Gestalt et Jive were a multinational

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

group founded in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1984 by

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

Alfred Harth, comprising

Steve Beresford Steve Beresford (born 6 March 1950) is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, suc ...

( UK),

Anton Fier John Anton Fier III (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. He led The Golden Palominos, an experimental rock group active from 1981 to 2010. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cl ...

( US), Alfred Harth (FRG), Peter Hollinger (FRG), Ferdinand Richard ( F) and Uwe Schmitt (FRG). In 1980 Harth produced the LP ''Es herrscht Uhu im Land'' on JAPO/ ECM with the idea of integrating

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and followed this design throughout the 1980s in the groups Cassiber, Duck and Cover, ''Gestalt et Jive'' and Vladimir Estragon. During the years 1984 – 1988 ''Gestalt et Jive'' performed on many festivals including the

Moers Festival The Moers Festival is an annual international music festival in Moers, Moers, Germany. The festival has changed from concentrating on free jazz to including world music, world and pop music, though it still invites many avant-garde jazz musicians. ...

, Jazz nad Odrą, Musique Action festival in Vendouvre-les Nancy and

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville () is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music. The festival is known for its small scale (usually no more than 20 perfo ...

in Canada. After Beresford, Fier and Schmitt had left the group in 1985 ''Gestalt et Jive'' continued to work in trio with Harth, Hollinger and Richard.

Name

''Gestalt et Jive'' 's name refers to the group concept of intensively improvise song forms and using

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

strategies. It also refers to the group's multinational origin.

Members

– piano, farfisa organ, synth, guitar, vocals, trumpet, trombone *

– drums, Simmons Drums * Alfred Harth - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, mouthpieces, vocals *Peter Hollinger – drums, objects * Ferdinand Richard - bass guitar, six string alto guitar *Uwe Schmitt – drums

Discography

*'' Nouvelle Cuisine'' with

, Alfred Harth, Ferdinand Richard,Uwe Schmitt (LP, Moers Music, 1985) *'' Gestalt et Jive'' with Alfred Harth, Ferdinand Richard, Peter Hollinger (LP, Creative Works Records, 1986) *''Neowise'' with Alfred Harth, Ferdinand Richard, Peter Hollinger, Steve Beresford, Al Maslakh, Lebanon 2020

References

*Christoph Wagner: ''Brüche und Kontinuität'', Alfred 23 Harth, in “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik”, Schott Music, Mainz, Germany, 6/2007 *Christoph Wagner: Steve Beresford in “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik”, Schott Music, Mainz, Germany, 2007 *Jürgen Schwab: ''Der Frankfurt-Sound. Eine Stadt und ihre Jazzgeschichte(n).'' Frankfurt/Main: Societäts-Verlag, 2005, with 2 CDs, *Repecaud, Dominique. ''Musique Action''. Vandoeuvre, France: CCAM, 1993. *Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Canada

External links

Massimo Ricci's review on ''Nouvelle Cuisine''
{{Authority control German progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1984 Moers Music artists