HYPER+ AMIR ELSAFFAR - SAADIF (2016) [NUSICA.ORG]

nusica.org o9: Saadif

HYPER+ AMIR ELSAFFAR NEW CD "SAADIF" IS OUT NOW!

SAADIF means in arabic "meeting" and is the result of the collaboration between Amir ElSaffar, New York multiethnic scene’s rising star, and the Italian trio HYPER+.

An original album between tradition and innovation, where the "beyond-jazz" of Hyper+ is mixed with Iraqi maqam music.

Amir ElSaffar, trumpet & vocals
Nicola Fazzini, alto & soprano sax
Alessandro Fedrigo, acoustic bass guitar
Luca Colussi, drums

In these last years, physical and cultural borders sadly seems to be stronger than ever and cultural barriers keep on standing. Musical projects built upon the idea of make identity meet offer different ways of relationships and artistically innovative narratives in integration. 

In this perspective the collaboration between trumpeter Amir ElSaffar (New York multiethnic scene’s rising star) and the platform HYPER+, that allows to Nicola Fazzini, Alessandro Fedrigo and Luca Colussi trio to work with different guests, is a stunning, expressive, meeting. 

In this quartet, the original method of ElSaffar (musician who has collaborated with artists like Vijay Iyer, Don Byron, Cecil Taylor or Marc Ribot), using the microtones found in Iraqi maqam music to create an innovative approach to harmony and melody, stimulates fellow musicians (who work together in the renamed XY Quartet) to explore new acoustic and electric paths, between tradition and innovation. 

Born in Chicago to an American mother and an Iraqi father, Amir ElSaffar plays the trumpet, the santur and sings traditional Iraqi music. After undergoing classical training the focus of his work has been on jazz, collaborating with great names of contemporary jazz. 

After an italian tour in November 2015, the quartet has recorded (for nusica.org label) “Saadif” (“meeting”) at Casa della Musica in Trieste. Published in April 2016, the record contains original tunes, mostly composed by ElSaffar. “Saadif” carries the listener on an evocative journey, cunningly structured, rich of shades and colorful, a music where urban tensions and multicultural relationships are able to light sparkles of future sounds.

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Scott Morgan - Songs of Life (September 12, 2016)

Vocalist Scott Morgan draws on a lifetime of experience and emotion for his moving debut recording, out September 12 on Miranda Music

Songs of Life features Fred Hersch, Joel Frahm and Janis Siegel 

on a stunning set of Songbook and pop classics

“Scott Morgan’s singing is warm and loose. He has taste, heart, and musical intelligence.” —David Hajdu, Music Critic, The New Republic

“Scott Morgan’s voice wafts gently through your ears and heads straight to your heart.”– Janis Siegel, Manhattan Transfer

One advantage to making a belated debut is the depth of life experience that enriches an artist’s work. Scott Morgan may be a name new to listeners outside of New York City, where he’s garnered a devoted following for his moving live performances, but Songs of Life reveals a vocalist with a lifelong passion for and immersion in music. The title reflects both a songbook developed over a lifetime’s listening and performing, but also Morgan’s expressive interpretations, deeply imbued with the loves and losses that accumulate over a life well lived.

The repertoire on Songs of Life (due out September 12 via Miranda Music) span the spectrum from Great American Songbook standards to pop classics by revered songwriters like James Taylor and The Beatles to more recent contributions by pianist/composer Fred Hersch, Morgan’s partner in both life and music. Hersch’s sensitive accompaniment can be heard throughout Songs of Life, along with the singer’s flexible, supportive rhythm section of bassist Matt Aronoff and drummer Ross Pederson. The impeccably eloquent tenor saxophone of Joel Frahm graces three tracks, while Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel is Morgan’s duo partner for the soaring “I’ll Follow,” with lyrics by Morgan to Hersch’s piece “Mandevilla.”

“Every song has its own story,” Morgan says, “and I hope that when people listen to the record they can identify with some if not many of the songs in a personal way. Everybody’s had unrequited love as well as fulfilling relationships. And I imagine most people have suffered existential angst as well - so Songs of Life is a musical photo album of the touchstones in our lives.”

