August Zirner & Sven Faller – Mingus

August Zirner – flute and narrator

Sven Faller – double bass and narrator

Charles Mingus – ingenious bassist and composer, choleric and saint, pimp and subtle spirit – one of the most contradictory figures in the history of jazz is 100 years old. An occasion for August Zirner and Sven Faller to approach this phenomenon from every conceivable angle. In a communicative interplay of flute and double bass, they reassemble the master‘s compositions in a filigree manner. Correspondingly, they tell stories from the eventful life of Mingus. Art, music, racism, poetry and love are some of the themes that always reveal a contemporary relevance. Sven Faller tries to get closer to his role model in letters, while August Zirner lovingly delves into the genius‘ tortured psyche. A homage that is as timeless as it is topical.

The actor and Grimme Award winner August Zirner is familiar to a wide audience from over 120 cinema and television films, including the Oscar-winning „Die Fälscher“. He was a member of the Munich Kammerspiele ensemble for eight years. Numerous guest performances have taken him to the most important German-speaking theaters, including the Vienna Burgtheater, Theater in der Josefstadt and the Salzburg Festival. He has worked with directors such as Peter Stein, Luc Bondy, Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta, Franz Xaver Bogner and Rainer Kaufmann.

Sven Faller has made a name for himself internationally with his melodic style on the double bass. He lived and worked in New York for many years and has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Larry Coryell, Konstantin Wecker, Pippo Pollina, Philip Catherine, Ulf Wakenius, Georg Ringsgwandl and many others during his impressive career. With his album „Night Music“ and the book of the same name, he has not only established himself as a composer, but also as an author and storyteller.

“Orange was the colour of her dress” tells the story of a girl who asks her lover to compose a song for her orange dress, with the ulterior motive that nothing rhymes with ‘orange’. August Zirner and Sven Faller try to let the subtle subtleties of Charles Mingus’ compositional stroke of genius, which sometimes fade into the background in the energetically exuberant ensembles, speak for themselves in the minimalist arrangement for flute and double bass.

 

“Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” is one of the best-known compositions by the American bandleader, bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It is a slow blues with a length of twelve bars. Mingus created the piece directly under the influence of the news of the death of the tenor saxophonist Lester Young (1909–1959), whom he admired. The title refers to his favorite headgear, which he wore on every occasion – a circular saw-like hat model with the exotic name Pork Pie Hat.