hr Big Band feat. Vincent Herring, cond. by Jörg Achim Keller: The Blues And The Abstract Truth live at 42nd German Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2011

Vincent Herring | as, ss
Jörg Achim Keller | cond, arr
Frank Wellert, Martin Auer, Thomas Vogel, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø | tb
Manfred Honetschläger | b-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht | as
Ben Kraef, Karl-Martin Almqvist | ts; Rainer Heute | bs
Peter Reiter | p;  Martin Scales | g
Thomas Heidepriem | b; Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr
recorded live at HR-Sendesaal, Frankfurt, October 29, 2011

1. Stolen Moments (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Vincent Herring, as; Axel Schlosser, tp
2. Hoe-Down (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Martin Scales, gt; Jean Paul Höchstädter, dr; Vincent Herring, as
3. Cascades (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Karl Martin Almquvist, Heinz Dieter Sauerborn, Ben Kraef, ts; Peter Reiter, p
4. Yearnin' (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Vincent Hering, as; Günter Bollmann, tb; Axel Schlosser, tp
5. Butch and Butch (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Rainer Heute, bs; Peter Feil, tb; Vincent Herring, as
6. Teenie's Blues (Oliver Nelson)
Soloists: Vincent Herring, as; Thomas Heidepriem, b; Christian Jaksjø, tb; 

Manfred Honetschläger, b-tb; Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, tp
7. I Remember Bird (Leonard Feather, arr. Oliver Nelson)
Soloist: Vincent Herring, as

The Blues and the Abstract Truth is an album by Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album. It features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy (his last appearance on a Nelson album following a series of collaborations recorded for Prestige), Bill Evans (his only appearance with Nelson), Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes. Baritone saxophonist George Barrow does not take a solo but is a key feature of the subtle voicings of Nelson's arrangements.
The album is an exploration of the mood and structure of the blues, though only some of the tracks are in conventional 12-bar blues form. In this regard, though it is not modal jazz, it may be seen as a continuation of the trend towards greater harmonic simplicity and subtlety via reimagined versions of the blues that was instigated by Miles Davis's Kind of Blue in 1959 (Evans and Chambers played on both albums). Of the pieces on Nelson's album, "Stolen Moments" is the most famous; it is a sixteen-bar piece (in an eight-six-two pattern), though the solos are on a conventional 12-bar minor-key blues structure in C minor. "Hoe-Down" is built on a forty-four-bar structure (with thirty-two-bar solos based on "rhythm changes"). "Cascades" modifies the traditional 32-bar AABA form by using a 16-bar minor blues for the A section, stretching the form to a total of 56 bars. The B-side of the album contains three tracks that hew closer to 12-bar form: "Yearnin'", "Butch and Butch" and "Teenie's Blues".

Africa/Brass– hr-Big Band feat. Archie Shepp live at 42nd German Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2011

Archie Shepp | ts
Charles Tolliver | cond, arr
Frank Wellert, Martin Auer, Thomas Vogel, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil , Christian Jaksjø | tb
Manfred Honetschläger | b-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht | as
Ben Kraef, Karl-Martin Almqvist | ts
Rainer Heute | bs
Peter Reiter | p; Martin Scales | g
Thomas Heidepriem | b; Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr
recorded live at HR-Sendesaal, Frankfurt, October 27, 2011

1. Introduction
2. Song of the Underground Railroad (Trad.)
3. The Damned Don´t Cry (Calvin Massey)
4. Ujaama (Archie Shepp)
5. Greensleeves (Trad.)
6. Africa (John Coltrane)
7. On the Nile (Charles Tolliver)

