Oh, By The Way

Strange Ways

TS Bremen

Per Se

Balancing between the great traditions of Jazz and a desire to his find his own place within the genre, trombonist Max von Einem presents his new album, Lamara. Max has played the trombone in Heavy tones, the combo on Stefan Raab's popular show "TV Total," since January 2013. The rest of the time, he has been involved in his refreshingly unidiomatic quartet Einem. Art since 2011.

There are not many saxophonists with such a unique sound as David Fettmann! Ruby Project is his second album under his own name, and follows his highly acclaimed debut Prelude (2011), which marked him as one of today's most interesting European alto saxophonists.

Black Box

Between Shadow and Light

GOODMAN, Geoff: Jazz + Haiku

V4: BEST OF JAZZ IN BURGHAUSEN

Strangers is pianist Alexander Wienand's bold new statement - a celebration of curiosity, discovery, and the creative spark that emerges when artists step into the unknown together. The album's concept grew from a simple but powerful idea: that unfamiliarity can be one of the greatest sources of inspiration. Whether it's an untested rhythm, a new musical partner, or an idea outside of music entirely, these moments of uncertainty challenge musicians to respond - and it is within these reactions that true creativity is born. The title track Strangers embodies this philosophy. Two contrasting themes evolve through improvisation until they merge into a single, unified musical narrative - a metaphor for encounter, tension, and transformation.

Quality Time in NYC is a vocal jazz project by Erik Leuthauser, recorded in New York with esteemed collaborators such as Alan Broadbent, Ken Peplowski, Allen Farnham, Steve LaSpina, and Rich DeRosa. The album features 19 tracks, including standards, rare gems, and one bonus track with Erik's original German lyric to Miles Davis's "Little Willie Leaps"

First Flight marks the debut album of saxophonist and composer George Kontomichalis. Rooted in jazz traditions like post-bop, hard bop, and modal jazz, it blends classic influences with modern improvisation and introspection. The album reflects the collective creativity of the ensemble, highlighting interplay, rhythm, and spontaneous exploration. With six original compositions and one standard, the record serves as a personal journey and an invitation for listeners to experience both energy and reflection

Composer and guitarist Marcus Klossek, long recognized as a distinctive voice on the Fender Telecaster, presents Blink 7, the latest chapter in a band whose sound has evolved steadily from his long-running Electric Trio. Rooted in clarity, dynamic contrast, and a deep sense of interaction, the project reflects more than fifteen years of close musical collaboration. At the core of the ensemble are Carsten Hein on bass and Derek Scherzer on drums, longtime partners with whom Klossek has refined a highly responsive and nuanced group language. With Blink 6, this foundation expanded into a sextet, joined by three prominent figures from Berlin's jazz scene: Nikolaus Neuser, Ignaz Dinne (tenor saxophone), and Anke Lucks. The enlarged group quickly developed a strong collective identity, equally at ease with precise structure and open improvisation. Blink 7 continues this collaboration and introduces a new and distinctive voice: Korean vocalist Chamin. Appearing on three tracks-Go Not, Another One Beyond, and Unexpected Return-she sings and partially speaks Korean lyrics written by herself. Her voice adds a new layer of texture and expression, expanding the ensemble's tonal range and interacting organically with the instrumental voices rather than standing apart from them. In contrast to Blink 6, which was composed before the musicians were chosen, all eight compositions on Blink 7 were written specifically for this lineup. Klossek shaped each piece around the individual strengths and musical personalities of the players. "I knew what everyone could bring to the music," he explains. "That allowed me to write more precisely for the sound of the band." The result is music that unites clear compositional intent with the intuitive understanding that comes from long-standing collaboration. The album opens with Violet Shift, a rhythmically intricate piece built from interlocking patterns that suggest mechanical precision while maintaining an organic flow. Go Not begins with Chamin's whispered voice, creating an atmosphere of quiet tension and ambiguity. Ephyra (Third Dance) unfolds with a restrained, melancholic beauty, while Half Past Never features one of Klossek's most unrestrained guitar solos-raw, spontaneous, and unpredictable. On Another One Beyond, Chamin's voice further broadens the ensemble's harmonic space, while Begin Again, Swift highlights the band's agility, moving fluidly between tightly woven rhythms and open, airy phrasing. Glass Bridges introduces otherworldly sounds from Carsten Hein, blending acoustic bass with electronic elements. The closing track, Unexpected Return, brings the album to an energetic conclusion, driven by rhythmic momentum as Chamin's voice merges seamlessly with the horn section. Blink 7 captures a band at a mature and confident stage, balancing detailed composition with freedom and collective improvisation-music shaped as much by individual voices as by the shared identity they have built together.

