Press quotes

„Kneer’s fingers and bow traverse uncharted territories, pushing the boundaries of conventional jazz.“
Mark Daelmans-Sikkel, March 2024, Vital Weekly Number 1430 Week 13

„…who seems to be both a free jazz beast of the purest breed and an intimate string virtuoso and colourist.“
Andrzej Nowak, 8 december 2023, Trybuna Muzyki Spontanicznej

„Without being programmatic, Kneer gives a wonderful overview of the possibilities of the language(s) of his instrument, telling short stories with their own development, different moods and resolutions.“
Stef Gijssels, 10 january 2021, freejazzblog.org

„Despite all the diversity within Kneer’s playing, it’s the focus, the freshness and the expressiveness, which are so impressive. The pieces on the record become therefore (…) always exciting, multi-layered narratives that are capable of captivating the listener from beginning to end. Vocabularies is a very impressive ‚tour de bass‘ that can only be highly recommended.“
Bertl, October 2020, Freistil # 92

„Fair, pure craftsmanship. (…) Vocabularies is Kneer’s first solo album. A second does not have to be made, for the simple reason that the improvisations are so elaborate that you can’t imagine extending them. (…) he not only delivers a high standard of craftsmanship, but also a comprehensive sample of the possibilities and impossibilities of the double bass.“
Rinus van der Heijden, 1 july 2020, jazznu.com

„(…) proves to be a master of improvisation and creator of intriguing sounds. (…) Meinrad Kneer is not just a technical master of his instrument, but also a great musician who creates real content throughout the eleven pieces of ‘Vocabularies’ with final piece ‚Music For Bumble Bees‘ being the ultimate ‚wow‘!“
Geert Ryssen, 25 june 2020, fullcirclemisicblog.be

„Vocabularies“ has become a record that the bass nerds will love. In addition, anyone studying the pool’s capabilities should spend time listening to Kneer. For he is an exciting bass player, giving the listener a new experience of the possibilities of the bass.“
Jan Granlie, June 21, 2020, saltpeanuts.eu

„(…) he shows an excellent variety in approaches on this instrument.“
Frans de Waard, june 2020, vital weekly number 1237 week 24

„(…) he reveals who he really is with Vocabularies (ERR 30), his first solo recording. (…) (he) conjures everything out of his magic hat, except for rabbits and bass player jokes.“
Rigobert Dittmann, june 2020, Bad Alchemy

„Meinrad Kneer is one of the most sought-after and versatile musicians, whose different musical projects are characterized by high quality and conceptual clarity.“
(Emmerich Hörmann, december 2018, Zoglau3)

„This trio has articulated a sophisticated new iteration of the impulses that birthed free jazz, one that can be likened to the controlled explosions used to level abandoned buildings. (…) it is safe to assume that Baars, Kneer and Elgart brought down the house.“
(Bill Shoemaker, june 2018, Moments Notice/ pointofdeparture.org)

„Kneer follows him all the way to the finish line, both with and without bow, with great and intense energy and he delivers some great solos on the way to goal.“
(Jan Granlie, 21 april 2018, salt-peanuts.eu)

„(…) Kneer’s nocturnal musical imagination is at the same high level as his sentient playing.“
(Ken Waxman, 16 june 2016, jazzword.com)

„Kneer sometimes writes complex themes, which are nonetheless immediately recognizable and etched on your inner ear, just as known from pianist Andrew Hill.“
(Herman te Loo, january 2016, jazzflits.nl)

„As with most piano-less or chord-less trios, there is a high expectation of the bassist. Kneer rises to the occasion with a combination of rhythmic precision and soaring countermelodies (…). He is just as apt with the bow as he is without and can often mix chords with wild effects.“
(Dustin Mallory, october 2014, Cadence Magazine)

„Kneer finds his way in any register and any dynamics: spindly bouncing, singing, with hovering double stops or percussive sounds.“
(Koen van Meel, 19 september 2014, kwadratuur.be)

„Kneer is a very gifted bass player, both with and without the bow, and both within the jazz-oriented as the more abstract tinted European free improvisation.“
(Guy Peters, January 2014, enola.be)

„Baars, Kneer and Elgart won over the entirely filled church with perhaps the most intensely concentrated concert of these four days. Mightily beautiful. So beautiful even, that we didn’t want to interrupt its reverberating beauty with the performance of the next band, later in that same church.“
(Guy Peters, july 2012, www.enola.be)

„(…) a fierceful improviser (…) i’m very impressed by his thunderous glissandi.“
(François Couture, 27 september 2011, Monsieur Delire)

„I am becoming a big fan of his. he provides rock bottom support and great solo work, both arco and pizzicato. he is definitely an original player but every once in a while i think i hear a Mingus influence.“
(Bernie Koenig, july-september 2012, Cadence Magazine vol. 38, no 3)

„The double bass player proves to be an attentive and congenial partner of the famous saxophonist (Ab Baars): his playing is dynamically varied, dark and temperamental either in bowing or in pizzicato.“
(Libero Farné, 14 may 2010, Allabout Jazz Italy)

„He proves to be as sonically adaptable as (Bertram) Turetzky.“
(Ken Waxman, 8 september 2010, jazzword.com)

„His playing is indebted to greats such as Peter Kowald (the physicality) and Barry Guy (the creative irreverence).“
(Stef, 16 august 2010, Free Jazz)

„(…) who’s manoevrable bass playing at the end, with all his empathic reactions towards the partner, makes the cd ‚windfall‘ so extraordinary.“
(Mitterer, Freistil – Magazin für Musik und Umgebung #30, april/ may 2010)

„(…) his sublime arco work combines perfectly with the legato-lines, played by baars on his tenor saxophone.“
(Herman te Loo, 22 februar 2010, jazzflits.nl)

„(…) (Kneer) offers a stravinsky-like counterpoint to the always melodious music of baars, a sonorous rug of a big accuracy. He finds vibrations of the exact volume, depth and timing and relaunches by there even the melodious process of ab Baars.“
(Noèl Tachet, 20 february 2010, improjazz no. 162)

„He’s a real storyteller on the bass. He has a warm „voice“, conviction and easily enchants you with his stories.“
(Cees van de Ven, 14.11.2007, draaiomjeoren.nl)

„(…) van Veenendaal and Kneer write gripping compositions that take a whimsical course and reach a lot further than the typical theme-solo-theme setup found in most jazz music.“
(Jazzflits, Herman te Loo, 11th February 2007)

„Chlebnikov wove a variation of bird sounds into his poetry and Kneer’s „Birds“, composed from a transcription, is a musical translation based on delicately sampled bird sounds that hits the nail on the head.“
Cees van de Ven, www.draaiomjeoren.nl, 4th October 2005)

„(…) The compositions written by reed player Tobias Klein and double bass player Meinrad Kneer exceed every level of sophisticated story-telling.“
(Edo Dijksterhuis, Jazz Nu, 27#1, 2004)

„(…) a bass player, alternating between picking and bowing, showing himshelf as a virtuoso in ornamentation (…).“
(Armand Serpenti, Trouw, 14th may 2002

„(…) Tobias Klein along with bassist Kneer is responsible for all the compositions, and their writing is superb.“
(Phillip McNally in Cadence, August 2001

„(…) Kneer has a balanced and bright sound resembling the quality of a cello. His intonation is accurate and his timing carries the band.“
(Kees Stevens, Eindhovens Dagblad, 7th March 2001)