Press archive

Archive material gives rise to the shadowy outlines of a living man.

Not many musicians release new CDs 20 years after their death.

Pepl left behind a great deal of material from his home studio; Salesny, Bayer, Schreiber, Duit and the technician Markus Wallner bring the audio tracks onto the stage via amplifier and loudspeakers and improvise along with them.

A surprisingly lively, highly musical result emerges

Apart from Billie Eilish's “Everything I Wanted” and “Air, Love & Vitamins” from the repertoire of the Jazzzwio of Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, the duo plays its own pieces; the reviewer places the line-up in the tradition of Gary Burton and Chick Corea.

“Air, Love & Vitamins” from the repertoire of the Austrian JazzZwio of Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner

The album, it says, is the most idiosyncratic of the ECM records of its time and hard to classify; Pepl breaks the material into a thousand pieces.

If you're Harry Pepl, you bust it into a thousand pieces and shoot it into the ether.

Cracked Mirrors … is easily the oddest of the bunch, a nearly unclassifiable record.

The duo of Franck Tortiller (vibraphone) and Misja Fitzgerald-Michel (guitar) played its programme “Les heures propices”, songs by the singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s, at noon on a Monday, probably on 8 November 2021. It included a piece by Harry Pepl, whom Bergerot honours as “the late Austrian jazz guitarist” who knew that melodic freshness and harmonic candour.

a borrowing from the late Austrian jazz guitarist Harry Pepl (who knew that melodic freshness, that harmonic candour and its disarming anachronisms)

The French jazz critic Franck Bergerot on a piece by Pepl in “Les heures propices”, the programme of the duo Franck Tortiller and Misja Fitzgerald-Michel (songs by the singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s), at the D'Jazz Nevers festival in Nevers, France, in 2021

The author, andbar, came across a second-hand copy of “Volver”, the album recorded in 1986 by the Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and the Argentine bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi for the renowned European jazz label ECM, with Harry Pepl (guitar), Furio Di Castri (double bass) and Bruce Ditmas (drums). He finds the record somewhat underrated and worth rediscovering. For him the opening track, “Le but du souffle”, begins with a quiet soliloquy on electric guitar; he calls “Tempos de ausencias” a distillation of Argentine melody only lightly flecked by Pepl’s guitar. In Pepl’s composition “Ballantine for Valentine” he hears a free outburst in the spirit of Ornette Coleman, the pioneer of free jazz, which breaks up the calm prevailing mood of the record and widens its horizons. On Sunday, 22 December 2019 a second author on the blog replied with Rava’s own recollection of the recording session.

“Tempos de ausencias”, a distillation of Argentine melody only lightly flecked by Pepl’s guitar

andbar on the Italian jazz blog Tracce di Jazz about “Tempos de ausencias” on “Volver”, the ECM album recorded in 1986 by Enrico Rava and Dino Saluzzi with Pepl on guitar

“Ballantine for Valentine”, an Ornette-style free outburst that breaks up the calm moods prevailing on the record

andbar on Pepl’s composition “Ballantine for Valentine”, his only piece on “Volver”; “ornettiano” alludes to Ornette Coleman, the pioneer of free jazz

Clemens Salesny calls the band a quintet because Markus Wallner steers the playback from the mixing desk and laptop; the real fifth man, however, is Pepl, who “in a few days will already have been sorely missed for 13 years”. Salesny, Andi Schreiber (violin), Martin Bayer (guitar) and Valentin Duit (drums) take up Pepl's style; the band is at its strongest in the pieces built on Pepl's grooving ostinato bass figures.

Otherwise the rule was: the smaller the format, the more Pepl.

The real fifth man, who once composed this music in real time on countless instruments, will in a few days already have been sorely missed for 13 years.

A multifaceted excursion through the Pepl cosmos.

The author discovered Pepl in 1986 on the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album “Volver” by Enrico Rava and Dino Saluzzi: his sound recalled Metheny, but with a harder attack and a freer sensibility. He recommends “Cracked Mirrors”, which still sounds fresh today.

His chorused sound and fluidity were reminiscent of Metheny, but his attack was harder and his sensibility was decidedly more “out.”

Check out “Cracked Mirror” to hear how his playing in 1988 sounds fresh even today.

