A Jürg Jecklin’s appreciation 💫

Sometimes… often, I regret I didn’t study German 😏

Finally, just over 21 and a half years after the death of Maestro Jürg Jecklin, our book «Augenblicke für di Oren – from the life of Maestro Jürrg Jecklin» has been published.

I had conversations with Jürg in 2020 and 2021. You are the basis of this autobiography in conversation form. An entertaining mix of anecdotes and manual has been created. Jürg was not only an inventive master of sound, but was also the creator of the famous Jecklin disc or the electrostatic FLOAT headphones. After 30 eventful years as a master of sound at the Schweizer Radio, he worked as a university teacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Jürg had an unconventional way of approaching problems and maintained an empathetic treatment of students, musicians and musicians.

All participants contributed free of charge to this appreciation of Jürgs Schaffen.

The publication in Switzerland can be ordered, for example, here:

https://www.orellfuessli.ch/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1072249660

or here:

https://buchshop.bod.ch/augenblicke-fuer-die-ohren-juerg-jecklin-9783759751577

White 💫

 

Ampex ATR-102

 

One of the very best 💫

Jazz

 

Reversed E-strings 💫

 

A noble heritage, as seen in flamenco guitars ✅

… aehm: sometimes it’s not the case 😉

Grundig Audiorama 7000 💫

 

My amazing Grundig Audiorama 7000 without whom I’d be painfully music-less 😵‍💫

BTW - CD isn’t dead 😏

Tools of the trade - Steve Tibbets and his Martin D12-20 💫

A nice video here 

Steve Tibbets and his beloved Martin D12-20… a gift of his father when he was in his teens; Steve used in most of his amazing albums and this guitar adapted to his style. One of the last mods was using all unison strings E to e (no octave high strings)💫 💫💎💫🥇

Tools of the trade - Cat Stevens’ ‘68 Gibson J-200 💫

 

Muddi Uoters in Torino 💫😏💫

 

Fantastic tape 💫🥇💫

Ex-RAI 🥇with typical Italian-style typos on Muddy’s name (see reel label) 😉😳😏😉

I’m soooo fussy 😂

Happy birthday to George Gruhn 💫🥂💫🍀🥂💫

 

Miles’ box-sets 💫🥇💫

 

FZ

 

llustration by Boris Pleša, 2019

 

 

The Köln or Coimbra Concert?

 

Spot the differences 😏😉😏

No comparisons … but it seems more a tribute than plain copy-catting…

Herbie Hancock’s insight 💫

 

Why is jazz no longer a part of the pop scene? "Because music doesn't matter anymore. People don’t care anymore about the music itself, they care about who makes the music. The public is more interested in celebrities and how a certain artist is more famous than music. 

The way audiences relate to music has changed. She no longer has a transcendental connection with music and its quality. she just wants the charm. Jazz doesn't want to be a part of it. Do you know why? It's not about humility or arrogance, a position "we don't want to be famous, we are 'underground'", none of that. Jazz is about the human soul, not the appearance. Jazz has values, it teaches us to live in the moment, to work together and above all to respect the neighbor. When musicians get together to play together, you need to respect and understand what the other person is doing. Jazz in particular is an international language that represents freedom, thanks to its roots in slavery. Jazz makes people feel good about themselves. ” - Herbie Hancock

Tuck Andress’ 1953 Gibson L5 at Gryphon in Palo Alto, CA

 

From Gryphon workshop:

FIX IT FRIDAY: repairing Tuck Andress' 1953 Gibson L-5!

We first met Tuck Andress and his 1953 Gibson L-5 in the mid-1980s, back when he and his wife Patti Cathcart were still performing in the courtyard of the New Varsity Theater in downtown Palo Alto. Over the decades Tuck has toured and recorded extensively with this guitar and it has had more than its fair share of hard knocks. During its last check-up, it didn’t need any major work, but we did grab a few photos of the kinds of things that can happen to a guitar that has lived most of its life on the road. 

In the first photo, when Tuck needed to raise the action at the nut before a concert, and he didn’t have time to find a luthier, he shimmed the nut using the cardboard from a string package. In the second photo, you can see the L-5 has been refretted so many times the inlay at the third fret has been sanded down to about two thirds of its original size. The third photo shows two cracks in the top caused by a falling microphone stand. We made a new nut and repaired the cracks. We also refretted the guitar but Tuck is used to the way the worn inlay looks and feels, so we leveled the fretboard but left the inlay as is.

Keef

 

An anagram or a wise suggestion?

 

Phallus Dei

 

From today date, Phallus Dei won’t be only beloved Amon Düül II disc, but also Giordano Tedoldi’s book, titled this way both because of topic - i.e. - sex and power - and because author was listening to some krautrock classics when writing/editing his book.

… and: yes! I own all three the editions of the disc 💫

P.S. - listening to this music while reading the book enhances the “experience”…

Music in a picture?

 

A vintage Martin D-28, what else?!?

Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde 💫

 

The most sought after, as rare as rare can be 🍀

Melancholia ❤️‍🩹

 

Phytahoras was right 💫

 

They say that music is a science, yes! Pythagoras is considered the originator of music theory, combining intervals and mathematical calculations to create the notes of the major scale. However, perhaps only Leonard Bernstein, in his famous Harvard speech, [The Unanswered Question 1973], truly explained the why and how. Through his explanation of the harmonic series, he demonstrated the scientific basis of music theory.

The top image is a graph of the first nine harmonics of a harmonic series. The bottom image is an x-ray of the internal structure of a shell.

However, he also observed something profound:

"What we calculate and explain, or try to explain, through the musical theory of Pythagoras, only Indian music lovers can hear; they can demonstrate any mood through their scales, which they call Raaga. And a Raaga is not just a scale; it's something more. If you can't appreciate it or feel it, it will put you to sleep in minutes."

After observing how a harmonic series and a conch shell are similar, I feel that this connection and our ancient understanding of music could lead to a deeper understanding. Our ancestors understood everything before the father of music theory, Pythagoras.

The only word that comes to mind after seeing this image is PANCHAJANYA.

"The highest goal of music is to connect the soul to its Divine Nature, not entertainment." — Pythagoras