Manu Delago & Max ZT (AT/US)

Over the years, Tampere Jazz Happening has seen a variety of strange instruments, most recently an authentic four-metre-long Alpine horn and a daxophone, whose wooden tongue is stroked with a double bass bow. The sound produced by a daxophone is said to resemble that made by a badger. And, once again, we have another rarity with a unique sound. Or rather two, which have probably never been played in Finland in the same concert at the same time. Or does the meeting of the handpan and hammered dulcimer ring a bell?

The former is a steel drum that resembles a small kettle grill without legs and is played with bare hands. It is also called a hand drum, and in Finnish, it is aptly named kupola, or ‘dome’. The latter is a trapezoidal-shaped percussion-string instrument played with hammers and is from the same family of instruments as the Hungarian cimbalom and the much older Iranian santur.

This exceptional combination of handpan and hammered dulcimer is also quite new to the musicians, Austrian Manu Delago (b. 1984) and American Max Zbiral-Teller (b. 1983). Their first recording together, Deuce, which was produced in the echoey hall of an Austrian alpine monastery, was only released last February.

The choice of venue already hints at the duo’s tranquil, perhaps even soothing instrumental music. Even the title of the album, Deuce, is a hint, in this case referring to a tennis term. The tracks Love All, 40/40, Break, Sweetspot and Rally, which are credited to both of the artists, also refer to tennis, even though their world music strains might not necessarily conjure up images of a tennis rally.

Still, there is the occasional improvisational back and forth, which both artists have experience with playing in other contexts.

Max Zbiral-Teller’s primary work is with fusion trio House of Waters, which has released six albums and was nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” two years ago.

Manu Delago has already recorded 18 albums of his own with different ensembles and played on several albums by Björk and Anoushka Shankar, among others. As someone who draws inspiration from the natural environment, he is naturally also concerned about it and has already done two tours by bicycle. On the first trip, Delago and his crew rode 1,500 kilometres through the Alps, and on the second trip, they rode the same distance from his home city of Innsbruck to Amsterdam.