TOBIAS KLEIN
alto saxophone, bass clarinets, composition
Buyukberber / Klein
Oguz Büyükberber - bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, Bb clarinet
Tobias Klein - bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, Bb clarinet
With their distinct duo sound, bass clarinetists Büyükberber and Klein have been playing together for more than twenty years.
They are known for leaving the listener questioning:
-If it’s fully composed or fully improvised?
-Am I hearing four different instruments at the same time or is it just one giant polyphonic instrument?
-Are they using electronics or is it really all acoustic?
Both being serious composers, each with a body of work for known ensembles and soloists, their approach to improvisation is very organized and never accidental. Same could be said about their writing too. As they both are serious improvisors, there’s always an element of spontaneity and a peculiar expressivity in their compositions.
Klein’s experience with Indian rhythms and Büyükberber’s knowledge of Turkish and Greek music gives the duo another dimension. It’s contemporary music, it’s earthy, it’s groovy, it’s wild!
They released two CDs as a duo, and co-led many projects where they invited renowned musicians such as Claron McFadden, Kristina Fuchs, Ches Smith and Simon Nabatov, to name a few.
Originally from Turkey and Germany, Büyükberber and Klein made The Netherlands their home, where they initially came to study with the legendary teacher Harry Sparnaay decades ago and have been performing and teaching internationally.
“Büyükberber and Klein are adept at holding the compositions together even as they push the limits beyond formal constructs. the musicianship is first rate..."
Karl Ackermann / Allaboutjazz About the CD Reverse Camouflage by Oguz Büyükberber Tobias Klein
reviews
Herman te Loo in Jazzflits: "They have fabulous technique and an urge for adventure, but also an excellent sense for musical form and the beauty of a good melody ... melodies that move around and challenge each other, always offering new perspectives to the listener. Their having played together for 10 years pays off..."
Beppe Colli on cloudsandclocks:
"Reverse Camouflage will intrigue and fascinate listeners, with a fine recorded sound (the music was recorded by Buyukberber and Klein, with mixing and mastering work done by sound engineer Micha de Kanter), a vivacious timbral palette, a fine sense of balance between improvisation and composition, a stylistic variety that doesn't detract from a sense of unity and coherence, a clarity of ideas and a distillation process of what's played, thanks to what I imagine to be a long process of synthesis. (An album like this can only be the result of a long past work done together)"
Jan Willem Broek, Subjectivisten
"De klarinet is dan ook een bijzonder instrument, waarmee je haast conversaties lijkt te kunnen voeren. Dat is ook precies wat deze twee virtuozen doen en wel op poëtische wijze ... ze weten je ruim 55 minuten te boeien met hun muzikale gesprekken, die ergens tussen freejazz, avant-garde, neoklassiek en experimentele muziek uitkomen ... ze brengen hier een heerlijk broeierige sound."
Eddy Determeyer, Draai om je oren
"Hier evenwel zijn Oguz Buyukberber en Tobias Klein aan het werk en die weten hoe ze hun contrabasklarinetten net even boven de gehoordrempel kunnen laten knorren en pruttelen, zoals ze in 'Tung Sten' demonstreren. Elders, in 'Nox', blazen ze slierten valse lucht door hun instrumenten, die bij het kantelpunt omslaan in eerlijke geluidsflarden en uiteindelijk in een bromtolgezang samenkomen... De stukken blijven lekker kort, waardoor de spanning niet weg kan lekken. De muziek is, dat zal geen verbazing wekken, aan de extreme kant. Waar begint muziek, waar houdt ze op? Ze is abstract, maar eerder gevoelig dan exuberant. Het album heeft ruimte nodig; in een luisterbeurt geeft het zijn lagen en geheimen niet prijs."
Vital Weekly
"Melody is not part of their complex music. But they are very much into structure. Which brings them close to contemporary composed music. Both have an excellent technique and make good use of the possibilities of the instruments as the discovered them over the years. Each track has its own face. That makes this cd gives wide and broad view on their spectrum. Sometimes they play with a jazzy phrasing. Sometimes they are noisy and cacophonic, to followed by delicate and poetic moments and everything always in a fine interplay."
Aad van Nieuwkerk, Vrije Geluiden
"Oguz Buyukberber en Tobias Klein treden al een jaar of tien als duo op, improviserend op klarinet, basklarinet en contrabasklarinet. Vrije improvisatie waarin je niet gemakkelijk een thema, een akkoordenschema of een meefluitbaar melodietje kunt ontdekken, maar spannend kan het zeker zijn, alsof je een zoektocht maakt door een landschap van vreemde klanken."
