A native of Wuerzburg, Germany, guitarist Sebastian Noelle has been based in New York for the past five years, quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most creative improvisers and composers of a new generation of jazz magicians. As bandleader he has released four recordings since 2001 and currently performs in New York and elsewhere with his latest band, Koan. Sebastian’s most recent release, Across the River (Fresh Sound/New Talent, 2006), “has a delicate, sensual quality, romantic and full of emotions which invite rather than shout, creating an atmosphere in which one wants to spend time” (Budd Koppman, All About Jazz).

Noelle initially played cello before taking up the guitar at age 12. By 15, he was playing club dates in Wuerzburg, and went on to earn a degree in jazz performance and composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim. Moving to Boston, he earned a Master’s degree with distinction in performance at the New England Conservatory of Music, moving then to New York City in 2002. Noelle lists his primary teachers as Gene Bertonicini (with whom he recorded his first CD, the duo Home is Where the Heart Wants to Go), John Abercrombie (whom he featured on his second recording, Freedom Trail), Bob Moses, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Brookmeyer, George Russell, Joe Maneri and Ran Blake; key influences include “Hermeto Pascoal’a spirit, joy and incredible musicianship;” pop icons such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan; jazz legends Miles Davis, Jim Hall, John Scofield, Egberto Gismonti; John Cage (“mostly for his writing”) and James Joyce. Among the current generation of jazz guitarists, Noelle cites Kurt Rosenwinkel, Adam Rogers, Ben Monder and Steve Cardenas, although one has to think Pat Metheny is lurking somewhere close by!

Today, Noelle performs regularly at such New York venues as the 55 Bar, Cornelia Street Café, Kavehaz, Detour, CBGBs Gallery, Makor and Bowery Poetry Club, and internationally, playing the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals, and touring in Holland, Germany, Japan and Slovakia. He also is a member of the BMI Composers Workshop Orchestra, conducted by Mike Abene and Jim McNeely, the Rob Garcia Quartet, and the composers’ collective, Pulse. With musical motifs as diverse as modern jazz, classical music, and and folk traditions of the Middle East, Asia and South America, Noelle has written music for big band, string quartets, solo guitar, voice, and small jazz ensembles, particularly for his quartet (Donny McCaslin, Ben Street and Ari Hoenig) which appears on Across the River, and for his new ensemble, KOAN.

Notes Noelle, KOAN (featuring Loren Stillman on saxes, Thomas Kneeland on acoustic bass, and Ted Poor on drums) was founded in 2006 “to explore new rhythmic possibilities and transcend the borders of traditional harmony. While some pieces focus on the compositional aspects and feature tight ensemble playing, others give the musicians more freedom to develop spontaneous ideas. Inspirations include (but are not limited to) Balkan folk songs, contemporary jazz and classical music, film scores and the ancient Chinese text 'I Ching'. I wrote the music with the specific sound and individual styles of the players in mind. All of them are experienced in many forms of contemporary music while maintaining an uncompromisingly personal sound."

The 2005 edition of the Sebastian Noelle Quartet recorded Across the River for New Sound/Fresh Talent, with all original compositions (most written during a trip to Japan) and an incendiary ensemble including young Spanish sensation Javier Vercher and Mingus Big Band veteran Donny McCaslin alternating talents on tenor sax (Vercher adding flute and McCaslin adding soprano on the opening track), always in-demand Ben Street on bass, and the irrepressible Ari Hoenig on drums. This cast alone predicts the result—music that soars, inspires, challenges, and at times even soothes with a comfortable quirkiness. Perhaps because the compositions have the same source (Noelle) and largely the same source of inspiration (Japan), the tracks seem to flow as a set of companion themes and glowing variations rather than a playlist showcasing divergent concepts.

The opening track, “Metamorphosis,” is described by the composer as “based on a three-note motif, which is developed throughout the composition.” The first notes introduce Noelle’s celestial explorations joined by McCaslin’s tenor, and with the addition of Vercher’s flute, it soon conjures a trio of horns. Switching to soprano, McCaslin spins gold filigree as he rides the full range of the horn while Hoenig turns a few somersaults, and Street adds lines that give some crackle to the whole. “For ‘Hanakotoba’ I was trying to write a melody that just flows straight from my heart,” explains Noelle, and so it does. The longest track at over 9 minutes, the melodic leadership belongs to Vercher, his straight flowing line countered by a punchier effort from Noelle and Street and riffs with snatches of the familiar. Noelle’s interlude is marked by Monkish phrases and repeated figures that keep moving ahead, each idea building to another. Hoenig can be a monster of percussive antics but here he provides support with subtlety. Returning to the theme, Noelle sounds some dissonant and rhythmic counters to Vercher, the two exploring the same theme on different planes. The aptly titled “Papillon” has the fluttering energy of a field of butterflies, thanks primarily to McCaslin’s twisting tenor. But butterflies are delicate and ethereal, qualities conveyed by Noelle with more than a little help from Hoenig’s cymbal work. Hoenig gets more assertive here—one can imagine him switching back and forth from sticks to brushes to mallets has he is inclined to do in live performance. McCaslin goes off into a stratospheric migration, setting up a frenzied solo from Hoenig.