Africa/Brass is the eighth album by John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Impulse Records. The sixth release for the fledgling label and his first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quintet augmented by a larger ensemble to bring the total number of participating musicians to 21. Its big band sound, with the unusual instrumentation of french horns and euphonium, presented music very different from anything that had been associated with Coltrane to date.
Earlier in 1961, Coltrane had invited multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy to join his band, making it a quintet. Around the same time, bassist Steve Davis departed, replaced by Reggie Workman, at times Coltrane pairing him with a second bassist, Art Davis. With this group in tow, on May 23 Coltrane entered the new Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey for the first time; Rudy Van Gelder had been the sound engineer for most of his earlier sessions with Prestige Records. Coltrane would make the bulk of his recordings at the Van Gelder studio for the remainder of his career.
Apparently, Coltrane had initially contacted Gil Evans to assist with the arrangements; however nothing came of this, Coltrane turning to Dolphy and Tyner to orchestrate. Originally credited to Dolphy alone on the initial release, that has been corrected with the appearance of the 1995 reissue. Coltrane chose the ancient English folk ballad "Greensleeves," done in a similar major/minor contrast as his popular "My Favorite Things." For the two original pieces, "Africa" and "Blues Minor," Dolphy and Coltrane adapted Tyner's piano voicings for the orchestra. A second set of recording sessions for the album took place on June 4.

HR Big Band feat. Cæcilie Norby live in Bad Hersfeld 2010

Photo © ACT / Isak Hoffmeyer

Cæcilie Norby | voc
Örjan Fahlström | cond
HR Big Band:
Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø | tb
Manfred Honetschläger | bass-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht | as
Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles | ts; Rainer Heute | bs
Martin Scales | g;  Peter Reiter | p; Thomas Heidepriem | b; Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr

recorded live at  Stadthalle Bad Hersfeld, October 10, 2010 & Jazztival Bühl, October 8, 2010

1. Girl Talk (Neal Hefti / Bobby Troup)
Soloist: Tony Lakatos, ts
2. My Man (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloists: Martin Scales, gt; Rainer Heute, bs; Peter Reiter, p
3. Just One Of Those Things (Cole Porter)
Soloist: Jean Paul Höchstädter, dr
4. First Conversation (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloist: Tony Lakatos, ts
5. Man's Got Soul (Curtis Mayfield)
Soloists: Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, as; Martin Scales, gt
6. Naked In The Dark (Cæcilie Norby)
Soloist: Axel Schlosser, tp
7. Set Them Free (Sting)
Soloist: Peter Feil, tb
8. Life On Mars (David Bowie)
Soloist: Thomas Heidepriem, b
9. I Had A Ball (Jack Lawrence and Stan Freeman)
Soloist: Julian Argüelles, ts
10. The Dead Princess (Maurice Ravel/ Lyrics: Cæcilie Norby)
11. Spinning Wheel (David Clayton-Thomas)
Soloist : Axel Schlosser, tp

Musical pigeonholes have never interested Danish singer Cæcilie Norby: “I have always been in search of catchy melodies – if you want to have a hit in the pop world, you need a strong melody. In jazz the central subject is that which opens a piece and, in classical music, even the grandest orchestral arrangements may become boring and flat if they aren’t carried by a natural melody.” For Norby it is the melody that is the essence of music, and the decisive criteria according to which she evaluates and chooses music which is free of any genre boundaries. It is an approach which mirrors her extraordinary career and is probably also the secret of her success.
As the daughter of classical musicians – her mother, Solveig Lumholt, was an opera singer and her father, Erik Norby, was a composer – it was the discovery of jazz with its bluesy, swinging and cool moments which brought the decision to follow in her parents’ footsteps. A short while later, whilst still a teenager, she got caught up in the maelstrom of rock and pop music with its raw energy and catchy tunes. As a traveller between these different musical worlds she quickly made a name for herself, beginning with her funk jazz band “Frontline” which won all the Danish jazz awards going in the early Eighties.
Her latest project “Arabesque” is her debut for ACT. It is an ambitious, possibly even pioneering project which brings together her career up until now, reflected through the influence of the classical music of her childhood. For the first time, Norby has written song texts for classical pieces, particularly from the Impressionist period (which represents the majority of the 15 tracks on the album).