Arjan van Sorge, GonzoCircus
"The whole range of bass clarinet sounds can be heard: nervous grunting and squeaking, long extended notes as in an ambient trip, rhythmic clattering, gruesome exclamations, lyric stories and yearning moves around the right note. And of course even much more..."
Opduvel
"Those who love the entire spectrum of clarinet sound will be delighted as Buyukberber and Klein explore the sonic range of bass, contrabass and Bb clarinets in all kinds of ways."
Alexandra Ivanoff in Today's Zaman: 'Perhaps the most unconventional moments of the four days were produced by Klein and Buyukberber...aside from the novel effects, the musicality of their moment-to-moment decisions provided energized momentum that took the listener through a game of sonic hide-and-seek, percussive play, a duet of beehives and a flutter-tongue fit. The complete strangeness of it all surrendered to a new way of perceiving musical thought.'
Beppe Colli on cloudsandclocks:
"Reverse Camouflage will intrigue and fascinate listeners, with a fine recorded sound (the music was recorded by Buyukberber and Klein, with mixing and mastering work done by sound engineer Micha de Kanter), a vivacious timbral palette, a fine sense of balance between improvisation and composition, a stylistic variety that doesn't detract from a sense of unity and coherence, a clarity of ideas and a distillation process of what's played, thanks to what I imagine to be a long process of synthesis. (An album like this can only be the result of a long past work done together)"
Jan Willem Broek, Subjectivisten
"De klarinet is dan ook een bijzonder instrument, waarmee je haast conversaties lijkt te kunnen voeren. Dat is ook precies wat deze twee virtuozen doen en wel op poëtische wijze ... ze weten je ruim 55 minuten te boeien met hun muzikale gesprekken, die ergens tussen freejazz, avant-garde, neoklassiek en experimentele muziek uitkomen ... ze brengen hier een heerlijk broeierige sound."
Eddy Determeyer, Draai om je oren
"Hier evenwel zijn Oguz Buyukberber en Tobias Klein aan het werk en die weten hoe ze hun contrabasklarinetten net even boven de gehoordrempel kunnen laten knorren en pruttelen, zoals ze in 'Tung Sten' demonstreren. Elders, in 'Nox', blazen ze slierten valse lucht door hun instrumenten, die bij het kantelpunt omslaan in eerlijke geluidsflarden en uiteindelijk in een bromtolgezang samenkomen... De stukken blijven lekker kort, waardoor de spanning niet weg kan lekken. De muziek is, dat zal geen verbazing wekken, aan de extreme kant. Waar begint muziek, waar houdt ze op? Ze is abstract, maar eerder gevoelig dan exuberant. Het album heeft ruimte nodig; in een luisterbeurt geeft het zijn lagen en geheimen niet prijs."
Vital Weekly
"Melody is not part of their complex music. But they are very much into structure. Which brings them close to contemporary composed music. Both have an excellent technique and make good use of the possibilities of the instruments as the discovered them over the years. Each track has its own face. That makes this cd gives wide and broad view on their spectrum. Sometimes they play with a jazzy phrasing. Sometimes they are noisy and cacophonic, to followed by delicate and poetic moments and everything always in a fine interplay."
Aad van Nieuwkerk, Vrije Geluiden
"Oguz Buyukberber en Tobias Klein treden al een jaar of tien als duo op, improviserend op klarinet, basklarinet en contrabasklarinet. Vrije improvisatie waarin je niet gemakkelijk een thema, een akkoordenschema of een meefluitbaar melodietje kunt ontdekken, maar spannend kan het zeker zijn, alsof je een zoektocht maakt door een landschap van vreemde klanken."
Arjan van Sorge, GonzoCircus
"The whole range of bass clarinet sounds can be heard: nervous grunting and squeaking, long extended notes as in an ambient trip, rhythmic clattering, gruesome exclamations, lyric stories and yearning moves around the right note. And of course even much more..."
Opduvel
"Those who love the entire spectrum of clarinet sound will be delighted as Buyukberber and Klein explore the sonic range of bass, contrabass and Bb clarinets in all kinds of ways."
Alexandra Ivanoff in Today's Zaman: 'Perhaps the most unconventional moments of the four days were produced by Klein and Buyukberber...aside from the novel effects, the musicality of their moment-to-moment decisions provided energized momentum that took the listener through a game of sonic hide-and-seek, percussive play, a duet of beehives and a flutter-tongue fit. The complete strangeness of it all surrendered to a new way of perceiving musical thought.'