He lists the recording of February 1987 with Harry Pepl (guitar, guitar synthesizer, piano), the German flugelhorn player Herbert Joos and the Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen, and notes that six of the eight pieces are by Pepl and two (“Wolkenbilder 1” and “Wolkenbilder 2”) by Joos. In his view the album combines passages that sound like free improvisation with pastoral ones, and depending on the piece the Roland MIDI guitar system creates a synthesizer-like expanse. On Pepl’s pieces he notes distinctly free traits with fine riffs and broad synthesizer textures in “Reflections in a Cracked Mirror”, a small ballad with a gentle flugelhorn melody in “Schikaneder Delight”, plenty of space and freedom in “Die alte Mär und das Mann”, very fast, mechanical free playing in “More Far Out Than East”, a melody floating above the jagged guitar in “Purple Light” and a calm, piano-led melody in “Tintenfisch Inki”.

There are passages that sound like free improvisation and passages that are pastoral.

kudojazz on his Japanese blog about ECM records, on “Cracked Mirrors” (ECM 1356, recorded in February 1987) with Herbert Joos and Jon Christensen

Depending on the piece, the Roland MIDI guitar system creates a synthesizer-like expanse.

kudojazz on the sound of Pepl’s Roland MIDI guitar system on “Cracked Mirrors” (ECM 1356, 1987)

As the highlight of the second festival day, the author describes the project of Agnes Heginger, Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer and Peter Primus Frosch, in which recordings from Pepl's home studio were played in and the band entered into a dialogue with them. He refers to the double CD on Fullmax Recordings.

The four musicians on stage played so excellently with Pepl's legacy that, without knowing the story behind it and with your eyes closed, there could have been a quintet on stage.

An extremely successful tribute to one of Austria's important jazz musicians.

Al Foster and the Harry Pepl project

The late grandmaster of impulsive improvisation

An impulsive homage to one of the greats of European jazz.

He describes twelve previously unreleased soliloquies from the Lonely Single Swinger Band and 13 Pepl compositions in a new guise with Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer, Peter Primus Frosch and Agnes Heginger, with Herbert Joos, Alex Meissl and Clemens Wenger as guests.

which now brings the name of the great Viennese guitarist Harry Pepl back into public awareness with a project of equal stature

There is nothing at all to say that could even come close to capturing this late, magnificent Pepl spectacle.

The Viennese guitarist and musical border-crosser was in a class of his own

He now highlights the depth of Pepl's talent, the interplay between Pepl and Pirchner as the core of the trio and Pepl's solos, and calls the record “this curious little gem”; only on the processing of the Ovation guitar does he stand by his first opinion.

I simply did not give this date the attention it deserves.

The depth of Pepl’s talent, now that I’m more familiar with it, is immediately evident in the spaciousness of his evocations.

The reviewer calls the album a far better showcase for Pepl’s innovative playing than the ECM record with Pirchner and DeJohnette and highlights Joos’s “Wolkenbilder”, the MIDI passages and Pepl’s piano on the closing piece. The page shows 18 July 2021 as the date of the update. Here Grillo himself calls his first impression of the album with Pirchner and DeJohnette “faulty impressions”.

a far better showcase for Pepl’s innovative talents

Rava’s introverted yet inwardly passionate playing matches well with Saluzzi’s modern tangos, and the results are fairly accessible yet still exploratory.

On the ECM album “Volver” (recorded in 1986) by the quintet of Enrico Rava and Dino Saluzzi, on which Harry Pepl plays guitar and is represented by his piece “Ballantine for Valentine”

The chorus effect of the Ovation guitar and the lack of rapport among the three musicians are criticised; Pepl’s solos and the closing piece “Better Times In Sight” are regarded as strengths. The page shows 10 February 2015 as the date of the update. Almost a year later, on 13 November 2012, Grillo revised his verdict in “A second look”.

When soloing, however, it sounds fantastic

Grillo praises the airy, atmospheric sound, Pepl's soft guitar licks in the opening track and the Metheny-like picking in “Loveland”, and calls urgently for a reissue.

The fantastic sax solo and Metheny-esque picking lend even more elegance to the track’s progressive sound.

The DVD is called a must. The date, 13 February 2009, is derived from the article number.

