Michael Schiefel, David Friedman - Hiptoe (2024) [Hi-Res]

Michael Schiefel: voice
Davide Friedman: mallets

I made up a definition, solely for myself, a highly subjective description of the result of a truly spontaneous musical interaction. I call it “pure music”. It’s not some term that musicologists might use to analyze musical phenomena. It’s personal. It describes a feeling I get in an ideal improvisational setting. It defines what happens to me when I feel that certain spark of creative excitement beyond the material, structure, form, harmony, etc.

It’s special, selective, the opposite of “the norm”, the “every day” experience.

When I make music with Michael Schiefel this special spark of spontaneous creativity becomes the norm of the moment. It’s for me extremely high level musical interaction, where the material we choose is secondary to our primary goal; making pure music.

We start with something familiar, in this case perhaps a standard, and leap into mutually unknown territory. Our only agreement at the start is that we take this step together, listen to each other and accept what transpires on the way with joy and a sense of child- like playfulness. The only agenda we have is to come out on the other side, relatively unscathed. (That’s a joke, by the way.)

So much for my somewhat lofty description of our process. The more down to earth explanation of how this album happened is the pandemic in 2020-2022. Michael and I coincidentally met on the street and decided to get together at my apartment and jam, both of us hungry to play with someone else after months of musical abstinence.

I set up microphones, placed Michael near my balcony with the door slightly opened. We agreed on a standard and off we went into the stratosphere! Luckily I recorded everything. We weren’t planning on making an album. We just wanted to record our jam and have a good time. The result is “Hiptoe”.

You don’t have to pack a bag in order to join us on our musical adventure. Just sit back and let it happen to you. In essence, we did the same thing.

David Friedman, Berlin, April 2024

Tracklist:
1.01 - Michael Schiefel - Some Other Time (7:27)
1.02 - Michael Schiefel - Dolphin Dance (8:16)
1.03 - Michael Schiefel - Waltz for Debby (7:03)
1.04 - Michael Schiefel - Joy Spring (7:41)
1.05 - Michael Schiefel - Laura (7:16)
1.06 - Michael Schiefel - How Deep Is the Ocean (6:00)
1.07 - Michael Schiefel - Round Midnight (6:32)
1.08 - Michael Schiefel - How Insensitive (5:25)
1.09 - Michael Schiefel - Giant Steps (4:55)
1.10 - Michael Schiefel - My Romance (4:09)
1.11 - Michael Schiefel - Tenderly (6:05)