The veteran German saxophonist Heinz Sauer (born 1932) is a remarkable musician. An extraordinarily gifted improviser, he is still pushing at the boundaries of jazz even in his seventies.

Guardian critic John Fordham has argued that Sauer should be as well known as Jan Garbarek. Certainly Sauer has a much lower profile, and relative commercial success has come fairly late in a long and distinguished career thanks to ACT’s international distribution network. Sauer has recorded the solo album “The Journey” for the label but his most acclaimed recordings have come as half of a duo with the brilliant young pianist Michael Wollny(born 1978). Their two albums “Melancholia” and “A Certain Beauty” have garnered awards across Europe and been hugely popular with critics and public alike.

“If (Blue) Then (Blue)” re-unites Sauer with Wollny but ACT label boss Siegfried Loch has introduced another name to the equation, that of pianist Joachim Kuhn. This great German pianist (born 1944) represents yet another generation. He has recorded with Wollny before on the striking album of piano duets “Live At Schloss Elmau” (also ACT) but this is the first time Kuhn has recorded with Sauer.

This latest album revives the duo format so expertly deployed by Sauer and Wollny and the album’s sixteen tracks find the saxophonist playing duets with each pianist, pretty much alternately. The album is sequenced in the order in which the tracks were recorded and both pianists were present in the studio the whole time although they do not actually appear together. In this way the pair inspired each other, though not in a competitive manner, more a spirit of mutual support and admiration.

The album was recorded in 2009, the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Miles Davis’ landmark album “Kind Of Blue”. Sauer and his two partners perform radical new interpretations of some of that albums key works-“All Blues”, Blue In Green” and Flamenco Sketches” plus two Duke Ellington tunes “Sophisticated Lady” and “In A Sentimental Mood” and the jazz standard “Lover Man.” These are punctuated by a series of improvised duets between Sauer and the two pianists. The three musicians try to capture something of the mood and essence of “Kind Of Blue” and set it in a contemporary context.

They do this superbly, opening with a shortened version of “All Blues” played by Sauer and Wollny.
The mood is sombre and sensitive with Sauer’s tenor whispering gently above Wollny’s version of the tune’s famous vamp. The pair encapsulate the spirit of Davis’ tune whilst simultaneously casting it in a new light, all in a little over three minutes.

“Tantricity” is more forceful, an improvised conversation between Sauer and Kuhn. The saxophonist, appearing exclusively on tenor throughout the album is able to vary the tone of his instrument in a second. The dialogues between Sauer and his pianist colleagues very much mirror spoken conversations with their fleeting nuances and sudden changes of mood. Kuhn remains at the piano stool for a fascinating discourse around Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”, Sauer’s tone contriving to be warm yet incisive.

Wollny returns for the improvised duet “Actors” which begins lyrically enough but the young musician quickly introduces his Fender Rhodes to give a subtly funky backdrop to the duo’s ruminations.

The next duet with Kuhn “Lost Silhouettes” begins with abstraction, the melody slowly emerging as the tune progresses. Kuhn is also present for “Blue In Green” which reverses the process, stretching out on the famous melody before the duo reel things back in.

The Wollny/Sauer duet “Tutatis” broods lyrically, the following “La Belle Rancune” with Kuhn back in tow is more full on with virtuoso torrents of notes from the pianist and Sauer’s most full on playing thus far.

“Blue And Other Notes” finds Sauer blowing in tentatively exploratory manner above Wollny’s dense , classically inspired backdrop. Wollny remains in place for a beautiful version of “Flamenco Sketches and for the edgy, improvised “Egodeology”. Here the pianist reaches into the body of his instrument to dampen the strings and conjure up other effects. 

Kuhn’s sol piano opens a probing version of “Lover Man” which stretches the fabric of the piece but without the destroying the mood completely.

Wollny is at his most lyrical on his composition “There Again” with Sauer’s fleeting, beautifully nuanced sax the perfect foil. Kuhn takes over for “In A Sentimental Mood”, the duo exploring the tune as thoroughly as they did the earlier “Lover Man”.

Kuhn shows his lyrical side on his own “Go From Here”, opening up solo before being joined by Sauer’s beautifully plaintive tenor. It is left to Wollny to close the album, conjuring up percussive effects from the innards of his piano on the improvised “Still Around Redford”. It’s the first real sighting of Wollny’s celebrated “Gothic” leanings but the piece and the album end on an elegiac note when Sauer’s assured tenor enters the proceedings.

“If (Blue) Then (Blue)” is an impressive piece of work. None of the sixteen tracks exceeds four and a half minutes and the feel is of a series of grainy but delicate vignettes or miniatures. The slightly solemn mood captures the essence of “Kind Of Blue” perfectly and the album’s more familiar pieces sit well with the largely improvised originals.

The spirit of dialogue is present throughout the album. These are genuine musical conversations between equals. Both pianists are magnificent but it is the veteran Sauer who is the star of the show.
He is capable of conveying great emotion in his playing, changing mood and nuance in the blink of an eye yet always assured and conversational. If these pieces are discussions Sauer never raises his voice, even in the album’s more forceful moments. Instead he is assured and authoritative, but always questing. “If (Blue) Then (Blue)” contrives to be simultaneously laid back and rigorous.

Duo recordings can sometimes be hard work for the listener but that is not the case here. The brevity of the pieces ensures that none outstays it’s welcome and the presence of a number of familiar compositions by masters such as Davis and Ellington gives the listener a base from which to advance. This is an album that can e recommended to most discerning jazz listeners.

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