It’s All in Your Head is the debut album of young German tenor sax player-clarinetist-composer Julius Gawlik (b. 1997), who is known as the youngest-ever member of the renowned NDR Bigband, as a bandleader. The album features Berlin-based Greek vibraphone player-percussionist Evi Filippou (who hosted Gawlick on her inEvitable album, Boomslang, 2022), British double bass player Phil Donkin, and American drummer Jim Black (who plays with Gawlick in his Jim & His Schrimps quartet). The album was recorded at Hansa Studios in Berlin in March 2024.
Gawlick is already a mature composer, a commanding and powerful soloist rich with ideas, and a confident bandleader, always searching and pushing forward. He acknowledges the seminal influence of jazz heroes Andrew Hill and Joe Henderson, as well as singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. His familiarity with his band members, especially Black, allows him to push the music into unpredictable, urgent, and intense territories. As fellow German sax player Uli Kempendorff observed in his liner notes, «there seems to be a lot in Gawlik’s head and a lot on his mind». Gawlick’s quartet sounds like a working band. Its layered rhythmic work and the contrast between Black’s muscular drumming and Filippou’s more spacious vibe cement its unique identity.
The six compositions were conceived as sketches – short, pointed fragments of melody and rhythm that offer plenty of space for individual and collective improvisation. Much of the music plays with contrast and layering: quiet clusters against high-energy improvisation, free-floating melodies over structured bass lines, and abstract textures evolving into clarity. «Glow» is the most intriguing piece here, introduced by a dialogue of Gawlick’s using extended breathing techniques on the clarinet and Black’s Pauline Oliveros-like exploration of the bowed cymbals. The last piece, «Tsch», revolves around a tight dialogue between Gawlik and Filippou, which propels its driving rhythmic power.
A most promising debut album.
Eyal Hareuveni
Julius Gawlik (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Evi Filippou (vibes, percussion), Phil Donkin (double bass), Jim Black (drums)