This album is a collection of musical portraits - intimate sketches shaped by memory, place, and human connection. It reflects the soundscape of Alexander Ruess' upbringing near the Baltic Sea, the people who accompanied him along the way, and the impressions gathered through travel and encounter. At it's core, the music is deeply personal. Fur Opa is dedicated to Ruess' grandfather, who never played an instrument yet supported his musical journey unconditionally, driving him to countless lessons and proudly claiming responsibility for his grandson's talent. Sangen Fra Havet is an homage to the Baltic Sea and the Danish coastline, whose quiet vastness and shifting moods echo throughout the record. Cornflower draws inspiration from the vivid blue flower that grew at the edges of rural fields - a favorite of Ruess' maternal grandfather - symbolizing memory, landscape, and rootedness. The album balances composition and spontaneity. Interlude, the only fully improvised piece, captures the natural interplay between guitar, double bass, and drums, allowing the music's energy to unfold organically in the moment. Throughout the record, lyrical melodies meet open forms, creating space for both narrative clarity and collective expression. Recorded in Berlin with longtime collaborators Luca Curcio and Sebastian Merk, the trio's sound is defined by trust, subtle interaction, and shared musical intuition. A special highlight is the appearance of trombonist Nils Landgren on Fur Opa, whose music was a formative influence on Ruess' childhood and whose presence adds a distinctive warmth and depth to the album. Ultimately, this record is a dedication - to family, mentors, friends, and places that shape who we become. It is an expression of gratitude and belonging, rendered through sound

Echoes of the Unknown is the debut album by German drummer and composer David Giesel-a modern jazz statement built on trust, attentive interplay, and the courage to let music unfold in real time. Recorded live as a band in one room at Jazzcampus Studio Basel (Jan 9-10, 2026) and co-produced with mentor Paulo Almeida, the album treats uncertainty as fuel: play first, understand later-an approach that turns instinct into form and risk into clarity. Leading an international quartet with Albin Ormegard, Moritz Langmaier (piano/keys) and Thomas Fuller, Giesel shapes a sound world where groove and modern harmony meet openness and space-drawing on contemporary jazz aesthetics while absorbing subtle rock/indie edges. Most pieces are Giesel originals, complemented by one composition each from Ormegard and Langmaier, reflecting the group's shared voice. At the album's center, "Moods" opens a reflective window that includes spoken word by Dae Bryant, anchoring the record's human, hopeful core. The result is a vibrant, deeply personal snapshot: four musicians listening hard, moving as one, and inviting the listener into the mystery-where familiarity meets discovery.

The formation of the The Chaining Loops team is the result of encounters that, for the most part, took place over several decades, within various third-party projects of extremely diverse aesthetics. Over the years, this gave Olivier and his associates many opportunities to share a wide range of experiences through different projects, during numerous concerts in France and abroad. This is how Olivier met vibraphonist David Patrois in 1991, when they were both members of harmonica player Olivier Ker Ourio's quartet, which-after winning First Prize at the Concours National de Jazz de la Defense in 1993-performed in several concerts throughout France. In 1998, Olivier met cornettist and vocalist Mederic Collignon during Paris jam sessions. Mederic went on to take part in many of the leader's projects (duo, trios, etc.), including a quartet project featuring pianist Andy Emle. As for guitarist Michael Felberbaum, Olivier first invited him to take part in the European tour New Gravitations, which took place in 2007-2008 following the release of the album Gravitations on Altrisuoni in 2007. In 2013, trombonist Gueorgui Kornazov was already part of the drummer's septet project Abstract, whose album was released in 2013 on Rewind Records. Double bassist Yoni Zelnik, for his part, has participated since 2015 in several one-off concerts in France and Germany as a member of the leader's Reciprocity project. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Frederic Borey is the newest addition to the ensemble. The name Pulse was inspired for Olivier Le Goas by the word pulsar. A pulsar is a neutron star that rotates very rapidly on it's axis. The first pulsar, known as the Cambridge pulsar 1919 (CP1919), was discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell and Antony Hewish. The Pulse septet project was born during a creative residency in 2021, which benefited from support from DRAC Bretagne. This residency made it possible to develop most of the repertoire featured on the album, with the exception of the album's eponymous title track, The Chaining Loops, which is more recent and was composed in 2024. It was only in June 2024, after a session canceled in 2023, that Olivier Le Goas brought the Pulse Ensemble to Studios de la Seine in Paris to record The Chaining Loops. The album The Chaining Loops presents a special repertoire consisting of five pieces: The Chaining Loops, Direction, Friction, Fifteen Miles, and Light in the Sky. The Chaining Loops, composed largely in spring 2024, is a large-scale piece built on the interlocking of pattern blocks and the stretching of melodic lines, with song remaining the central axis. Direction, originally composed for Olivier Le Goas's group Reciprocity, presents music of a lyrical and energetic character that gradually gains in density, complexity, and unity. Friction is a suite formed by the aggregation of multiple themes, in which the main opening theme (2021) crystallizes the overall structure of the piece and is based on an interplay of blocks of forces. Fifteen Miles, dating back to 2016, is a composition that was reworked twice-first in 2021 and again a few months before the recording. It combines an initial theme imbued with a certain gravity, contrasting with a second, more light-hearted theme. Light in the Sky offers a form composed of multiple arrangements of different thematic and solo sections, in which unexpectedly emerge contours and masses of sound.

