Zurich Jazz Orchestra & Steffen Schorn - Dedications (April 16, 2021 Mons Records)

The European jazz scene boasts a number of world class professional Big Bands, all with their own rich history and tradition. The Zurich Jazz Orchestra, founded in 1995, undoubtedly belongs to this exclusive club.

The big band recorded its fifth studio album in the winter of 2020/21, the second under the direction of Steffen Schorn, who was musical director for six years before changing to his current role as congenial composer in residence.

Fortunately. The album “Dedications” is a worthy successor to “Three Pictures”, released in 2018. Schorn’s compositions and thus the sound of the orchestra have, if at all possible, become even richer, more colorful, more differentiated, but at the same time more powerful. The album is proof of the fact that the sound spectrum and the possibilities of a top-class big band are almost unlimited. And if there were limits, they could be shifted with ease by someone like Steffen Schorn. “I loved working with this band, and when I took up the position of orchestra leader, it came at just the right time. I still had a lot of to-dos on my musical bucket list, and I knew this band had what it took to reach all my aims”.

“Dedications” is proof that Steffen Schorn has been able to tick off a thing or two on his bucket list. The music on the album is sophisticated yet accessible, staking out the essential themes of modern big band music and all its options at once. From the opener “The Mad Code”, originally written for solo piano and now completely re-orchestrated for the ZJO, to the pan-diatonic “Monsieur Pf.”, a tongue-in-cheek reference to a German police officer, to “Walzer”, the three-part closing tune that works with different harmonic layers, the Zurich Jazz Orchestra fits perfectly and flawlessly into its role as mediator of everything human – and superhuman, at times.

It oscillates with ease between a wall of sound and intimate chamber music, between force and finesse. You don’t ever get tired of listening to such a band.

Bending Times – Songs of Faith / Glaubenslieder (April 9, 2021 Mons Records)

Couldn’t you choose a better time to produce a CD? Did it have to be in the middle of a pandemic? In answer: There can hardly be a more fitting time for the album “SONGS OF FAITH – Glaubenslieder”, Bending Times’ presentation of arrangements and compositions based on chorales which, for centuries, have given solace and encouragement to countless people throughout every imaginable crisis. Lines like “He will find paths your feet can follow” or “who freely helps us in this time of need that has befallen us” have a special echo in these insecure times. Bending Times responds to the chorales with inspired musicianship. The listener discerns the rich experience this trio has gained playing together, along with their special affinity for these musical treasures.

Christian Grosch (piano), Toralf Schrader (bass) and Enno Lange (drums) founded Bending Times in Dresden, Germany, in 2010, as graduates of the Carl Maria von Weber Conservatory in that city. Their debut album “MAGDALA” with compositions by Christian Grosch was released in 2012 on their own label (www.bending-times.de). Shortly thereafter, with their programme “Songs and Chorales”, they devoted themselves to traditional chorales from the 14th to the 17th centuries, especially those of the renowned hymn writer Paul Gerhardt. In 2016 Christian Grosch composed a jazz version of Mozart’s Requiem for Bending Times and choir, giving a debut performance on World Refugee Day in Prenzlau in the same year, dedicated to the victims of war and expulsion. In the following year, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, the trio presented its programme LUTHER=JAZZ with music to texts and songs by Martin Luther.

Over the years the three musicians have continually deepened their relationship to chorales, branching out into an ever-richer variety of musical styles while staying true to their distinct trio sound. Pianist and composer Christian Grosch’s loving treatment of the old melodies gives rise to music filled with lively energy, spiritual depth and musical humour.

This sensitivity for choral music was all but laid in Grosch’s cradle. His father Hartmut Grosch served enthusiastically as a church musician. His son Christian, along with his music lessons, took part in every musical group in his congregation, playing a variety of instruments. Preceding his study of jazz piano, he completed his studies of church music in Halle/Saale (Germany) and Göteborg (Sweden), majoring in organ, piano and conducting. He regards the unique opportunity to combine his musical roots with his passion for jazz in recording “SONGS OF FAITH” as a “great gift”.

Christian Grosch on piano, Toralf Schrader on double bass and Enno Lange on drums form a congenial trio, exchanging musical ideas and inspiring each other to produce intricate grooves and glowing melodies. Together, they create a vast universe of free-breathing improvisation, sometimes brightly sparkling, sometimes deathly dark. The 16 musical monuments, as the chorales on the double CD can be fittingly named, capture and amaze the listener’s attention. As a companion of the instruments, Christian Grosch’s voice suddenly emerges, first in the style of the Renaissance, then in singer-songwriter attitude and finally in the tender, breathy tones of a jazz whisper. With the last track of the album, Bending Times completely spans the bridge to the present. The text of the old chorale by Adam Krieger and Johann F. Herzog bursts forth in a new melody by Christian Grosch. Much more could be said about this distinctive album, but to close with a beautiful biblical saying: “Those with ears to hear, let them hear!”

