Majestic Flares: Hermann Szobel

The incredible story of Hermann Szobel has been a hot topic in the music and Internet world over the past year or so. I have nothing new to add but I think it is one that should be recapped. Hermann was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1958, the son of the sister of legendary music promoter Bill Graham (who was born in Berlin as Wulf Wolodi Grajonca), Sonja Szobel (née Grajonca). Sonja and "Wulf" were members of a Jewish family that was torn apart by Nazi Germany's persecution of the Jews. Four of "Wulf"'s siblings somehow survived the Nazi Holocaust. Their parents and (at least) one sister did not.

     Graham was born in 1931--in Berlin--so, he was only a child during the rise of Nazi Fascism. His sister, Rita, was born in 1910 (probably in a country to the East: it is not far-fetched to think that the Grajonca family came through Poland via the Soviet Union or as a result of Russian, Soviet, or even Ukrainian pogroms). It is, therefore, likely that Rita (and, assumedly, her husband, Eric Rosen) took charge of the protection and raising of her little brother after their parents had been arrested and/or killed. She is probably the person responsible for overseeing Wulf's emigration to the United States. She is the reason why the grown "Bill Graham" joined (or accompanied or followed) Rita to San Francisco in the 1950s--a move that brought him from New York City to San Francisco. It would, therefore, make sense that Bill (probably through Rita) would have stayed in contact with their Vienna-bound sister, Sonja, Hermann's mother.

     I ponder all of this because it is not clear to me who financed Hermann's visit to the US--as well as his ensuing residency (a loft apartment on or near Penn Station--which I'm sure was not cheap)--whether Hermann's uncle played a role in supporting this venture, either financially or by pulling some strings with his connections within the music industry. Or perhaps Hermann's birth family was well-to-do in Vienna.

 

HERMANN SZOBEL Szobel (1976)

After reading Nick Mannion's intriguing review of this album (and phenomenon), my curiosity was so piqued that I listened to the album on YouTube. Like everybody else, I was utterly blown away. This prompted me to go on a search for more on the story of this artist, the making of this album, and, of course, the story of what happened to Hermann after he disappeared. When I stumbled upon the very recent YouTube interview of bassist Mike Visceglia (the last surviving member of the band that made this album with Hermann) as conducted by insightful (and passionate) YouTube reviewer (and drummer), Andy Edwards (ROBERT PLANT, IQ, MAGENTA, FROST*, RAIN, LEY LINES), I was, again, blown away. What an amazing story!

17-year old Austrian piano prodigy Hermann Szobel came to the United States early in 1975. Perhaps he came at the behest of his mother's brother, a shaker and mover in the music industry who was going by the name of Bill Graham. (Yes, that Bill Graham.) Or, perhaps Hermann's supreme confidence led him there, knowing that his name-dropping of his famous uncle might open some doors.

     Legend has it that Hermann walked into the first studio he could find in New York City, which happened to be one in the middle of recording an album for and with Roberta Flack. Somewhere along the line the brash teenager disrupted everything while proclaiming, "I am the greatest pianist in the world!" or something to that effect. Intrigued, the session musicians in attendance--which included bassist Anthony Jackson--urged the young man to demonstrate his skills. Apparently, he blew everyone away, prompting several of the musicians to recommend him to Arista's top brass. Anthony Jackson, himself, referred Hermann to his friend, 21-year old East Manhattan-born bass player Michael Visceglia. The two hit it off immediately--especially musically--beginning a long process of working out jazz-rock fusion arrangements of the many incredibly complex songs Hermann had brought with him from Austria. Renting a loft apartment near Penn Station, Hermann proceeded to fill it with music equipment. This is where he would spend the next months--Spring through Fall--auditioning a long list of musicians to find the ones who best fit, resonated with, both Hermann (and his brash, demanding personality) and the complex music Hermann wanted to prepare for recording. According to Mike Visceglia, the rehearsing was virtually endless: night and day, seven days a week. Visceglia reports that there were stretches where he slept in Hermann's apartment for days at a time, working always on the music.

     Eventually, Hermann earned a contract--with Arista--even getting beneath the prestigious umbrella of the big label, not just the small jazz-only Novus subsidiary. Whittled down to a quintet, the band rehearsed all Winter, Spring, and Summer of 1975, the band members practically (and, at times, actually) living with Hermann until the album was finally recorded in October and November of '75 at The Record Plant. It was then released by Arista in January of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Hermann Szobel / piano

- Michael Visceglia / bass

- Bob Goldman / drums

- Dave Samuels / percussion, marimba, vibraphone

- Vadim Vyadro / tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute

1. "Mr. Softee" (6:45) so much bombastic power in Hermann's piano play, but then you get these amazingly-inspired collaborators to join in--young artists who totally shared and committed to Hermann's vision--and who had worked together for months pounding away at these songs in order to perfect them to Hermann's liking--and you can't help but be impressed. There is some very strong jazz funk in the bones of this song but the influence of Frank Zappa is also definitely obvious as well as modern classical composers like John Cale (with whom bassist Mike Visceglia had already been working). Other free jazz and European jazz trends can also be heard.