Some of the songs in particular offer snapshots of very vivid memories from Morgan’s past. The breathtaking coupling of Dave Catney’s “Little Prayer” and the Lerner and Loewe standard “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” is a particular standout. The first half is the work of a jazz pianist/composer who passed away from complications of AIDS, sung by Morgan in memory of a friend lost to the disease in the 1980s. The latter half wistfully captured the imagined dreams of a woman that Morgan met while traveling in Tanzania, widowed by HIV and living in a mud hut. “She took me into her house and fed me though she had nothing at all,” he recalls. “I thought that from her perspective, wouldn't it be lovely to have heat, chocolate, someone to care about.”

Morgan brings the same profound humanity and empathy to all of his work. In part, his gift for storytelling and capturing character in song stems from his earliest experiences with music, performing in musical theater productions in his native Sarasota, Florida. “Without my musical theater background I wouldn't be able to tell the stories the way that I’m able to tell them, particularly in live performance,” Morgan says. “It’s very easy for singers to just get up and run through the songs jazz singers are expected to sing, but I try to make every song special and really engage the audience with what’s going on in the story.”

After playing piano and singing throughout his time at Florida State University, Morgan took a 15-year break from music while he concentrated on his career in the technology and then in the nonprofit sector, a pursuit that continues to be rewarding off the stage. It was his arrival in New York City in 2001 that led to his reengagement with music, which was only fueled further a few months later when he met Hersch and was ushered into the thriving NYC jazz scene. He studied with influential modern jazz singers like Kate McGarry, Peter Eldridge and Rene Marie, gaining confidence from their encouragement and from the enthusiastic response of audiences as he performed live. Hersch says, “I always knew Scott was a great musician – I am glad that he is now finding that out for himself.”

“I’ve always been close to music, and I was looking for a creative outlet to round out my life,” Morgan explains. “I felt like all I was doing was working, working, working, so music started calling me back. I never thought it would turn into anything initially, but I gradually got more serious and my desire to do something more with music than just sing around the house started to grow.”

If the arc of Songs of Life can be seen as the story of a life, then it’s clear that in Morgan’s view love, in its many facets, is central to existence. The album begins with a brisk romp through “It’s You or No One,” a lively ode to fidelity by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne with a dazzling vocalese lyric by Morgan to a classic Chet Baker solo. New romance is celebrated on “I Just Found About Love” and “This Heart of Mine,” while Dori Caymmi’s bossa nova classic “Like a Lover,” performed in an intimate duo with Hersch, luxuriates in the morning light on a lover’s face. The first of two James Taylor compositions on the album, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” becomes a poignant plea for connection. The second, “Secret O’ Life,” resonates with Morgan’s Buddhist leanings in its celebration of being present in the moment.

The album closes with The Beatles’ “I Will,” rendered in Morgan and Hersch’s duo performance as a tender promise of devotion. Its sentiments are echoed in Morgan’s lyrics to Hersch’s music on “I’ll Follow,” with Morgan and Siegel painting a vivid portrait of two people in love worthy of a Broadway stage. “It’s a story about how when two lives and loves intertwine with each other, things can happen in a beautiful way,” Morgan explains.

All of the moments that have inspired Songs of Life are expressed with the same sense of beauty and passion. Like the love stories woven throughout the album, Morgan’s auspicious debut combines the thrill of the new with the wisdom and depth of feeling that can only come from a lifetime of experience.

Scott Morgan Website

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Song of Life

MILI BERMEJO AND DAN GREENSPAN CONFIRM THEIR MASTERY IN ARTE DEL DÚO

Heralded voice/bass partnership delivers program with a focus on musical purity and universal fellowship in their first recording without other accompanists in 20 years

"Where jazz meets Latin with elegance and soulŠ" - The Boston Globe.

CD release concerts October 23 and December 13 at the Lilypad, Cambridge, MA

October 29 at The Dance Hall, Kittery, ME

Mili Bermejo Sextet performing September 23 at Beantown Jazz Festival

Since first joining forces over a quarter-century ago, vocalist Mili Bermejo and bassist Dan Greenspan have created a recorded library of timeless music with a number of cherished partners.  For those fortunate enough to experience them in live performance, however, the lingering memory of this brilliantly skilled and totally compatible couple is likely to be the moments when they stand alone.  "We have always wanted to make pure music," Greenspan explains, "and have always included duo tunes in our sets."  On October 7, 2016 the pair releases their first all-duo program in two decades, Arte de Duo, on Ediciones Pentagrama.

