Rea

Tracklist

1. Modul 2710:05
2. Modul 2216:38
3. Modul 186:45
4. Modul 2618:14
5. Modul 2312:35

Personnel & credits

• Björn MeyerBass
• Andreas HunzikerComposed By, Arranged By
• Nik BärtschComposed By, Arranged By
• Nik BärtschComposed By, Arranged By
• Sha (5)Composed By, Arranged By
• Thomas TavanoComposed By, Arranged By
• Benjamin PfäffliDesign [Cover-Design]
• Kaspar RastDrums
• Don LiExecutive-Producer
• Peter BürliExecutive-Producer
• Roland AeschbacherExecutive-Producer
• Sha (5)Guest, Bass Clarinet
• Thomas Geiger (2)Guest, Tenor Saxophone
• Michael GassmannGuest, Trumpet
• Andi PupatoMixed By, Mastered By
• Nik BärtschMixed By, Mastered By
• Andi PupatoPercussion
• Martin MöllPhotography By
• Nik BärtschPiano, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes]
• Nik BärtschProducer [Produced By]
• Hanspeter EhrsamRecorded By

About this record

Genre

Jazz

Style

Free Jazz, Space-Age, Contemporary Jazz

Discogs

View on Discogs ↗

Press

“Rea has an overall sound in between that of Ronin's Stoa and Mobile's Aer”All About Jazz ↗

“fairly sparse and minimal, with the tracks evolving at a glacial pace”Bandcamp (Nik Bärtsch / listener notes) ↗

Reception

"Rea" (Tonus-Music TON 015, 2004) is the second studio album by Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, the Swiss pianist's electric "zen-funk" quintet, and is the album on which Michael Gassmann appears as a guest trumpeter (on "Modul 26"). Dedicated critical reception in the international press is sparse, which is typical for a small Swiss-label release that predated Bärtsch's 2006 ECM signing and the wider acclaim that followed. The one substantive English-language review located is by Budd Kopman at All About Jazz, who treated "Rea" within the broader arc of Bärtsch's catalogue and positioned its sound between Ronin's earlier "Stoa" and the related Mobile project's "Aer" — i.e., balancing the band's hypnotic "groove" side with the more ritual, slowly-evolving, minimalist side. The descriptive consensus across listings and Bandcamp text frames the album as minimal/avant-garde jazz built from interlocking "Modul" compositions: sparse, glacially evolving structures with delicately woven, repetitive grooves ("creating maximum effect by minimal means"). No awards or festival/academic recognition tied specifically to this album were found. Note: AllMusic, All About Jazz and RateYourMusic pages exist for the album but returned HTTP 403 (bot-blocked), so their full review/rating text could not be verified directly; secondary search snippets corroborate the Kopman review's framing.

Background

Recorded May 2003 at Radiostudio Zürich; produced by Nik Bärtsch; first released 2004 on Tonus-Music (TON 015), later reissued on Bärtsch's own Ronin Rhythm Records (catalog RON005, "Ritual Groove Music 5"). It is the second studio album by Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, the electric "zen-funk" quintet founded in 2001. Core personnel: Nik Bärtsch (prepared piano, Fender Rhodes), Björn Meyer (bass), Kaspar Rast (drums), Andi Pupato (percussion). Guests: Sha (bass clarinet), Thomy Geiger (tenor saxophone), and Michael Gassmann (trumpet). Sources place Gassmann's trumpet on the 18-minute "Modul 26"; Wikipedia's personnel notes also tie the guest reeds/brass to the longer tracks (e.g., Modul 26). The album is significant as a late pre-ECM document of Bärtsch's "Ritual Groove Music" concept — modular, interlocking compositions ("Modul" pieces) aiming for maximum effect by minimal means — before Ronin moved to ECM with Stoa in 2006. Five tracks, total 64:17: Modul 27, Modul 22, Modul 18, Modul 26, Modul 23.