In 2007, trumpeter Hans-Peter Salentin, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist Stephan Schmolck, and drummer Bill Elgart’s Beyond Our Thoughts album was released by Germany’s YVP Music.
The original compositions by the quartet include the title track, “Star-Movement,” “White Code,” “Easy Sunday,” “Possible Answer,” “Grounded,” and “Last Cowboy.” Another piece, “Take Your Time,” is credited to Salentin and Wollny.
Beyond Our Thoughts was produced by Hans-Peter Salentin, who in addition to trumpet, also plays flugelhorn on the CD.
A video for “Beyond Our Thoughts,” the opening track composed and performed by trumpeter Hans-Peter Salentin, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist Stephan Schmolck, and drummer Bill Elgart, is on YouTube:
The album was recorded live on 31 January and 1 February 2004 at the Telos Music Akademia in northwest Germany by engineers Manfred Dahlhaus and Thorsten Brendel.
The idea for the Beyond Our Thoughts project was conceived by Hans-Peter Salentin, who was joined by two fellow members of the University of Music, Würzburg (Hochschule für Musik Würzburg) community, Bill Elgart, a part-time teacher (and now honorary professor), and standout student Michel Wollny. The fourth member, Stephan Schmolck, also from Germany, was the only musician on the album not associated with the school.
An auto-generated video for the second cut, Hans-Peter Salentin – Michael Wollny – Stephan Schmolck – Bill Elgart’s co-composition “Star-Movement,” is available in most regions:
Drummer Bill Elgart comments on the making of the Beyond Our Thoughts album in 2004:
Blue Note: How did the group come together?
Bill Elgart: Hans-Peter Salentin invited me to join the quartet.
BN: Had you played together before making the album?
BE: Yes, we have done a couple of concerts together at the university [University of Music, Würzburg].
BN: What about Michel Wollny?
BE: He was a student at Würzburg at the time [Elgart and Salentin continue to teach there in 2017].
BN: Had you played with Stephan Schmolck previously?
BE: No, this was the first time.
BN: What do you recall about recording the album?
BE: Most of the pieces are free improvisations, such as “Last Cowboy.”
“Last Cowboy,” the final track on the album, composed and performed by Hans-Peter Salentin, Michael Wollny, Stephan Schmolck, and Bill Elgart, is online:
The Beyond Our Thoughts album from YVP Music is available as a CD and as a digital download from online retailers including iTunes–the same label released the Franco D’Andrea Trio’s Franco D’Andrea Trio album in 1989 that features Bill Elgart and Stephan Schertler.
At this time, auto-generated videos exist on YouTube for all eight cuts from Beyond Our Thoughts. A compilation is HERE.
More from the Artists
Hans-Peter Salentin
Born in Mechernich in 1961, Hans-Peter Salentin began playing the trumpet at age 11. From 1981 to 1986, Salentin studied music at the Musikhochschule Cologne. His first teacher, Jon Eardly, a former member of the Gerry Mulligan Group, was a major influence, as were instructors Francis Coppieters, Axel Jungbluth, Manfred Schoof, and Jiggs Whigham.
Hans-Peter Salentin has performed and/or recorded with James Carter, Andrea Centazzo, Chick Corea, Bill Dobbins, Jeff Hamilton, Charlie Mariano, Branford Marsalis, Laura and Kristina Marti, Bob Mintzer, Frank Möbus, Julia Sawicka, Mathias Schubert, John Scofield, Miroslav Vitouš, Peter Weniger, and many more top players from Europe, America, and around the world.
Salentin has released a couple dozen CDs under his own name, film music and music for string quartets. He also produces lounge music and, in 2010, founded Dewey Records, a music label and publishing company. For more than two decades, Hans-Peter Salentin has also been an educator, teaching at the University of Würzburg. He is currently a professor of Jazz Trumpet, Combo, and Big Band.
In 2011, Hans-Peter Salentin performed “Landscape” live at the Benefit for Japan Concert held in Bad Münstereifel, Germany:
Michael Wollny
Born in Schweinfurt in 1978, pianist Michael Wollny is known for his own compositions as well as interpretations and inspiration drawn from popular and classical music. A former student of Chris Beier, Wollney has played in groups with Bob Brookmeyer and recorded in duo with free jazz saxman Heinz Sauer.
In 2005, Wollny was signed to the ACT label, an outfit he continues to release music for on a regular basis. This includes albums by Michael Wollny’s own trio, with Eric Schaefer on drums and bassists including Eva Kruse, Tim Lefebvre, and, most recently, Christian Weber on bass.
In 2016, Michael Wollny and Vincent Peirani released their Tandem album on the ACT label, in CD and vinyl format,
A video from Michael Wollny and Vincent Peirani’s “Hunter,” the third track on Tandem, is on YouTube:
Stephan Schmolck
Born in Munich in 1951, bassist Stephan Schmolck first rose to prominence in his native Germany when he began playing with musicians like Alan Blairman, Bob Degen, Art Farmer, Christof Lauer, Bob Mover, John Schröder, and Janusz Stefanski.
Since 1990, Stephan Schmolck has appeared on numerous concert tours and festivals with Heinz Sauer. A few highlights include the 1992 Rites of Passage tour and album, with John Schröder and Steve Argüelles; recordings with Christopher Dell and Sauer, with tours to Turkey, South Africa, and East Africa; and a trio recording and radio production with Bob Degen and Sauer.
In 2007, Stephan Schmolck and Bob Degen released Back and Forth on Germany’s Konnex Records. The album, recorded at Performance Studios the same year, also features saxophonist Hugo Read.
Stephan Schmolck’s “Back & Forth” recorded live at Kultur in Frankfurt in 2014 is online, with Daniel Prandl on piano, Hugo Read on alto saxophone, Schmolck on bass, and Martin Standke on drums:
Bill Elgart
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1942, Bill Elgart received his first drum set at age 13. In the early 1960s, he enrolled at what was then called the Berklee School of Music, studying with master drummer Alan Dawson. After two semesters, Elgart left school to start his career as a professional musician. He first made a name in New York’s New Jazz Scene in the mid-1960s, playing with Carla Bley, Marion Brown, Mike Nock, Sam Rivers, and was a member of the New York Art Quartet, along with Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, Eddie Gomez, and Buell Neidlinger. In 1968, Bill Elgart joined Paul Bley and Gary Peacock on Mr. Joy, Elgart’s recording debut, his first of more than 75 albums as a leader or sideman. A closer look at Bill Elgart’s career in music is found on this site under “bio.”
Among recent recordings, Bill Elgart joined guitarist Christian Hassenstein and bassist Sven Schuster on their just-released Cause & Consequence album on the DJAMtones label. A profile, complete with an exclusive interviews and video, is in the works.
A video for the opening track from Cause & Consequence, Christian Hassenstein’s composition “Strong Room,” featuring Hassenstein on guitar, Sven Schuster on bass, and Bill Elgart on drums, is on YouTube:
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Hans-Peter Salentin
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