Bermejo, born in Buenos Aires, raised in Mexico City and a professor at Berklee College of Music since 1984, and Greenspan, a New Haven native and classically trained cellist who became one of the Boston area's leading freelance bassists, have created a unique body of music that applies jazz improvisation to original songs and music from throughout the Americas.  Themes of political liberation, environmental responsibility and interpersonal commitment have defined both their music and their career and led them to a major life decison.  "The business changed so much post-9/11 that we had to decide whether we should reinvent ourselves," Bermejo notes.  This led to what Greenspan describes as "an entire creative undertaking of another kind" - a move to New Hampshire, where the couple built their own house.

"We decided to live the right way," Bermejo says of their relocation to a nature reserve.  "It has brought us closer and closer to `do it yourself,' including growing as much of our own food and making as many of our own clothes as possible.  It has purified us, and removed many of our frustrations."  But, Greenspan adds, "For a while, the move replaced music.  Finding opportunities to rehearse in Boston when everyone we worked with had so many other gigs became hell."  The bassist also turned his attention to baking and has built a growing reputation with his Dan's Brick Oven Bread, while a construction accident also left him unable to play for several months.  The future of their performing partnership became unclear.


"But Mili insisted that we couldn't let the music go," Greenspan stresses, and the result is a new focus on the intimate artistry that had previously only been showcased on their 1997 album Duo which was released on Gunther Schuller's GM Records.  "It got us back to the essence of art," he says, "and provides the best opportunity to use all of the classical information that we have."  Yet the new music, developed over a series of monthly gigs at the Lilypad in Cambridge, Massachusetts, takes the pair beyond their previous achievements.  "We didn't want to repeat ourselves," Bermejo adds.  "Now we reduce.  I think of the music like my garden, as being all about beauty after years of work.  And nobody told me how to do it."

The influence of life in New Hampshire is clear in the Bermejo originals "La Casa del Arbol" ("The Tree House"), about "a secret refugeŠamong trees and stars" and "Cosecha" ("Harvest"); but she also contributes two new titles in her string of beautiful love songs, "Los que se Aman" ("Those Who Love") and "No Dejo de Quererte" ("I Don't Stop Loving You").  The duo also links Bermejo's "Décima Muerte I" from their first duo disc and "Décima Muerte II" by the Mexican poet and playwright Xavier Villarrutiga in a medley linked by a powerful Greenspan solo.

Greenspan's bass also launches "Las Orillas del Mar" ("At the Edge of the Sea"), a 13th Century feminist poem with music by Hafez Modirzadeh, the composer-saxophonist who featured Bermejo extensively on his acclaimed 2011 album In Convergence Liberation (Pi Recordings).  "Working with Hafez is the most challenging thing I've done," she notes, "and it has opened both of our minds.  Now I'm improvising more, though not `taking a chorus' in the traditional sense."  

This new improvisational freedom is joyously displayed on "Tres Veces Heroica" ("Three Times Heroic"), written by Mexican composer Charlie Dríguez and previously heard on the 2006 live recording De Tierra (Of Earth) (Ediciones Pentagrama), and "End of the Beginning," written for the duo by the Armenian-born pianist and composer Vardan Ovsepian.  "Windmills of Your Mind," by French composer Michel Legrand with Spanish lyrics by Manuel Gurria, was also arranged by Ovsepian.  "Vardan's arrangement got Dan back in shape after his injury," Bermejo notes, adding with a laugh, "it also made me get back in shape."

Two works from Argentina are included, "Equipaje" ("Luggage") by Juan Quintero and "Cambalache" ("Pawn Shop") by E. Santos Discépolo.  The latter, a classic tango, gives Greenspan the opportunity to display his skill with the bow. "Candombe para Gardel" ("Candombe for Gardel"), a tribute to Argentinian tango master Carlos Gardel from the Afro-Uruguayan perspective of Rubén Rada, completes the program.

