The Vienna plus Berlin-based trio Edi Nulz was founded in 2011 as a one-off gig for drummer Valentin Schuster’s graduation concert at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. The success of this performance encouraged Schuster and his comrades – reeds player Siegmar Brecher and guitarist Julian Adam Pajzs to record immediately thereafter their first album, «Jetzt» (Sessionwork Records, 2012).

«El Perro Grande» (The Big Dog) is already the fourth album of this hard-working trio and captures best its anarcho-manic, punk-free jazz, sarcastic-ironic spirit. Imagine sparks of Frank Zappa, eccentric-absurdist humor, wrapped in the funky grind of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, charged with the sheer brutalism of John Zorn’s Naked City, but with a soft spot for lustful klezmer and Balkan dances and you begin to understand a thing or two about the irreverent nature of this big dog.

Edi Volz plays as a three-headed monster on steroids. Or if you like, Edi Nulz enjoys surfing on a steep roller-coaster and still insisting on zig-zagging left and right constantly just to feel where it would be better to crash. The bass clarinet of Brecher is often acts as a kind of lead vocalist that articulate the brief themes, Pajaz indulges in fat bluesy lines and low-frequencies, rhythmic patterns and Schuster dictates an uncompromising, driving pulse.

This constant play with the grandiose, grotesque and the nonsense, with the devil-may-care throwing of quotes and references to any genre or style, may be the first impression that Edi Nulz radiates. But on repeated listening you begin to appreciate the telepathic, tight unity, the multi-layered, rhythmic work, the intelligent tension building and the reckless joy of playing. No doubt, this big dog is going to kick your ass.

Eyal Hareuveni

Siegmar Brecher (bcl), Julian Adam Pajzs (tenor-, bassg), Valentin Schuster (dr,pocket p)