Harry Pepl, a complex guitarist of truly international stature

The creative fury, the intensity achieved there still seems to set the standard today.

Füssl recalls the legendary JazzZwio of Pepl and Werner Pirchner between 1977 and 1985 and describes the contents: 43 minutes from the 15th Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in 1981 and excerpts from concerts at the Szene Wien in Vienna (1983) and the Konservatoriumssaal in Innsbruck, Austria (1984), with pieces such as “The Day We Know Paul Desmond is Gone”, “Against The Wind”, “Hosent’Raga” and “Air Love And Vitamins”. He calls the two “absolute individualists” whose interplay adds up to far more than the sum of its parts, notes that so far mainly the Muthspiel brothers (the Austrian jazz musicians Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel) have kept their memory alive, and hopes the recordings will bring the Jazzzwio wider recognition, above all among younger musicians.

Great moments of brilliantly offbeat music and gnarled humour

the playful wit of these two strong characters, one Viennese and one Tyrolean to the core, still sounds fresh as morning dew more than 25 years after the recordings were made

On the CD/DVD “Live in Concerts” (2009) with Jazzzwio concerts from 1981 to 1984; Pepl was Viennese, Werner Pirchner Tyrolean, and each brought his own regionally coloured humour into the music

Particularly beautiful is ‘And Harry Said Goodbye’, dedicated to the unforgotten colleague Harry Pepl.

The superb guitarist Harry Pepl and his perfectly matched partner

Schalk recorded the album in Los Angeles, USA, with Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Dave Carpenter (bass) and Marvin “Smitty” Smith (drums). Mark F. Turner singles out the moving ballad “And Harry Said Goodbye”, which Schalk dedicated to Harry Pepl; he calls Pepl a European guitar master and one of Schalk’s influences. Schalk’s tone and phrasing on this piece are delicate and warm.

There’s also moving balladry as heard on the emotive “And Harry Said Goodbye,” dedicated to another Schalk influence, European guitar master, Harry Pepl.

From the review of Wolfgang Schalk’s album “Wanted” (2008); the guitarist from Styria, Austria, dedicated the ballad to Harry Pepl, who had died in 2005

Tošić hears a groovy affair with a rock-style distorted tone and highly individual phrasing; sound quality very good.

On N.Y.C. Impressure his guitar sound is once again recognisable as such.

Of course his phrasing is once again highly individual, which means: appealing and pleasantly unpredictable.

And so it may well happen that the guitar professor shines with a rock-distorted sound.

Thanks to cleverly pre-planned pieces and compelling solos, the author counts the record among the most exciting things produced in Austria in recent years.

The Viennese Harry Pepl, who counts among the most distinctive guitarists on the continent

recorded an album which, thanks to its so cleverly conceived tracks, ploughed through with compelling solos, ranks among the most exciting things produced in this country in recent years.

The Lower Austrian Harry Pepl loves the battle with “Bits and Bytes”.

His latest hobby-horse goes by the name of “real-time-composing”.

By way of his guitar, Pepl also plays trumpet and piano and manages a drum solo on the guitar; Joos recalls Chet Baker, and Oxley shapes the European character of the music.

European jazz? The trio of Herbert Joos, Harry Pepl and Tony Oxley provided an example of it.

In this way Pepl managed to play a dazzling drum solo on the guitar.

The author begins with critical questions about volume, the playback tape and hidden themes and then describes a bewildering game of free jazz and balladic romanticism, in which the audience accepted Pepl’s guitar synthesiser as an enrichment; he refers to the record “Cracked Mirrors”.

accepted Harry Pepl’s guitar synthesiser as an imaginative enrichment of the sound

in a piece like “Schikaneders Delight” there was also quite definitely a Mozartean cheerfulness at play.

Urman describes breathtaking string artistry, birdsong and synthetic flute sounds, lovingly coloured poetry down to a hint of Gil Evans, and an electronically generated fullness of sound on an orchestral scale. On the day of publication, a Friday, the trio was still playing at the Hotel Mader in Katsdorf.

Gems of contemporary jazz, wittily crafted by a top-class trio

The three offered breathtaking string artistry, virtuosically realised visions of wilful electronic mobilisation

Austrian jazz’s guitar great, of a standing that helps to set the tone not only in Europe

Harry Pepl brings electronics into play in an astonishing way.