The creative willfulness is immediately apparent. Just like the playful spirit. A photograph of four athletes, visibly marked by a match, in trilogue with the group's name and the album title: Stefan Scholer Trio - "Psalm B". A strange, seemingly peculiar combination. Stefan Scholer is aware of this. He accepts the unpredictable nature of the effect. The photograph, taken in 1966 on the sidelines of a Gaelic football match in Dublin, Ireland, by the world-renowned photographer Evelyn Hofer, had a magnetic pull on him. He discovered it in a Hofer exhibition at the Museum Kurhaus in his hometown of Kleve in the far west of Germany. Subsequently, he did everything in his power to obtain permission to use it. The question of 'why?' dissolves satisfyingly in his keen explanation. The pianist and composer follows his intuition unconditionally while also closely reflecting on his decisions. In this case, he quickly arrives at a "profoundly human" element that speaks to him in the image. This, in turn, corresponds to Hofer's intention to capture naturalness. How does the album title fit that? Scholer doesn't construct any intellectual bridges. For him, the term 'psalm' has become a kind of key to a spiritual context in his work over the years, initially stemming from a specific religious connection. He opened this up a few years ago. Even in the expression of these athletes, he senses some of that. That's sufficient. And it might just ignite the curiosity and openness for the sonic content of this album, Scholer's fourth, in receptive listeners.  The introduction to the opening title track sets the tone. In Scholer's highly personal touch, one hears and feels precisely the human element that moves him. His playing is delicate yet possesses an effortless clarity. This almost songlike, narrative melodic expression recurs throughout the pieces, even in complexity. His close connection with bassist Lukas Keller and drummer Simon Braumer, both of whom also played on the previous album "Folklore," results in an unbroken flow. The pianist's leading voice is built on an open, flexible interplay - the leader is also an attentive team player. Motifs from he world of sports are also hidden in the titles of some compositions: "Ronny & Francesko" (bobsledding) and "Bob Chigarillo" (bodybuilding), loosely based on real-life figures. Scholer draws inspiration from both, exploring themes of culture and world politics. A sense of self-will that nourishes imagination and philosophical reflection. A connection to nature, a sense of sublimity, a longing for peace (even if only in one's own neighborhood), the lingering effects of a past relationship - no matter how profound: Stefan Scholer is audibly searching for positivity, for hope. This is unmistakably present in this album like it is in the previous one. Many of us, he is convinced, have our own personal psalms. Just like the athletes on the cover. He follows his own

The legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band, based on the American drummer Kenny Clarke and the Belgian pianist and arranger Francy Boland, was created in 1961 on the initiative of Pierluigi “Gigi” Campi, born in Italy but living in Cologne. He promoted and produced the Clarke-Boland Big Band who, as an independent and unmistakable voice of jazz, set standards in Europe and beyond. In 2018, the Campi family bequeathed the important legacy of Gigi Campi - consisting of several boxes of handwritten original sheet music from the Clarke-Boland Big Band - to the Bundesjazzorchester. This great honor allows the BuJazzO to preserve the legacy of the Clarke-Boland Big Band. In 2019, a first focus was dedicated to this treasure: Jiggs Whigham personally selected the titles for the program from the archive. Contemporary witnesses Manfred Schoof and Erik van Lier, former members of the Clarke-Boland Big Band, were invited to the rehearsal phase in March. Afterwards the BuJazzO 2019 played twelve concerts whose extraordinary moments, energy and passion are documented live on this album.

