). As the trio with Baby is ready to celebrate my ancient buddy himself is obviously a big deal. Tonight, his approach to the bandstand is stunning. Setting sail into our sonic ocean we travel with a bedrock of clatter and sound as orchestral as a trio can get. What an interplay for pleasure!

Format: CD
Price: 24,99 €
ISBN: 978-3-944301-63-1
Ordering: oliverschwerdt@euphorium.de
Digital download: https://schwerdt-guy-sommer.bandcamp.com/album/fucking-ballads

Reviews:

Pianist Oliver Schwerdt's Fucking Ballads is not just an album title; it is a declaration of sonic defiance, a rallying cry for those who dare to challenge the status quo. The juxtaposition of the genteel term ,balladsʻ with the bold expletive ,fuckingʻ sets the stage for a musical escapade that is as cheeky as it is profound.
From the opening notes of the album, Schwerdt and his ensemble are on a mission to disrupt the conventions of jazz. The two tracks unfold like a series of musical provocations. Schwerdt's piano leads the charge into parts unknown as the dissonance and melodies twist and turn with reckless abandon, defying expectations at every turn.
But amidst the semi-controlled chaos, there is a method to the madness. Schwerdt and his esteemed cohorts traverse the harmonic landscape with the precision of seasoned navigators, weaving disparate elements together into a cohesive tapestry of sound. The result is a collection of "ballads" that are as unpredictable as they are exhilarating—a testament to the boundless possibilities of musical expression.
The true beauty lies in embracing the chaos. And yet, for all its rebellious spirit, there is a sense of reverence that underpins the album's sonic explorations. Schwerdt and his ensemble pay homage to jazz traditions even as they subvert them. With Barry Guy's bass rumbling like thunder and Gunter Baby Sommer's drums propelling the music forward with relentless energy amid shifty treatments on his cymbals, and other percussion instruments, each track on the album becomes a sonic escapade.
Together, the trio creates a symphony of rebellion—a harmonious cacophony with Guy's sawing arco lines and themes that start, abruptly stop, rise, fall and project stark free-form interplay that challenges listeners to rethink their preconceived notions of what jazz can be. With these two pieces, the concept of time and matter takes a sabbatical, leaving us scratching our heads in delightful confusion.
It is a rollercoaster ride that will have the listener pondering the meaning of existence one moment and laughing at the absurdity of it all the next. Welcome to the quantum playground of Fucking Ballads, where time is just a suggestion and matter is happily jamming along. Thus, the album is a revolution waiting to be heard. Are you ready to join the rebellion?
ALL ABOUT JAZZ, Glenn Astarita (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/fucking-ballads-oliver-schwerdt-euphorium-records [20240506]).

German pianist Oliver Schwerdt likes to bring together musicians who have never played together before. This usually works across generations, as with the New Old Luten Quintet or Big Bad Brötzmann. The trio with free jazz veterans Barry Guy and Günter “Baby“ Sommer works in a similar way, because although the German drummer and the British bassist have played alongside almost all the great free jazz musicians in the last 50 years, they had never performed together until this trio’s first appearance in 2018. This gig is documented on One For My Baby And One More For The Bass. Fucking Ballads is now part two of this great constellation and even surpasses the debut.
Oliver Schwert is certainly influenced by Cecil Taylor - above all by his percussiveness - but one can also hear the more melodious style of Alexander von Schlippenbach or Paul Bley in his playing. He manages to combine these philosophies in such a way that a unique sound emerges. In this trio, his energetic approach meets Günter “Baby“ Sommer, whose idea has always attached great importance to the melodic lines and harmonic structures of drumming. Sommer’s sounds need space and time to unfold - and that’s exactly what he gets here. The speed of the runs and the fine vibrations of the sounds are not in opposition to each other, but come together in a free interplay of forces. Barry Guy is the sealant between Schwerdt’s cascades and Sommer’s percussive extravagances, especially when the drummer adds instruments like xylophone, siren, shawm, harmonica etc. to his arsenal. Guy literally smears the surfaces with bowed passages or emphasizes the mutual attacks of his brothers in arms with plucked runs.
Sommer and Guy are definitely intent on drive, on rhythmic continuity, and repeatedly bring their own statements into the improvisation. Schwerdt counters their groove and at the same time provides impulses in the form of rhythmic patterns, clusters or runs that seem to have been pulled out of thin air. His performance is of great, impulsive power, a cornucopia of ideas, a constant stream of consciousness and energy. This is a radical attack, powerful and complex at the same time. Intensity and escalation are central characteristics of this recording in general. At the beginning of “Fucking Ballads“, the first track, Schwerdt throws eruptive salvos into the mix, which are met by torrential bass runs, which Sommer processes into marches, grooves and shuffles. The music dives down - only to rise up again. The tone sequences clump together like atoms, only to be pushed apart again by the ideas that follow. The whole thing is a forward-flowing river, whose course sometimes narrows, sometimes increases in tempo and strength, only to dry up gently in the end.
However, the quiet and delicate passages are also highlights, for example when Sommer plays an old folk song on the harmonica, which Guy accompanies very sensitively on the bowed bass. These parts are found more frequently in the second track, “In the Vein of Beauty“. Schwerdt often demonstrates excellent timing here by stepping back and letting the two old men do their thing, as in the last two minutes of the set, for example. He knows he can rely on them.
Fucking Ballads is another great release in the very good Euphorium catalogue. Very recommended.
THE FREE JAZZ COLLECTIVE, Martin Schray (https://www.freejazzblog.org/2024/05/oliver-schwerdt-baby-sommer-barry-guy.htm [20240504]).