Under the heading “Coup de chaleur” (roughly: a heatwave) he describes Air Mail's concert: fired up by Wolfgang Puschnig, driven by Mike Richmond and Wolfgang Reisinger, shaken up by an utterly unexpected Harry Pepl. To Bergerot it sounded as if Pepl wanted to pay tribute to the guitarist Joseph Dejean, who had died ten years earlier; in his playing he found again the thread of a history of the guitar that he had thought lost. The music was free, fresh, uninhibited and full of energy, and he had not enjoyed himself so much in a long time. The report gives no date for the concert. Thirty-five years later Bergerot paid tribute to Pepl again in Jazz Magazine, as “the late Austrian jazz guitarist”.

Air Mail, fired up by Wolfgang Puschnig, driven by the rhythm section of Mike Richmond / Wolfgang Reisinger and shaken up by an utterly unexpected Harry Pepl.

Franck Bergerot in Jazz Hot on Air Mail's concert at the “Le temps du jazz” festival in Amiens, France, in May 1986, under the heading “Coup de chaleur” (roughly: a heatwave)

There I found again the thread of a history of the guitar that I feared I had lost for good.

Franck Bergerot on Pepl's guitar playing at Air Mail's concert in Amiens, France, in May 1986; just before, he writes that had Pepl wanted to pay tribute to the guitarist Joseph Dejean, who had died ten years earlier, he could not have gone about it any differently

There I discovered a prodigious group: Air Mail

Alain Guerrini in Jazz Hot on the closing night of the Jazz sous les pommiers festival in Coutances, France, on Saturday, 10 May 1986, according to the festival programme, Air Mail's first concert in France

“Halley Comet” is the most telling piece of this cosmic quartet.

Alain Guerrini on Air Mail's concert in Coutances, France, in May 1986; “Halley Comet” is probably Pepl's “The Halley's Comet Light Blue Blues”, later the title track of Air Mail's album “Light Blues” (1988)

Rockwell heard the first set, 40 minutes long, and found the music pleasant but not significant enough for the opening of a festival series; the evening began about an hour late. The Wednesday of the festival week was 15 May 1985.

relaxed and cool, in the ECM Records manner

a delicate chamber jazz set rich in moods; recalls producer Eicher’s strongest early forays into this stream

Unsigned capsule review in the Album Reviews under Jazz-Fusion, rated “Recommended”, of the ECM album by Werner Pirchner, Harry Pepl and Jack DeJohnette; Manfred Eicher is the founder and producer of ECM

1983 date teaming mallet stylist Pirchner, acoustic guitarist Pepl and timemaster DeJohnette

Unsigned capsule review in the Album Reviews under Jazz-Fusion, rated “Recommended”, of the ECM album by Werner Pirchner, Harry Pepl and Jack DeJohnette

In the same month the duo Jazzzwio (printed “Jazzwio”) with Werner Pirchner (tenor vibraphone, marimba) and Harry Pepl (guitar) performed in the music salon of the Student Centre. Križič praises the combination of Pirchner’s prepared vibraphone and the modern guitar, which, he writes, created a wealth of musical ideas, rhythms and brilliant improvisations.

The combination of the prepared vibraphone, from which Pirchner drew incredible sounds full of vibrating sensitivity, and the modern guitar created a wealth of musical ideas, rhythms and brilliant improvisations.

Miro Križič in his review of the Zagreb jazz autumn of 1982 in the Slovenian music magazine “Glasbena mladina”, on the concert of the Jazzzwio of Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl in October 1982 in the music salon of the Student Centre in Zagreb, Croatia

Turi divides the performers into three groups according to their performance and places the guitar duo Pepl and Brkovity in the top group, alongside Ganelin, Mirrors, Gusztáv Csík, the duo Viklický and Andršt and Jasper van ’t Hof; he highlights the duo’s virtuoso technique and perfect interplay.

the virtuoso technique and perfect interplay of the guitar duo Pepl and Brkovity came as a surprise

Gábor Turi in his review of the 8th Debrecen Jazz Days (Hungary) in September 1979, at which Pepl played at midnight in a duo with the Yugoslav guitarist Voja Brković; Turi ranks the duo among the top group of the festival