REVIEW:

The youthful musicians - all aged between 17 and 27 - swing as if they grew up with these sounds. Their impetuous enthusiasm for playing is infectious and makes the disc more than just a nostalgic project.

-- Rondo

Inverted Forest

Anima

The 82nd protagonist of the Jazz thing Next Generation series comes from Minsk in Belarus, where he grew up as the son of an artist family and was gently introduced to the world of music by his mother, a classical pianist, early in his childhood. Alexei began playing piano at the age of five, and he became enthusiastic about the saxophone at the age of twelve, which is why he went to Germany in 2003 with a heavy heart due to the better educational opportunities. He studied under Professor Wolfgang Engstfeld at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne until 2010, and played in the Federal Youth Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzO) under the direction of Peter Herbolzheimer. Malakhau: In Belarus, I could hardly have lived so freely, let alone earned a living from music. Of course, he had to work very hard for a several years to give art the freedom it really deserves. Life between two different countries therefore also gives a distinctive personality stamp in the sense of Leiblich. Hardly any other jazz musician currently combines elements of classical and modern music in such a natural and relaxed way. I grew up with classical music, it paved my way. I encountered experimental art on the wayside.

The late, great Dave Brubeck surely would appreciate this album, which is a tribute to the legacy of jazz giant. Sabine Kuhlich and Laia Genc have chosen some of Brubeck’s greatest work to cover, including possibly his most well-known pieces, Unsquare Dance and Take Five. Vocalist and saxophonist Sabine Kuhlich has studied jazz in New York City as well as Amsterdam. She is also a passionate composer, and an incredible arranger. She has been teacher of the Jazz Department at the Conservatory Maastricht since 2006. Laia Genc is a modern jazz pianist also based in Germany. She performs frequently with Blue Art Orchestra and Miss Jones Big Band, and is active at jazz festivals across Europe.

Marcus Klossek is one of the growing number of guitarists who perform Jazz on a Fender Telecaster, the archetype of the electric guitar. A class of musicians that consists of many extraordinary artists; from Jimmy Bryant to Ed Bickert, Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, Jim Campilongo or Jakob Bro, just to name a few. An established name within the Berlin jazz scene who knows how to get to the point with his Electric Trio. A guitar, bass and drums; that's all it takes to make the songs of Marcus Klossek sound great! His brand new album "Time Was Now", the 8th release as a bandleader and the first one for Double Moon/Challenge Records, is another proof of exceptional storytelling composing skills which go far beyond the average guitar release. The Marcus Klossek Electric Trio has toured countless European clubs and festivals since releasing their first album "Now & Again" in 2012.

Bands that are led by drummers are not as seldom as they once were, but still a somewhat rare affair. The quartet of drummer Christian Krischkowskyis already presenting its second album “The End of Melancholism” and illustrates the advantages of such an approach in nine pieces, seven of which are from Krischkowsky's pen. Pieces like “Would You Dance With Me?” or “Football Evolution” sound rhythmically challenging, without deliberately placing the drums in the foreground. “I wanted to incorporate the rhythmic ideas that I developed on drums even more into my compositions,” Krischkowsky said. “When composing, however, I always had my co-musicians with whom I recorded the album in mind.” And they are really something else! Peter Ehwald is a saxophonist who always goes his own way, but at the same time has outstanding qualities in interaction. “Peter is very freedom-loving,” the band leader stated. "He repeatedly makes suggestions to modify fixed structures, which may sound too beautiful, and improvise to make them more his own. This makes the pieces more spirited, more unpredictable and freer. This also reflects his personality. "Marc Schmolling is a pianist with whom Christian Krischkowsky has almost blind understanding. “I've known Marc the longest, and he's actually responsible for the band members coming together,” he confessed. "I appreciate his humor and admire how deeply he is rooted in tradition. At the same time, he also has something unwieldy and unpredictable in his play. Sometimes it sounds a bit cumbersome, but that is also exactly what constitutes his own style. ”Roland Fidezius on bass is responsible for the maneuverability of the quartet. He is closely intertwined with Krischkowsky's playing, but also keeps making surprising twists.