Wolfgang Haffner - Round Silence (2009)

As a sideman drummer Wolfgang Haffner has appeared on some 400 plus recordings with credits as diverse as Chaka Khan, Albert Mangelsdorff, Klaus Doldinger, Till Bronner and Nils Landgren. In 2008 he released the album “Acoustic Shapes” (also ACT), a record in the piano trio format that garnered substantial critical acclaim. Haffner’s partners on “Acoustic Shapes” were Swedish bassist Lars Danielsson and Cologne based pianist Hubert Nuss. These two musicians also appear on Haffner’s latest recording which sees him working with an extended line up and exploring the “Nu Jazz”as he incorporates beats and electronica into his music. This is an area Haffner has examined before with the 2005 ACT release “Shapes” which spawned a subsequent album of remixes.

“Round Silence” is a fitful record with several moments of sublime beauty but at other times the soft focus “Nu Jazz” tends towards the bland and soporific. Nevertheless we should applaud Haffner’s spirit of adventure when another piano trio disc may have represented the easy option. “Round Silence” is not a bad album and there are some real nuggets to be unearthed here.

Haffner is an undemonstrative player, this does not sound like a typical drummer’s solo album despite the fact that Haffner wrote virtually all the music. “Round Silence” is calm and unhurried, the title reflecting Haffner’s examination between music and silence, the notes and the silence surrounding them. Haffner deploys a large ensemble including horns, two bassists and a number of special guests.

The album begins superbly with the title track, an atmospheric ECM styled piece that features Danielsson’s sonorously liquid bass-sounding remarkably like Eberhard Weber- plus the delicate acoustic guitar of guesting Sting sideman Dominic Miller. Haffner maintains a steady brush led pulse , Nuss solos tastefully at the piano and trumpeter Sebastian Studnitzky helps to provide the aural backdrop.