Audiosamples (click to start & stop):

Nicolas de Staël (II)    
Late Indian Summer
Nicolas de Staël (III) 
Opus 2  Nobility  Phoenix 

1970 Hans Koller returned after 20 Years abroad and was looking for young musicians for his avant-garde musical ideas. He found this in the keyboardist Albert Mair, the guitarist Costa Lukacs and the drummer Karl Prosenik.
All three were "at home" in mainstream jazz at the time. The first rehearsals with Hans, Albert and Costa took place in late 1970, early 1971. It showed the genius of Hans Koller as a band leader, how he implemented his musical avant-garde ideas with them. He invited the bassist Adelhard Roidinger to realize his ideas. At that time he was active in avant-garde music, among other things. Adelhard says today: “Hans was a grandmaster for me. Years later I discovered a deep kinship, the commitment to Central European musical culture in the form of freedom in rhythmic design (agogic) and the overabundance of musical events ”. The "Hans Koller Free Sound Quintet" was born. The decisive factor was Koller's respect for his fellow musicians, whose talents he enhanced.
His graphic - artistically unique notation in the form of concise musical ideas without bar lines gave all musicians the greatest possible scope for creativity. After a short time, the five of them were playing music from a single source in the most renowned jazz bars in Germany, in Switzerland, France, Denmark and Austria. One day Hans said: “Let us make a record ”. A college friend of Albert, Guido Bertol, had experience in studio recording and Albert had a Revox A77. Guido - the "Rudy van Gelder" of Vienna - built a makeshift mixer from cheap components. He used the natural reverberation of his cellar for the recordings. And so this - as yet unpublished - honest, strong and rustic document was created, with Hans Koller iat his best. There are other recordings or of the FREE SOUND Quartett, but this one is UNIQUE because of the use of the additionnal guitar, geniusly played by Costa Lukacs!

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Audiosamples (click to start & stop):

Blue Waltz Visitation Zulu Zali 
The Masquerade is Over 
Seven Steps to Heaven 
Waltz for Charlotte Del Sasser 
Speak Low Bitter Sweet

This live recording is of one of the last concerts of the international Albert Mair Trio, recorded live, 25 years ago on January 2, 1996 in the original Porgy & Bess Jazz Club in Vienna. The trio was formed In the mid-nineties..its goal: to accompany Joan Cartwright and other singers. Soon thereafter an equal musical frame of mind moved the three musicians, Albert Mair (piano), Marc Abrams (bass) and Andy Winter (drums) to perform solely as a trio. Albert’s preferred formation, a musical dream team. Concerts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland followed. Marc Abrams is a bass player from New York City presently residing in Venice (Italy) who participates in radio and television broadcasts, jazz festivals, concerts and tours in the following countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Greece and of course the USA. He has performed with many well-known American soloists (e.g. Chet Baker, Gil Evans, Steve Grossman, Lee Konitz...) as well as European soloists Kenny Weeler, Karl Berger and Heinz Sauer and the list goes on. He met Albert Mair and Andy Winter in the mid-nineties and formed a trio for the purpose of backing featured singers (see above). In the following years they performed solely as a trio. Andy Winter is a drummer from Vienna, Austria now living in NYC, USA and Berlin, Germany. He received his formal education at the Vienna Conservatory and gave concerts early on with greats of the local scene such as Karl Ratzer, Harry Stojka, Wolfgang Puschnig and others. In 1988 he went to New York to study at the New School and has since worked with jazz musicians such as Larry Goldings, Brad Mehldau, Ron Carter, Mark Whitfield, Peter Bernstein, Scott Colley, Chris Potter, Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin, and others. He and Albert Mair were also sidemen in the Jimmy Woode Trio before they formed the trio formation with Marc Abrams.The Trio is performing loosely, with greatinteraction and lots of space for the soloistic qualities of all three. Fine Standard versions and four originals of the bandleader.

1. Blue Waltz (Albert Mair) 2. The Masquerade is Over (Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson ) 3. A Ballad For Her (Albert Mair) 4. Bitter Sweet (SamJones) 5. Speak Low (Ogden Nash, Kurt Weill) 6. Del Sasser (Sam Jones) 7. Visitation (Paul Chambers) 8. Zulu Zali (Albert Mair) 9. Seven Steps To Heaven (Miles Davis, Victor Feldman) 10. Waltz For Charlotte (Albert Mair)

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