Arte del Duo is Bermejo's fifth release on Mexico's Ediciones Pentagrama label, which recently received the Independence Award from the Fundación Mediterránea Mar y Tierra in Tarragona, Spain.  "We've stayed faithful to the vision of [label founder] Modesto López: Independence and 35 years of support to Latin American artists dedicated to progressive social change," she notes.

The album will be released at the Lilypad on Sunday afternoon, October 23, where a new audio system created especially for the duo by sound engineer Art Steele will enhance the performance.  "I asked Art for a minimal system, with just two small speakers, Greenspan explains.  "Now my hands are free, just like my mother's were when she sang," Bermejo adds.

Creativity, and the magic that ensues, remain at the heart of Mili Bermejo's and Dan Greenspan's music; and Arte del Duo is their most creative and magical statement to date.

Arte del Dúo Website

Mili Bermejo | Dan Greespan - Arte del Dúo (2016)

Tori Freestone Trio - El Barranco (2016) WHIRLWIND RECORDINGS

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Tori Freestone Trio - El Barranco (2016)

About: ​El Barranco

Official worldwide release date - July 15, 2016​

Reaching into the heart of improvised music has become second nature to British tenor saxophonist Tori Freestone and perennial colleagues Dave Manington (double bass) and Tim Giles (drums) on their latest Whirlwind release El Barranco. Following their warmly-received 2014 release In the Chop House and subsequent live appearances, the trio have relished the opportunity to reconvene in the studio to record this collection of intuitive explorations (often first takes) of predominantly original compositions, including a pair of London Jazz Festival commissions.

The challenge of the wide-open chordless format is enthusiastically embraced by this trio, offering an improvisational prospect which constantly evolves, thanks to their innate ability to share ideas and spontaneously flex in new directions. Tori Freestone’s characteristically voluble tenor delivery is a key factor in this artistic process: a continuous channel of flowing, tumbling lines arriving from a seemingly limitless, spring-like source; and the quicksilver responses and diversions of both Manington and Giles are so genuinely realised. All of this combines in creating delightful group unpredictability, via a mutual, carefully crafted musical vocabulary, which happily hovers on the periphery of delineated structure.

Freestone clearly revels in the recording aspect: “Whenever we go back into the studio, it’s so great to have a couple of days enjoying making music together. The more we tour in the UK and internationally the more the new ideas start to flow and develop, taking us up onto another level to where we can’t wait to put this down on a new album.”

The concept of creative spaciality is reflected in the saxophonist’s album title and own sleeve illustrations, referencing the beautiful, mountainous terrain of Tenerife – in particular, El Barranco de Masca – which, for many years, has remained especially close to her heart. Thus, the inspiration for opening title track ‘El Barranco’ arrived almost instantaneously, its airy nonchalance a perfect vehicle for the liquid, intertwined phrasing of tenor and bass, buoyed by an expressive lightness of touch from drummer Tim Giles. The first of two commissions, 'The Press Gang' echoes Freestone's musical roots with a suitably dark interpretation of the gloomy folk-tune tale (reprised as the album's end-piece, in appropriately traditional guise, by way of a haunting vocal-and-violin solo performance); and the full-tilt exuberance of contrasting partner piece 'Identity Protection' further reveals the trio's enthusiastic abandon.

Elsewhere, Dave Manington makes two compositional contributions, the thrummed, ‘60s soul bass riff of his ‘Challenger Deep’ setting up a distinctively alternative groove; and ‘Quetzalcoatlus’ (purportedly the largest prehistoric flying animal that ever lived) becomes increasingly wild, jagged and audaciously airborne. Arthur Attman’s familiar standard, ‘All Or Nothing At All’, is skilfully threaded between the players, Freestone’s mellow tenor fluidity as heartfelt as ever; and the snappy, complex, changeable moods and rhythms of ‘Cross Wired’ speak volumes about a trio whose creative understanding (contrary to its title) is so impressively fine-tuned.

Expounding on their now-established approach, Tori says, “We love that the freedom we enjoy creating in our playing can reach people in so many different ways. At one concert, someone who was new to jazz expressed to me that our music had taken them on a journey they never knew they could experience; so it’s lovely that somehow we have formed a language which, rather than being intellectual or inaccessible, can be both contemporary and relevant – and we really look forward to engaging audiences with the new material on this album.”

