Florian Weber / Ralph Alessi / Linda May Han Oh / Nasheet Waits - Lucent Waters (ECM November 2018)

In his second ECM appearance (following a critically-acclaimed duo recording with Markus Stockhausen) pianist Florian Weber leads a strong cast through a programme of his compositions and sketches.  Whether paying tribute to mentor Lee Konitz on “Honestlee”, impressionistically conveying the glittering “Melody of a Waterfall” or generating impactful drama out of fragments of sound on “Butterfly Effect”, Weber continually draws fresh responses from his players.  “I wanted this project to be as open as possible”, he says. “It’s the idea of exploration that is important here, and the differences between the players.” The strong, grounded bass of Linda May Han Oh contrasts strikingly with Nasheet Waits’s fleet, fluid drumming, setting up new contexts for Ralph Alessi’s elegantly inventive trumpet and the leader’s highly creative piano playing.  Lucent Waters was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the South of France in September 2017, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Florian Weber   Piano

Ralph Alessi   Trumpet

Linda May Han Oh   Double Bass

Nasheet Waits   Drums

1 BRILLIANT WATERS (Florian Weber) 02:07

2 MELODY OF A WATERFALL (Florian Weber) 03:02

3 FROM COUSTEAU'S POINT OF VIEW (Florian Weber) 05:37

4 HONESTLEE (Florian Weber) 07:30

5 BUTTERFLY EFFECT (Florian Weber) 07:49

6 TIME HORIZON (Florian Weber) 04:01

7 FRAGILE COCOON (Florian Weber) 06:11

8 SCHIMMELREITER (Florian Weber) 06:01

Anna-Lena Schnabel Quartet - Books, Bottles & Bamboo (with Florian Weber, Thomas Morgan & Dan Weiss) 2016

Anna-Lena Schnabel ist mit 24 Jahren schon eine der beeindruckendsten Saxofonistinnen, von vielen bereits als Ornette-Coleman-Nachfolge gefeiert. 

Anna-Lena Schnabel, junges Jazz-Talent aus Hamburg, von der Presse schon als Ornette-Coleman-Nachfolge gefeiert, ist nach Produktion im SYSTEMS TWO-Studio in Brooklyn, N. Y. mit ihrem Debüt bei ENJA RECORDS untergekommen. 

Es bedeutet schon etwas wenn sie auf ihrem Debütalbum so viel mehr erreicht als nur mit ihren Kollegen auf Augenhöhe zu sein und mitzuhalten. Sie führt diese Welt mit erfahrenen, erfolgreichen Musiker in frisches, nicht vorhersehbares musikalisches Terrain mit ihren kühnen Kompositionen, einer Ballade und einer freien Gruppen Improvisation. 

Die junge Musikerin (geb. 1989) schrieb ihre Masterarbeit an der Hamburger Musikhochschule über die Improvisationstechnik Charlie Parkers auf seiner Aufnahme von »My Old Flame«. 

Sehr verschiedene Musiker wie Parker und Harry Partch haben sie geprägt, durch deren Musik sie doch immer einen stimmigen Weg findet. »Für mich geht es im Jazz vor allem um Emotion, alles andere kommt danach.« 

Ihr rauher Alto-Sound erinnert an Ornette Coleman und Eric Dolphy, aber auch John Coltrane und Mike Brecker sind ihr wichtig. Anna-Lena traf Florian Weber im Deutschen Jugend Jazz Orchester, später erste Aufnahmen mit Dominic Miller und Lars Danielsson, Konzerte mit den Legenden Kenny Wheeler und John Taylor folgten. Webers CD »Biosphere« mit Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss und Lionel Loueke inspirierte sie und ist wohl ein Schlüssel zum Erfolg ihrer ersten eigenen Session. Die Dichte und ihre kantigen Linien erinnern auch an den George Russel der 60er-Jahre. Im Gegensatz dazu steht die wunderschöne Horace-Silver-Ballade »Peace«, die Anna-Lena immer Frieden gibt, wenn es ihr nicht so recht gut geht, wie sie sagt. 

