"Sacrum Profanum" represents a new beginning for Polish violinist Adam Bałdych – but also a look back into his past. He was once a sixteen-year-old firebrand who set out to conquer the jazz world. And when his ACT debut album "Imaginary Room" came out in 2011, he was hailed by ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
"It is very rare to hear string players relishing the groove quite so joyously. BartolomeyBittmann embody the musical virtues of unbridled playfulness and rhythmic radicalism, and they deploy them with an ease that is not normally associated with classical instruments." (Wolfgang Muthspiel) ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
It scarcely feels necessary to mention the pre-eminent status of all four of these artists, because that is evident from hearing the music. When Nils Landgren brings such feeling to his own melody “Le chat sur le toit”, or when Michael Wollny dazzles with the blues-infused piano
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Songs for the soul. Rigmor Gustafsson, one of the most popular Scandinavian vocalists, enchants the listener with a nuanced, atmospheric song-album, consisting of original compositions in collaboration with some of the most respected songwriters of the Swedish pop- and jazz scene and ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
World jazz in motion. Nguyên Lê's music is in constant change. Since over 30 years the French guitarist with Vietnamese roots combines jazz and worldmusic in a unique fashion. "Streams" continues this tradition, but unlike Lê's recent projects, with a stronger jazz-focus but ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Tango reloaded. The Argentinia-born, Italian baritone-saxophonist Javier Girotto dives deep into the music of one of modern Tango's most important recordings: "Tango Nuevo" by Astor Piazolla and Gerry Mulligan. Girotto and his trio bring the 1975 classic ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Latin Jazz
Nur wenige Jazzmusiker aus Deutschland genießen ähnlich hohes internationales Ansehen, wie Joachim Kühn. Auf "Melodic Ornette Coleman" spielt dieser Kompositionen seines langjährigen Duopartners, die bislang größtenteils noch nie aufgenommen wurden. ...
Genre: Instrumental
Subgenre: Piano
The sound of Europe. Within ten years and hundreds of concerts in Scandinavia, Central-, Southern- and Eastern-Europe and the Near- and Middle East, the trio "Mare Nostrum", consisting of the Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, French accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano and Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Mainstream Jazz
Look at the history of jazz, and it is all…frankly...a bit male. There have, of course, always been very prominent female jazz singers, but female instrumentalists and composers such as Jutta Hipp, Carla Bley or Geri Allen are few and far between. Today, even though men are still in the majority, female emancipation in ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
Jazz tradition - continued. In recent times few jazz musicians have gained as much public attention as the French soprano saxophonist Emile Parisien. His new album "Double Screening" combines all of his exceptional qualities. With breathtaking technical skills, great sensitivity, imagination and a ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Christmas without the songs – it's unthinkable. And yet how can one be open to different musical styles and also strike a good balance between them? How can all the right moods for the festive season be captured? Should it be classical or soulful, gospel or pop, blues or jazz? ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Mainstream Jazz
"My Soul Kitchen" is Ida Sand's clearest declaration yet of her love of "sweet soul music", and is also a demonstration of her deep affinity for it. Together with the Stockholm Underground band Sand has cooked a 'hot soul casserole'. There are songs by soul greats such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
What the title of the album does is to set a tone: Here is the typical Wasserfuhr sound with a relaxed way of playing – the Irish attitude to life shines through again and again. Music never happens in a vacuum. The places where it is played inspire it, shape it and help it to develop; they are like an extra musician. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Some people talk a lot, whereas others keep hold of what is important, and only need a few words to get to their point. The same is true in music. Lars Danielsson and Paolo Fresu, who have now teamed up, are two musicians who choose the notes they play with extreme care. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
“ACT seems to be on a mission to introduce the world to Europe's rising new jazz-classical pianists,” the UK’s leading jazz critic John Fordham of the Guardian has noted. And jazz for piano has indeed always been part of ACT's DNA. The label’s roster includes pianists who have achieved ...
Genre: Instrumental
Subgenre: Piano
KUU!’s songs are so well honed, they have a way of emotionally hitting the spot, and also staying lodged in the mind. The reason why this band has been making such waves in Germany is the special chemistry between the artists, combined with a sixth sense and an urgency ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
NES can't be tied down to a specific location. Their music is between traditional Arabic and world music, jazz and pop. These three superb musicians originally met in Valencia in Spain. Percussionist David Gadea is from the region, and was already touring with Flamenco greats ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
Living Being II (Night Walker)
Vincent Peirani is a jazz musician who is equally at home in world music, or classical music, chanson or pop. Yet what the listener will hear from his new album is that he has transformed the accordion into the baddest of rock 'n' roll axes. On “Night Walker” the ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Mainstream Jazz
"Vertical lift-off" was how broadcaster NDR described Jin Jim’s rise on the German jazz scene. These words are justified, if one considers the relatively short backstory which now culminates in their ACT debut album “Weiße Schatten” (White Shadows). ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Modern Jazz
