Day One: Concert Uwe Kropinski
Mr. Uwe Kropinski from Germany is well known in the jazz scene, where he entertains and surprises many with his skilled improvisations and original technique.
We met him in the morning behind his cup of coffee, a striking personality who was quietly observing the atmosphere in Cafe Sam-Sam.
He appeared on stage with two guitars. One of them appeared to be a Scharpach Dolphin Concert Jazz guitar which was custom built for Kropinski himself. The instrument had 39 frets! Perfectly for a very, very high note!
Kropinski mainly played his own compositions. Unfortunately I remember only part of the song titles. He played For Paco (observing the flamenco style, it must have been dedicated to Paco de Lucia), From F to F and Back (a dazzling improvisation on an F major scale), Sonntag (a nice ballad with virtuoso peace) and Father's Song. Additionally he played two arrangements, All the Things You Are (a Jazz standard) and House of the Rising Sun.
It was almost inbelievable what Kropinski got out of his guitars, plucking, strumming and percussion with hands and feet and a low-cost hi-hat (a plastic bag with microphone). His singing was an extraordinary contribution to the guitars and percussion. It reminded me of Nando Lauria, who uses the same kind of word-less singing to make his swinging Brazilian pop music.
I had never heard something like this. That's a tremendous advantage of this festival, it introduces you to guitar art forms you did not know yet.
A musical pleasure like this requires concentration and effort from both player and audience. After the break I noticed a bit of fatigue during my attempts to follow the music. Fortunately, two well known pieces (All the Things You Are and House of the Rising Sun) brought me back on track again at the end of the recital.
In brief: a surprising first evening recital of the Twenthe Guitar Festival!