CHRISTIAN GROSCH - piano, vocals

TORALF SCHRADER - double bass

ENNO LANGE - drums

Mareille Merck Larus - Fadenschlag (March 2021 Mons Records)

Mareille Merck was born in 1996 in Stralsund (D) and lives in Zurich, Switzerland. She studied jazz guitar in Weimar (D), Lucerne (CH) and Zurich (CH) with Prof. Frank Möbus, Kalle Kalima, Lionel Loueke, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Roberto Bossard and others. Mareille is an acitve member of the swiss jazz scene – she is leader and composer of the band “Mareille Merck – LARUS” and also plays live on stage with various well known musicians. She shared the stage with famous musicians like John McLaughlin, Anne Paceo and Michael League, Bill Lawrence and Justin Stanton from Snarky Puppy.

Mareille Merck (guitar & composition), Florian Bolliger (double bass) and Janic Haller (drums) – three young musicians which are starting a journey together. Their baggage? Courage, adventurousness and risk appetite.

Their companions? Eventful compositions and lively improvisations. They combine complex harmonic and rhythmic structures with lyrical melodies and catchy musical motives.

With there way of playing together and being focused on dynamics the three musicians create atmosphere and space. Sometimes you feel hugged by warm sounds, nearly weightless, and then you find yourself in the middle of a hurricane where you don’t know what is up or down and the feeling of speed roars in your ears.

When you stagg back into silence the whispered dialogues of the instruments paint pictures of a magic world. Like „Larus“, the herring gull, flies above different landscapes, the three musicians take us with her music to a flight over crowded beaches, lonely islands, wide fields and rocky coasts.

Mareille Merck – guitar + composer

Florian Bolliger – double bass

Janic Haller – drums

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Miriam Ast & Victor Gutierrez - Secret Songs (MONS RECORDS 2018)

German jazz singer Miriam Ast and Spanish pianist Victor Gutierrez met just two years ago while studying for their masters at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was an encounter that would become a key moment for both artists. Having played together just once, the two immediately discovered their common musical language. The Ast/Gutierrez Duo was born, and their success proves that they‘ve taken the right step! In May 2017, after working together for only a year, they won the „Best Vocalist Prize“ at the International Jazz Competition in Bucharest. They were also delighted by the constantly growing fan base at their concerts. In the same year, the duo launched a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign to finance their debut album Secret Songs, which Ast/Gutierrez are presenting here.

Secret Songs has become a very personal album. The two artists play mostly their own compositions, together with a few special arrangements of well-known jazz standards. Miriam Ast‘s vocals and Victor Gutierrez‘s piano playing enter into an intense musical dialogue that is characterized by warm and lyrical sounds, experimental and free-form passages, and virtuoso improvisations. Ast employs her voice like a true musical instrument, knowing when to caress and when to emphasise. Her brilliant scat singing is complemented on some pieces by the distinctive intonations of British saxophonist Stan Sulzmann, a player who also serves up nimble and impressive duets with the pianist Gutierrez.

A veteran of the British jazz scene, Stan Sulzmann has played with greats like Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker and Gil Evans. He is one of the duo‘s London instructors, and they have dedicated three compositions on the album to him. With his exciting improvisations and lively interactions with both vocals and piano, he has enriched the works enormously.

On all of these pieces, as well as those containing lyrics, Ast/Gutierrez focus on melody and harmony, telling stories of emotional intensity and urgency.

With their debut album Secret Songs, Miriam Ast and Victor Gutierrez have managed to bridge the gap between vibrant freshness and musical maturity. It‘s a huge success!

Reinberg - Old Friend (MONS RECORDS 2018)

Behind the name REINBERG – a conceptual fusion of Konstantin REINfeld and Christoph SpangenBERG – two young shooting stars of the German music scene can be found. Here they are presenting a very unusual duo programme, namely a combination of diatonic harmonica (Reinfeld) and piano (Spangenberg).

Two instruments could hardly be more different. In terms of size and the sheer volume which they can generate, harmonica and piano stand at opposite ends of any imaginary spectrum. But Reinfeld has long been regarded as one of the most important harmonica players in Europe, and Spangenberg has evolved from an internationally renowned sideman to become an insider tip on the German solo piano scene. And with this instrumental stroke of genius, the two prove that opposites do indeed attract, and that they can truly bloom together.