1. El Barranco

2. The Press Gang

3. Identity Protection

4. All or Nothing at All

5. Challenger Deep

6. Quetzalcoatlus

7. A Charmed Life

8. Cross Wired

9. The Press Gang (Reprise)

Tori Freestone - tenor saxophone, violin & vocals

Dave Manington - double bass

Tim Giles - drums

Catalog Number - WR4689

Barcode - 5052442008293

Recorded by Nic Taylor, Porcupine Stdios, London, Sept 2015

Mixed and mastered by Tyler McDiarmid, New York, March 2016

Produced by Tori Freestone

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch

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Gene Ess - Absurdist Theater (SIMP) 2016 KARI-ON PRODUCTIONS

Street Date - September 26, 2016

CD Release Party

September 25th - Blue Note NYC

For Gene, a serious musical journey is always undertaken against the backdrop of the theater of the absurd, whether the musician knows it or not; in it, the quest for meaning is replaced by contentment in the artistic pursuit of beauty.

BIOGRAPHY BRIEF
Gene Ess is a philosopher. While most philosophers expound their thoughts with the written word, Gene Ess delineates his thinking in the most sublime of the art forms, music. Gene’s previous release, Eternal Monomyth (©SIMProductions, 2015), was a musical exploration of the hero’s quest proposed by Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.

Now, in Absurdist Theater, Gene navigates the absence of meaning and hope. The idea of absurdism may be rooted in Kierkegaard and Schopenhauer, but it is Albert Camus’s Myth of Sisyphus that best incarnates the encounter with “nothingness.” With a protagonist eternally doomed to senselessness and facing the choice of escaping existence, leap of faith, or recognition, Camus “imagines Sisyphus happy,” finding clarity in contentment. In the absence of meaning, absurdism teaches freedom. As Nikos Kazantzakis’ epitaph read, “I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free.”

For Gene, a serious musical journey is always undertaken against the backdrop of the theater of the absurd, whether the musician knows it or not; in it, the quest for meaning is replaced by contentment in the artistic pursuit of beauty. In the tradition of aesthetics, the profound power of beauty saves us from our own despair. In the Japanese bushido way, the pursuit for unattainable beauty and perfection brings balance to life.

Seeking his own expression of beauty, Gene was joined by kindred hearts and minds. He says, “A great team of musicians came through for the music. I think in this third record together, this is the best work for Thana Alexa and me as Fractal Attraction’s frontline. Our collaboration has grown tighter over the years, as she has gotten to know my music.Cuban pianist, Manuel Valera did a great job. It was my first time working with him. Yasushi Nakamura is one of the best bass players I’ve heard. And of course, Clarence Penn is one of the best drummers in the international jazz scene.”

CD DESCRIPTION

By Travis Rogers

What they have created together, in their own musical heroes’ quest, is a work of sincere expression. The individual movements are magnificent, this is a coherent and wonderful Jazz Opera. Just wonderful.

        •       Out of the Ashes: the first sound in the album is Thana Alexa’s voice. Gene’s guitar is the sound of resurrection soaring from destruction as Manuel Valera’s piano speaks of reconstruction. It is the rapprochement with life in the absence of meaning.

        •       Circe's Compassion: Circe, the devastatingly beautiful goddess-enchantress, eventually helps Odysseus after her defeat to him. It is the compassion of friends and foes that guides Odysseus through his journey. 

        •       Jade Stones: Jade, the “blessing stone,” offers benefits to whatever it touches. It has been used as a sacrifice to nature gods and even carved into musical instruments. Jade also symbolizes the wisdom gathered from a peaceful life, allowing us to see ourselves as we really are.

        •       Kunai:  Originally, kunai were farming tools that were soon transformed into weapons. It is most known as weapon of choice for the Japanese Ninjas and Shinobis.  A defensive weapon rather than offensive, here the music defends the musicians moving forward into the Gate. 

        •       Torii: A torii is a traditional gate into a Shinto shrine, the portal from to the sacred from the profane. Passing through the torii, however, does not change the view, as it is an open archway, making the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds at best an illusion and, at worst, a lie.

        •       Forkball (for Ornette): A marvelous elegy and tribute to the life and work of Ornette Coleman, who may have understood these things better than any of us.