On “People Need People,” Noelle takes us on a relaxing, melodic float through sustained phrases, pulling Vercher into a luxurious swamp of harmonic experiments before steering into a very engaging soundscape. Hoenig interrupts the reverie with a quietly building thunderstorm, Street coming gently into the foreground before the sidetrip ends. There is a defined beginning and end to “Alpha et Omega” as Noelle unrolls a slow-motion Metheny-esque reel of home movies, filled with almost familiar, gentle, nostalgic images, harmonically partnering with McCaslin to escort the listener through the story. Street punctuates the scenes with deep bass notes, while Hoenig maintains an ever-changing backdrop, revving it up over Noelle’s sustained ostinato phrases before McCaslin returns with a resolution and recap of the melody.

The composer describes “Liquid Truth” as a collective improvisation “loosely based on ‘Rhythm Changes’ (‘I Got Rhythm’), but the melody is derived from angular intervals.” The angularity is orchestrated in tandem by Vercher and Noelle, clipped phrases, dissonant harmonics, like a conversation between warring spouses who nevertheless have established a functional coherence despite their conceptual counterpoint. The shortest track at 3 ½ minutes, Hoenig provides a perfect undercurrent of constant turmoil. Similarly he supplies a sense of urgency to “Out in the Fields Again,” in contrast to Noelle’s initially relaxed pace. McCaslin brings a cautious energy to the proceedings, while the guitarist tosses in some bouncy phrases that seem to inspire a more playful exploration from the tenor, who pushes forward by retracing his steps in a spiraling motion. Noelle then takes off on his own with renewed freedom. This track offers one of the standout opportunities to hear Noelle’s range as both composer and performer, and his partnership with McCaslin is a harmonic highpoint. A balladic meander, Street offers the harmonic contrast to Noelle in the opening passage of “Gone.” Vercher reprises the melody, nearly giving it lyrics. This is one of Street’s finest moments, revisiting the melody while maintaining its emotion. Noelle too delivers one of his most lyrical passages over the soft crescendo of Hoenig’s percussion, his chords sustaining the spirit in more ways than one.

“The Check Bounce” starts as a four way conversation, growing around a catchy melodic passage before Noelle takes command with cleanly executed and fiery phrasing. Vercher mirrors the leader, who stays near the surface with a sequence of supportive chords. Street’s solo adds a darker but still upbeat element, and overall there is a trace of playful funkiness. The set closes with the title track, arguably the most provocative composition of the recording. A folkish tapestry with another melody seeking lyrics, “Across the River” dissolves into a brackish swamp of heavily sustained and reverberating variations, more sonic experiments from Noelle than on previous tracks. Vercher pulls it out of its downturn with a series of soaring riffs. As the dissonant melodrama makes another appearance, Hoenig adds some hefty percussive accents while Noelle closes the track with some plaintive whines. It’s an interesting choice for a closing track—one of the most challenging and least resolved, with some of the most beautiful horn passages.

Across the River evokes both familiar and unfamiliar themes and emotions, perhaps reflecting the inspiration of a culture “across the ocean,” tracks flowing like watercolors, tones and motifs bleeding into each other, yet singular characters and distinctive harmonies emerging throughout. Each musician prompts interest in further examination of his own work as well as anticipating further journeys of the ensemble. With this quartet or his current KOANS, guitarist Sebastian Noelle is a unique talent who stimulates the imaginations of both fellow musicians and eager listeners.

Sebastian Noelle will lead Koan at the Cornelia Street Café on Sunday, March 4^th, and at the Neighborhood Church of Greenwich Village on April 13. In between, he’ll be busy as sideman with other bands, including Secret Society (Ingrid Jensen), Ayelet Gottlieb, Numinous (Joe Phillips) and the Stefan Schulze Big Band. See his schedule at www.geocities.com/sebnoelle

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