Lumumba

Many important drummers are great bandleaders. With their overview and their sense of rhythm and form they show the band the way. Young Swiss drummer Clemens Kuratle has made a name for himself in jazz and pop formations as a sensitive and accomplished musician. Now he has launched Ydivide: a quintet that unites the hip, young British and Swiss jazz scenes. "International bands have existed for many years in the world of improvised music. Exciting things can happen when borders are crossed and curious individuals come together to create their own language in sound, even though they may have not have the same mother tongue or cultural references. Ydivide, a fine European ensemble, is a case in point. The discipline of composition and freedom of improvisation steer the music, and the presence or rhythms that crackle with dance-like energy as well as bursts of harmonic turbulence and meditative choruses point to Kuratle's embrace of both 'in' and 'out' sounds.