Their debut album Old Friend is a tribute to Toots Thielemans, who passed away in 2016. In addition to original compositions by each of the artists (“Fresh Start In Between” and “Where To Go”), the album focuses on the repertoire of the Belgian harmonica legend, who was still touring the world right up until his passing aged ninety-four.

Three of Toots’s compositions set out the reference points for this production. One of his works, very well-known outside the world of jazz, is the “Sesame Street Theme”. To this day it is still used as the theme tune for the famous children’s series. Then there is “Bluesette”, known throughout the world as a jazz standard and evergreen. And of course “Old Friend”, which Thielemans first released in 1975 on the eponymous album (Polydor).

REINBERG finish off their bow to the old master with significant favourites from Thielmanns’s repertoire. “Autumn Leaves” is one of the most well-known jazz standards of all time. “Over The Rainbow”, which was first immortalised by Toots on his 2006 recording One More for the Road. “Dindi”, a bossa nova by Antonio Carlos Jobim which Thielemans recorded with Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Then there is “Imagine”, a favourite melody from the world of pop which Thielemans played with the accordionist Sivuca, heard here in a completely new guise. Last but not least, “Honeysuckle Rose”, the bluesiest piece on this production, and with a sound closest to that which one generally associates with the diatonic harmonica (blues harp).

Though full of respect for the traditions and skills of their old master, REINBERG’s use of harmonica effects and synthesizers in their own compositions shows that their musical path is heading directly into the future!

Paul Heller Meets Roman Schwaller (MONS RECORDS 2018)

”This music touches me deeply. I can hear the brotherly passion.“

(Jimmy Heath)

You just need to listen to Paul Heller‘s new CD for a few seconds before you notice it; here are two people who fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It‘s not just because they both play the same instrument, the tenor saxophone. No, it‘s something more than mere outward appearances. It‘s a long-standing friendship, a musical partnership, and a spiritual kinship. And they both pursue the one and the same goal. Paul Heller and Roman Schwaller just want to play. Simply playing. Uncompromising. Full of energetic commitment. Straight ahead!

Heller and Schwaller first met exactly twenty-five years ago, and numerous projects together have followed. The Swiss Schwaller (born in 1957) twice invited the Rhinelander Heller (born in 1971) to the musical meet up “Three Generations of Tenor Saxophone“ with Johnny Griffin (born in 1928).

The new album by these two representatives of the “younger“ generation is heavily influenced by the American saxophone legend, Johnny Griffin. Nevertheless, the nine tracks equally reflect both the history and current state of jazz. A few of the compositions are by Roman Schwaller, Thelonious Monk and Johnny Griffin. Five of the nine pieces were composed by Paul Heller, including the opener “Romanshorn“, which he dedicated to his mentor and musical role model Roman Schwaller (who was born in Romanshorn!).

Whether it be a ballad, mid-tempo or uptempo, what follows is a prime example of improvisation and interaction. In addition to Schwaller and Heller are the scintillating Martin Sasse (piano), Thomas Stabenow (bass) and Niklas Walter (drums). Here are three open-eared musicians who are happy to get themselves involved in this style of “playing“ again and again. It‘s not surprising that the tracks were recorded in the “classical“ style, and in the exact running order (with a maximum of two takes) as they are to be heard on the album.

Incidentally, aside from just listening to certain passages on the CD, it‘s definitely worthwhile to play it through in its entirety. That way you‘ll quickly understand what the saxophone legend Jimmy Heath meant when he said: “This music touches me deeply. I can hear the brotherly passion“.

Ivan Paduart & Quentin Dujardin - Catharsis (October 2016) MONS RECORDS

Passionate about writing, Ivan Paduart & Quentin Dujardin create finely crafted lines that feature their own universes, the pianist's jazz world and the unclassifiable style of the guitarist. Their desire to further pursue this adventure now leads them to record this new album, Catharsis alongside Manu Katché, Richard Bona, Olivier Ker Ourio and Bert Joris - artists that don't need introduction - they have created a work that will delight many ears.

Ivan Paduart, piano

Quentin Dujardin, nylon guitar

Richard Bona, bass

Manu Katché, drums

Olivier Ker Ourio, harmonica

Bert Joris, trumpet

01. Délivrance

02. Retrouvailles

03. Human Being

04. Catharsis

05. Far Ahead

06. Mark & Farouk

07. Isabelle

08. Song for Paco

09. Dreams Ago