      Too bad about the sudden fade out at the end; the song/jam obviously went on longer (and I for one would love to hear it) but I get it: you only have two 19-minute sides to work with. Excellent song and music: commanding the listener's attention in very much the same way Norwegian band SEVEN IMPALE did with their debut album, 2014's City of the Sun. (14.75/15)

2. "The Szuite" (12:30) a classically-styled and -constructed suite that definitely qualifies more for the neo-and pseudo-classical chamber type of music that Belgian/French bands Univers Zéro and, a little later, Présent would soon be doing. So many times as I listen to Hermann's piano play I feel as if I'm listening to the piano music or stylings of Franz Liszt or Sergei Rachmaninoff! After 90 seconds of brewing and bubbling the music bursts forth in a fullness with a very somber and serious yet melodic SEVEN IMPALE motif. (Of course I realize that my reference points are totally reversed since the band members of Seven Impale wouldn't even be born for another ten years or more. It's just what I know, here, now, in 2024, to compare this music to.) Lots of repetition of riffs for Dave Samuels to show off his prodigious talents on the tuned percussives, and then there is a rest period for the rest of the band while Hermann solos on his piano for about 11:24, very much carrying forward the ideas and melodies expressed by Dave's work during the previous minute or two. Here I am rather reminded of Keith Jarrett's sound and work from his massively popular worldwide hit, The Köln Concert (an album that was released in January of this same year that Hermann and band were creating, perfecting, and, eventually, recording this album). When the other musicians rejoin I am more reminded of UZED again in some very complex, classically-oriented avant-garde music (which is masterfully composed and performed). These performances are just so tight, the composition so mature and perfect, it's really hard to find fault or flaw. Even if I don't always like the styles represented, here they're so good, so sensible and flowing (and, often, melodic--which is, unfortunately, important to me) that I do. I love this! (24.5/25)

3. "Between 7 & 11" (5:08) a song with big, funky, heavily-treated jazz bass that transpires with lots of syncopated, stop-and-go rhythmic elements coming from the careful, deliberate drums and percussion instruments, as well as that of Hermann's percussive piano. There is some kind of presence of an electric synth or treated percussive instrument flitting and floating around in the background of the opening couple of minutes. Then the song kind of restarts, with lots of staccato bursts and note play from the whole band as well as from Vadim Vyadro's tenor saxophone while Hermann fills the spaces between whole-band forays with impressively fluid piano runs and Rachmaninoff-like chord progressions. As the song develops both the speed and seem to compact and compress, culminating in more jazz-like soloing from Vlad's sax. Impressive if more mathematical song. (9.333333/10)

4. "Transcendental Floss" (6:08) This song is much more in line with some of the more rhythmically expressive jazz and jazz-rock artists of the time like McCoy Tyner and Tony Williams and Billy Cobham. Thank goodness for the presence (and talents) of such incredibly adaptive Jazz-Fusion artists like drummer Bob Goldman, funk bass player Mike Visceglia, and virtuosic vibraphone, marimba, and percussion player Dave Samuels (who had a long career as a vibraphonist/marimba player in the jazz/Latin music world) cuz there is some awesome funk going on here! as well as a very familiar SEVEN IMPALE vibe. Interesting final coda before the song finally cuts out. (Also SEVEN IMPALE-like)  (9.5/10)

5. "New York City, 6 AM" (6:45) opens with some interestingly processed/treated/engineered percussion play--which cuts out after about 90 seconds whereupon Mike's deep, chunky "underwater" bass enters and leads the band into its slow, pensive, almost minimalistic weave. This is so rich! I love how all of the layers and instruments (and engineering effects) play with one another. The music may not be as sophisticated as the previous songs, but the construction and engineering are absolutely masterful! Definitely capturing an early morning big city vibe. The biggest problem with the ending of this song (and album) is that it leaves me starving for more! (14.5/15)

Total Time 37:16

I understand why so many people have trouble categorizing this music. I personally feel the music of this album is more Jazz-Rock Fusion (as Mike Visceglia and Andy Edwards elucidated: 1975 was the absolute peak for all possible combinations of existing musical traditions), but the piano play is definitely Avant Garde/RIO--the kind that bands like Univers Zero and Present would soon be exploring. The contrast in styles between Hermann's piano play and the lively and virtuosic jazz-rock play of the rest of the band is one of the things that makes the music so intriguing. After hearing the story about the headstrong personality of Mr. Szobel, I kept wondering how Hermann even allowed, much less was open to, this "jazz-rock dilution" of his music--if it had anything to do with the demands of Arista (his record company). But the more I heard about Hermann's demanding, controlling personality, I couldn't help but conclude that the eclectic cross-pollination represented in the album's music must have been fully idealized by its leader and composer. The fact that Mr. Visceglia so clearly claims to having spent "months" living in Hermann's Manhattan loft practicing these pieces attests to Hermann's shared passion for the product that resulted in Arista's 1976 release. 

This music is so well performed (and recorded in single takes--with everyone playing live, together, in the recording studio, all at the same time!) that the listener can really tell how hard the musicians had worked to render it as perfectly as Hermann wished. Truly an incredible achievement of musical documentation! 

96.7778 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an unquestionable masterpiece of progressive rock fusion music. This is definitely one of finest studio albums I've ever heard (as well as one of the highest rated albums I've ever reviewed).  

As viewers of the few videos focusing on the intriguing oddities and mysteries of the life and phenomenon of Hermann Szobel know, Hermann quit the music industry after the disappointment of his album not being regaled as the greatest ever achievement of human art. He quit mainstream life, quit the United States, and was last seen (still alive) in 2016, living in a cave in Israel, eschewing all modern luxuries including electricity and running water. This blindingly bright light of musical genius has surely been blessed with an incredible mind, one that obviously thinks beyond the typical boundaries and unwritten limits of thought and imagination. We must count ourselves fortunate to have the remnant of this genius in the form of the Arista album, Szobel. I know I do.