DACH'Athon of a jazz kind

They’re half-Austrian and half-Ukrainian, and have been hitting the stage together since 2012. They have a distinctive sound, which is a manifestation of jazz, hugely influenced by Western classical, folk and rock music.

Meet DACH, a contemporary jazz quartet comprising Andrej Prozorov on saxophone, David Six on piano, Ilya Alabuzhev on double and electric bass and Mathias Ruppnig on drums.

“We formed our band on the occasion of a Jazz Fest in the Ukraine. That’s how our journey actually began,” says pianist David Six.  

The ensemble is  here to enthrall music buffs in India.  While David has visited our country before, this is a first for the rest of the band members.

“I had been to India when I was teaching at the Global Music Institute in New Delhi last year. We are all enjoying the vibes here. We’re looking forward to seeing how our music will develop in adventurous directions since we are performing in front of a different audience compared to Europe. Apart from that, there is so much to discover in India: There are people coming from unknown places, there’s beautiful nature, insane traffic jams, incredible food, inspiring languages and many happy faces to look at. What more could one desire?” says David.

DACH’s latest album Radio Liberty is an artistic response to the Ukrainian revolution of 2014.

Ask David to describe their group’s music and he replies, “We all contribute compositions to our ensemble. We come from different places and have varied musical backgrounds (Western Classical, Blues, Free Improvisation, Folk, Punk, Jazz and Electronic). The pieces that we bring to the band sound very different, depending on who is composing it. Only later, when we rehearse together, do we start influencing each other in a constructive manner  That is how we work.”

The talented foursome is largely influenced by musicians like Johann Sebastian, BACH, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and also jazz musicians like Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden. They’re also inspired by artistes like Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa.

With an eclectic mix of music to offer, David promises that audiences in Bengaluru will be thoroughly entertained.

“We always aim for something like a dramaturgical arc in our music from the beginning of our show until the end. We do perform written compositions but leave a lot of room for improvisation too. Therefore, it is like cause and effect — if our audience is also really focused on what we are doing, we perform about a hundred times better than if they are not. We often enjoy the stories that listeners tell us after a gig about what they felt and saw while listening to our music.”

To catch DACH in action, head to BFlat on August 19 at 9 pm.