        •       Déjala Que Pase: As a product of Gene spending extended periods in Spain, more recently in San Jose, he has fallen under the influence of Spanish music. Let things pass. It is the moment of realization, no longer looking for an answer.

        •       Upward and Onward!: After recognition, Gene forsakes the options of escaping existence and leap of faith. Instead, in the most amazing choice of all, he chooses beauty. This is Aristotle’s ascent.

Hope and meaning may be beyond our reach. Stop and hear Gene, Thana, Manuel, Yasushi, and Clarence, making absurdity lose its sting to the sheer joy of beautiful music.

Track Names and Times and Composer:

1. Out of the Ashes 9:45 Gene Ess

2. Circe’s Compassion 8:35 Gene Ess

3. Jade Stones 5:52 music by Gene Ess, lyrics by Thana Alexa

4. Kunai 5:49 Gene Ess

5. Torii (The Gate) 8:58 Gene Ess

6. Forkball 5:03 Gene Ess

7. Déjala Que Pase 6:37 music Gene Ess, lyrics Thana Alexa

8. Upward and Onward! 8:43 Gene Ess

PLAYERS:

Gene Ess - guitar, synth, compositions

Thana Alexa - voice, lyrics

Manuel Valera - piano, keyboards

Yasushi Nakamura - acoustic and electric bass

Clarence Penn - drums

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Elisabeth Lohninger & Walter Fischbacher Duo Zinc Bar Monday, August 29th 7pm + New CD (JAZZ PROMO SERVICES)

Elisabeth Lohninger & Walter Fischbacher Duo

Monday, August 29th

7pm (2 sets)

Zinc Bar

82 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012

(212) 477-9462

Cover: $10

www.zincbar.com

For more than 20 years Elisabeth Lohninger and Walter Fischbacher have been making music together. Living in New York. Touring in Europe, Japan, the Middle East. A plethora of projects and albums lie between their first duo album, "Austrian LiedGood", and their latest release, also a duo CD with the title "Ballads in Blue". In between the two of them explored diverse musical avenues, wrote music for other projects, came into their own as artists. Now they step out again as a duo, a suitcase filled with a wide variety of musical influences and revelations in tow. This is the backdrop for an atmospheric, intimate and colorful arc that tells the story of two people who went out into the world to find themselves and each other. Poetry, passion and groove.

Webpage: Lohninger & Fischbacher Duo

New CD

Elisabeth Lohninger "Eleven Promises"

(Jazzsick 5097 JS ) 

Street Date: Sept 23, 2016

VOCALIST ELISABETH LOHNINGER’S SENSUOUS NEW CD 

LOOKS AT LOVE AND COMMITMENT

"Lohninger shapes an adventurous but accessible session that ideally showcases her voice. Dark and dense as blackberries yet lustrous as pearls, it is a stunning instrument that deserves smart, sympathetic support." - Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times

“…a powerful performer and a highly-skilled improviser and composer.” - New York Times

In a career that has taken her from the slopes of the Austrian alps, where she sang folk songs as a young girl, to jazz clubs, concert halls and the stages of international jazz festivals, vocalist Elisabeth Lohninger has proven herself to be a powerful and elusive talent. On her latest CD, Eleven Promises (September 23rd, 2016, JazzSick Records), she teams up with pianist husband Walter Fischbacher to create a luscious meditation on love and commitment. Joining her is an international cast of jazz talents that includes drummer Ulf Stricker and bassist Goran Vujic, along with special guests Gary Schreiner (chromatic harmonica), Ben Butler (guitar), and Pete McCann (guitar). Drawing on her love of pop music, as well as jazz and her own originals, she has crafted an album that tells the story of two people who went out into the world to find themselves and each other. Poetry, passion and groove.

"This album is our first co-written release in almost two decades," Lohninger says. "It feels like coming home after exploring the world, learning, studying and experiencing different textures of music making. In a way it's an album about our marriage. The title reflects our promise to each other to always return to one another, no matter what. We just happen to make this promise eleven times, and in 11/16," she says, alluding to the title track of the album.

