Bernd Schoch

For 40 years now, The Schlippenbach Trio (Alexander von Schlippenbach, Evan Parker, Paul Lovens) has been part of the European free jazz scene. Each year in december they go on the “Winterreise” to play their sound of divergence, catharsis and explosion.

Tells the story of mushroom pickers who, in the summer and autumn months head, to the southern Carpathians of Romania to begin their search. Far from being a leisure activity, for many of the pickers this is a main source of income which they and their families rely on to get by. In makeshift campsites, they spend months between dense coniferous forests and the Transalpina road, where they sell the gathered mushrooms to passing tourists or people on weekend breaks. The majority of their harvest is taken by intermediaries, who sell the mushrooms abroad for many times the price.