Die drei, die gerade erst wieder am 9.3.24 in St. Johann spielten, gingen als Freiheitskämpfer schon mehrfach durch Dick und Dünn ins Hochgebirg, ob bei One For My Baby And One More For The Bass (9.12.18, naTo, Leipzig) oder ihrem furiosen Auftritt am 1.10.21 beim Freejazzfestival Saarbrücken, der bei SR Jazznow zu hören war. Das hier zeigt sie am 14.11.21, wieder in der naTo, wie sie auf 3 die Tür eintreten und auf die Pauke und die Tasten hauen. So dass der Alarm losgeht vom Spielzeugladen, den diese Rasselbande vandalisiert. Indem sie ungeniert alles ausprobiert, was da rumsteht, die Blechtrommeln, den Rupfbass und das Hammerklavier, das der schlimme Finger von New Old Luten und Big Bad Brötzmann in kurzer Büx derart quirlt, dass einem die Ohren flimmern. Baby Sommer spielt, trotz seiner da 78 Jahre auf dem Buckel, den wilden Tambour mitsamt Kokosnussgaul, als hätte er sich schon bei Frankenhausen eine Triangel in den Hosenboden gerissen. Da kann das Arme-Sünder-Glöckchen noch so mahnen, die drei ratschen, rummsen, fetzen um die Wette, dass dem Klavier die Zähne klirren und der Bauch grummelt. Doch dann klimpert eine Spieluhr, einer quäkt Trompete, Guy plonkt, harkt, klopft, murxt haarsträubend virtuos wie auf Gummisaiten, Schwerdt scheucht die Spinnen aus dem Innenklavier, Sommer läutet und scheppert mit Napf und Deckel, eine Mundharmonika wimmert. Auch Guy bedauert mit Trauerbogen und Vibrato die angerichtete Bescherung, tröstet sich aber – und so fängt In the Vein of Beauty an - mit unglaublich prickelndem Vibrato drüber weg. Schwerdt lässt das Klavier kribbeln und beben, Sommer lässt Donnerbleche grollen, und findet so zu einem schleppend gegongten Kameltrott, zu dem das tobende Klavier und kapriolendes Pizzicato Hirn und Sand verbrennen. Bis die Karawane anhält für ein kollerndes Drumsolo, das wetzende Striche, pingende Noten und schlagende Triangelsekunden erst zum Crashen, Grooven, Trapsen und schließlich zum Verstummen bringen. Um einer allertraurigsten und traurig bezupften Spieluhrmelodie zu lauschen. Wer jetzt noch Spucke hat, der schluckt. Und nicht wenigen ist ihr „Uff!“ ins Gesicht geschrieben.
BAD ALCHEMY, Rigobert Dittmann (Bad Alchemy Nr. 123) (202404), S 48).

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