The album opener, "When We Were Young", delves into family and connectedness. Lohninger's clear, warm alto takes us on a trip down memory lane, to glimpse moments of levity - warm summer rain, carefree children at play, unbridled imagination - and to use these moments in times of darkness and hopelessness as a reminder that happiness often lies in the tiniest flashes of joy. The only cover song on the album "The Girl from Ipanema" receives a cool chill-out make-over, while "Take My Picture While I'm Smiling" has Lohninger channel a moment of intimacy on a hot summer night. The tinge of disappointment in "Birthday Girl" gets as much an authentic reading as budding love does in "Mellow Moon Moaning". "Each Time You Leave" speaks to the hardship of separation, wrapped in cool electronica and subtle strings, while "Hold On" urges us to follow through on our dreams and aspirations and not let inside or outside "dark voices" derail our path. Lohninger calls "Merry Go Round" her anti-war song, and it is one of those tunes that sneak up on the listener in their simplicity - in this case disguised as a children's ditty - only to express the frustration of endless repetition in a gut wrenching howl. "Circles" alludes to Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" before moving into a circular motion in the chorus. Lohninger handles the subject matter, the sway of false prophets, with her trademark straight forward singing style, inviting the listener to step into their own journey and realize that nobody has all the right answers. Finally, "Ya Mi Corazon", based on Tirso Duarte's "Cuenta con los Santos", is a lark of a song, an expression of an 'amour fou', a fling, a celebration of spontaneity that invites the listener to break into a breathy Rumba.

Throughout the album Lohninger is buffered by a subtle, tasteful production that wraps itself around her voice, the lyrics, the emotions without being overbearing. Walter Fischbacher's piano and rhodes solos bring a muscular yet agile brilliance to the recording, while Stricker and Vujic supply an inspired, solid foundation. Ben Butler brings a Blues flavor to the otherwise lushly orchestrated "Birthday Girl", while Gary Schreiner's velvet smooth sound on chromatic harmonica slinks through "Mellow Moon Moaning", adding a tasteful layer of yearning.

Growing up in a small Austrian mountain village (population 25), Lohninger started singing in school and church choirs.  At the age of six, she joined her two sisters in what would become a nationally renowned vocal group specializing in the songs of her homeland. Driven by her musical curiosity, she soon ventured in other directions and studied classical music and jazz, finishing her studies with a Masters degree in music and English Language and Literature. In 1994, Lohninger relocated to New York and has released eleven albums since then. Teaming up with pianist Walter Fischbacher to co-found the duo Perfect Roommates, she released Austrian LiedGood, a fusion of Austrian folk music and jazz. Her pop-soul album Alien Lovers, released in 2000 under the alias Tera, provides additional evidence of her stylistic versatility. In 2003, she and Fischbacher also recorded IF, an album of electronica chill-out tracks, which were featured extensively in the daytime drama One Life to Live. 

Her 2004 release Beneath Your Surface (Lofish Music) with Fischbacher, Steve Doyle and Hari Ganglberger consisted mainly of her jazz originals as did the 2006 release The Only Way Out Is Up (Lofish), with her working trio of Fischbacher, bassist Chris Tarry, and drummer Jordan Perlson. In 2008 Lohninger joined tap dancer Max Pollak and vibraphonist Tim Collins to record Trionada, a highly inventive album that took the trio's experimenting powers to exceptional heights. Songs of Love and Destruction (2010), one of Lohninger’s most ambitious albums, saw her team up with jazz greats such as Donny McCaslin, Bruce Barth, Ingrid Jensen, and Christian Howes. Lohninger's only Christmas album to date, Christmas in July, was a collaboration between her, Walter Fischbacher and German guitarist Axel Fischbacher (not related), that saw Lohninger sing in nine different languages. 

Her live album, aptly titled LIVE (2012) was named "one of the best vocal albums of 2013" by C. Michael Bailey of All About Jazz. Finally, in 2015, Lohninger commemorated the closing of her long-running recording studio Lofish Studios with the release of a duo album titled Ballads in Blue. Here she is accompanied by Walter Fischbacher on piano. This album marks the most intimate outing of the vocalist to date, consisting entirely of ballads such as "Never Let Me Go" and "You Don't Know What Love Is".

With Eleven Promises Elisabeth Lohninger paints a gratifying and deeply moving portrait of the human experience.

www.elisabethlohninger.com

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