“Dreams are foams”, the vernacular babbles - and it is wrong.
The proof: Jazz drummer Wolfgang Haffner, born in 1965 in Wunsiedel.
Shortly before the start of the tour with his Dreamband, Haffner takes time to talk about dreams and nightmares.
The artist says of himself that he is living his dreams and has just gathered a top-class Dreamband around him.
"A small miracle" is what he calls the formation, which will probably not be seen too often in this composition.
The group is currently touring Germany.
What are your dreams as a musician?
Wolfgang Haffner:
I started playing drums as a little boy at the age of six and never wanted to do anything else.
With my music I am allowed to travel around the world, make people happy - and am therefore happy myself.
What could I want more?
This is fantastic.
Will another dream come true with the Dreamband?
Wolfgang Haffner:
Yes.
It was always a dream to unite all my heart musicians in one band.
There was now the opportunity to do so.
So I asked Randy Brecker, Nils Landgren, Bill Evans, Simon Oslender, Christopher Dell and Thomas Stieger, with whom I have worked on other occasions - and they all had the time and the desire to participate.
That we got that together borders on a small miracle.
That sounds too easy to be true. Each of the named is a top-class figure with a busy schedule ...
Wolfgang Haffner:
In another time it would be really very, very difficult to get them all under one roof.
But because of Corona, we all sat at home anyway.
It was relatively easy to set the time frame.
For once, the availability of the musicians was not the issue, but the question of how many people are allowed in to our concerts - and under what conditions.
Now I'm very curious to see if people will come.
I have a good feeling - and we're all really up for this tour.
Can the organizational talent in the run-up to a tour be compared with the task of a drummer during a concert? Bringing all musicians together - and keeping them together?
Wolfgang Haffner:
I don't know any other way.
I like to organize and put together a program.
This is how I see the role of the drummer: he is where the threads of a concert come together.
The dynamics of a band are shaped more by the drums than by any other instrument.
It is an art to let your colleagues shine as a soloist - and to pull them together to create something new.
Wolfgang Haffner:
That is especially a challenge when you have such grenades in a band: Everyone should have their solos, at the same time there is a musical framework.
I pretend to do that without pushing anyone into it.
That's why I consciously leave space so that everyone can develop.
That in turn results in great musical tensions that change from performance to performance.
So every evening remains exciting for you and your colleagues.
Wolfgang Haffner:
Exactly.
I want to let our creativity run free.
This is reinforced by the fact that this band will probably not perform too often in this composition after the tour.
This answer inevitably leads to the question: is the Dreamband going to the studio or are you planning to release one of the concerts as a live album?
Wolfgang Haffner:
A studio album is not planned, but we will record one or the other concert.
Anything else would be grossly negligent with this occupation.
But here, too, is the nice thing: nothing has to be done, everything can.
We've talked a lot about dreams now. Are there any nightmares for you as a musician?
Wolfgang Haffner:
I choose exactly who I want to work with.
I am in the fortunate position that I earned it myself and, above all, can do my own things today.
I just want to have a good time, at rehearsals and on stage.
I am not interested in anything else.
That sounds too good to be true. Do the scraps never fly on the rehearsal?
Wolfgang Haffner:
No, never.
I say when I don't like something.
Yes.
But I chose exactly the people who made the musical concept that I came up with sound even better.
Of course, in the end you need a head to make the decision.
Democracy doesn't work in a band.
But I'm not someone who shaves over all the other suggestions.
I always find a way that everyone is happy with.
That wouldn't work if the basics were lacking and I had to play with musicians who are not on my wavelength.
What do you discuss at rehearsals?
Wolfgang Haffner:
Where do we go to eat later.
(Laughs.)
Are there other musical dreams that you would like to fulfill?
Wolfgang Haffner:
No.
I live my dream.
Every day anew.
I am not missing anything.
I'm just grateful and at peace with myself and the world.
Munich concert:
Wolfgang Haffner's Dreamband will be a guest on Wednesday, November 10th, 9 pm, in the Munich Prinzregententheater;
Tickets under 040/413 22 60.
Read our interview with EAV founder Thomas Spitzer about the Christmas album "Ihr Sünderlein kommet" here.