1. Burnout 5:57

2. Toy 4:41

3. Drunken Books 7:48

4. Dying Swan Under The Bamboo Moon 7:48

5. Luggage 5:14

6. Loss Laments 7:14

7. Reef 4:39

8. Plop 6:06

9. Peace 4:16

Alto Saxophone – Anna-Lena Schnabel

Artwork – David Winckelmann, Susanne Scherff

Bass – Thomas Morgan (4)

Composed By – Anna-Lena Schnabel (tracks: 1 to 8), Horace Silver (tracks: 9)

Drums – Dan Weiss (3)

Liner Notes – David R. Adler

Melodica – Florian Weber (2) (tracks: 1)

Mixed By – Martin Ruch

Mixed By, Edited By – Uwe Schwidewski

Photography By [Booklet] – Scott Friedlander

Photography By [Front] – Steven Haberland

Piano – Florian Weber (2)

Producer – Anna-Lena Schnabel, Matthias Winckelmann

Recorded By – Joe Marciano, Mike Marciano*

Recorded at Systems Two Studios, 

Brooklyn, NY, March 10, 2015 by Mike and Joe Marciano

Mixed by Martin Ruch, 

additional mix and editing by Uwe Schwidewski at the ENJA Studio July 2015

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Markus Stockhausen & Florian Weber - Alba (2016) ECM RECORDS

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Markus Stockhausen & Florian Weber - Alba (2016)

Alba — the first Markus Stockhausen recording for ECM since Karta (2000) — is the premiere recording of trumpeter Stockhausen’s duo with pianist Florian Weber, a relationship that spun off from Markus’ 6- piece world music ensemble Eternal Voyage. Initially Stockhausen wrote all of the material, but as the relationship grew Weber contributed tunes: there are also several impromptu performances in this set. After some early experiments with electronics the pair decided that they sounded stronger playing acoustically, making this an all-acoustic album.

Which is not to say they aren’t open to a wide range of acoustic sounds. On “What Can I Do for You?” Weber begins the album on the inside of the piano, a gentle wash of sound that prepares the way for Markus’ entry on muted flugelhorn.

Stockhausen’s gently swinging, melodic composition “Mondtraum” follows. Stockhausen always begins the first recording session with intuitive improvisation, or “intuitive music” (a term coined by his father, the pioneering composer Karlheinz Stockhausen). As there was no musical pre-agreement, most jazz musicians would simply call it “free improvisation.” Regardless of the label, “Ishta” is the luminous result.

There are several other impromptu performances. For “Resonances” Stockhausen blew phrases into the body of the piano, creating a kind of duet (presumably with the damper pedal raised). The album’s three brief piano pieces—”Possibility I,” “Today,” and “Barycenter”—were also impromptu performances by Weber. While there is no clear division between composition and improvisation, there are tracks with a more composed sound. In addition to “Mondtraum,” recent Stockhausen commissions are represented by “Synergy Melody” and “Zephir.” Weber’s “Die weise Zauberin” also has a clear song structure.

Composed or improvised, the duo produces a beautiful, introspective sound. It joins A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (2016) by pianist Vijay Iyer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith as a recent shining example of a trumpet and piano duet recording.

Markus Stockhausen: flugelhorn, trumpet

Florian Weber: piano

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Angelika Niescier & Florian Weber - NYC Five (2016)

With their new album, alto player and bandleader Angelica Niescier and pianist and composer Florian Weber both from Cologne, Germany place themselves at the centre of the New York jazz scene. Their quintet NYC FIVE is completed by three jazz musicians in great demand in the “Big Apple”: trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassplayer Christopher Tordini and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. The quintet plays highly contemporary jazz with original tunes, distinctive arrangments, complex rhythms and expressive improvisations. Laurence Donohue-Greene, editor at «The New York City Jazz Record» writes: "With this new dynamic quintet – Angelika, Florian, Ralph, Chris and Tyshawn present a unique aura of timelessness, as much influenced from decades past as about the present and future state of jazz, from New York and beyond." And: "Angelika’s distinctive tone shoots right through to the listener’s core."

Angelika Niescier: Saxophone 

Ralph Alessi: Trumpet 

Florian Weber: Piano 

Christopher Tordini: Bass 

Tyshawn Sorey: Drums

1. The Barn Thing 08:28

2. And Over 10:20

3. Invaded 06:39

4. The Liquid Stone 07:31

5. Parsifal 06:21

6. Für Krefeld 08:06

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