One of the beautiful opportunities of today’s extremely wide spectrum in jazz is interculturality.

In communication between different cultures lies the creative potential that New York based German-French double bassist and composer Pascal Niggenkemper fully exploits with his new international ensemble Vision 7 founded in 2011 in cooperation with the Jazzdor Festival Strasbourg-Berlin.

Dialogues, precisely the dialogue between the seven musicians, the composed and improvised music, the different personalities, styles, cultural identities, concepts and finally the dialogue of the musicians with the listener are the heart of the ensemble’s debut album „Lucky Prime“.

Only the listener can give the story a sense. The opening lyrics of „Carnet plein d’histoires“ says: „This is the story of the stories. To you this story might seem absurd, but it makes sense. Or does it not? Please, decide yourself!“ The septet takes the listener on a very personal and associative journey, ranging from moments of intimate chamber music, improvised atonal sound installations and trough composed sections to unleashed improvisations.

Maximal freedom is given to the musicians and the listener although without leaving both in the randomness. „Almost everything is allowed,“ the CD liner notes say, at the same time everything follows a sort of „meta-structure“ that embraces the album, yet without constricting it. It is only at the end of the album that the story comes to its end, that things come full circle.

With „Lucky Prime“, Pascal Niggenkemper, Eve Risser, Christian Lillinger, Emilie Lesbros, Frantz Loriot, Els Vandeweyer and Frank Gratkowski present a passionate and exiting debut album.

The number 7, prime number called “Lucky Prime”, title of this album, reflects the happiness and joy of seven musicians making music together. From France living in Paris, pianist Eve Risser (Donkey Monkey, En Corps, Risser-Rühl, Orchestre National de Jazz) and vocalist Emilie Lesbros (Barre Phillips, Lionel Garcin, single room, Speaking Tube), also from France but living in Zurich, french violist Frantz Loriot (natura morta, Viola2Viola, baloni, Anthony Braxton, Joelle Leandre), from Germany drummer Christian Lillinger, (Hyperactive Kid, GRUND, John Tchicai, Joachim Kühn, Rudi Mahall) and saxophonist et clarinettist Frank Gratkowski (Georg Graewe, Tony Oxley, Wolter Wierbos, Gerry Hemingway) both living in Berlin. From Belgium, vibraphonist Els Vandeweyer living in Berlin (“Quat” with Fred Van Hove, Paul Lovens and Martin Blume, “Ginkgo”),

French-German bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, leader of this group, is based in New York (upcoming hurricane, PNTrio, baloni, PascAli, Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host).