HR Big Band feat. Yellowjackets live at Stadttheater Rüsselsheim 2011

Bob Mintzer, tenor sax, conductor
Russell Ferrante, piano
Jimmy Haslip, bass
Will Kennedy, drums
HR Big Band
recorded live at Stadttheater Rüsselsheim, February 25, 2011

1. Introduction
2. Tenacity (Mintzer)
3. Dewey (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
4. Introduction to Like Elvin (Mintzer)
5. Like Elvin
6. Azure Moon (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
7. My Soliloquy (Mintzer)
8. Downtown (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
9. Aha! (Mintzer)
10. Even Song (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
11. Why Is It? (Mintzer)
12. Geraldine (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
13. Revelation (Ferrante/ Haslip, arr. Vince Mendoza)
14. Runferyerlife (Mintzer)

Comprised of saxophonist Bob Mintzer, keyboardist Russell Ferrante, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Will Kennedy (who was a member of the group from 1986-1998 and returned this year) the Yellowjackets celebrate their 30th anniversary as a "musical organization" (to quote Bob Mintzer) with the release of their 21st album "Timeline" on Mack Avenue.

For this special project with the formidable HR Big Band (Frankfurt Radio Big Band) they chose some new tunes from this album plus some classic Yellowjackets signature tunes.

hr-Bigband feat. Joachim Kühn Trio: Out of the Desert live at Jazzfest Berlin 2010

Ed Partyka conductor
Frank Wellert, Martin Auer, Thomas Vogel, Axel Schlosser trumpet
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø trombone
Manfred Honetschläger bass trombone
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht, Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles reeds
Peter Reiter Fender Rhodes
Martin Scales guitar
Thomas Heidepriem bass
Jean Paul Höchstädter drums

Joachim Kühn piano
Majid Bekkas vocals, guembri, oud, kalimba
Ramon Lopez drums, percussion
recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 6, 2010

1. Night in the desert
2. Klangzeit
3. Der Wanderer
4. Fresh Air
5. Lichtquelle   

The great avant-garde pianist Joachim Kühn celebrated his 64th birthday in March, 2008, and spent it in the desert doing what he does best – making music. He played in the middle of the Sahara with Moroccan Berbers, the desert musicians of the “Source Bleue des Meski”, a small oasis near the Algerian border. This is documented on his album Out of the Desert. Kühn, his trio members and the North African musicians share the Maghreb’s heat, its richness of colours and its variety of forms. Departing from this experience and this fundus of material, Kühn wrote a special programme for the hr-Bigband. The 2009 premiere at Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt was an overwhelming success and Frankfurter Allgemeine magazine even praised the stirring performance a “musical miracle”.
Joachim Kühn, first and foremost world-renowned as an imaginative virtuoso, in this project also impressively bears witness to his capabilities as a composer and big band-arranger. His input is the perfect starting point for the vibrant attacks of one of Germany’s longest-serving jazz orchestras which happily contributes all of its wealth of experience reaching from swing to avant-garde.
The new album by Joachim Kühn "Chalabas" will be released on ACT on February 25.

HR Big Band feat. Joachim Kühn Trio - Out Of The Desert live in Frankfurt 2009

Joachim Kühn, piano, comp. & arr.
Majid Bekkas, oud, guembri, vocals, kalimba
Ramon Lopez, drums
HR Big Band
cond. by Örjan Fahlström

recorded live at HR Sendesaal Frankfurt, Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2009, October 29, 2009

1. Fresh Air
2. Lichtquelle
3. Night in the Desert
4. Der Wanderer
5. Klangzeit

The great avant-garde pianist Joachim Kühn celebrated his 64th birthday in March, 2008, and spent it in the desert doing what he does best – making music. He played in the middle of the Sahara with Moroccan Berbers, the desert musicians of the “Source Bleue des Meski”, a small oasis near the Algerian border. This is documented on his album Out of the Desert. Kühn, his trio members and the North African musicians share the Maghreb’s heat, its richness of colours and its variety of forms. Departing from this experience and this fundus of material, Kühn wrote a special programme for the hr-Bigband. The 2009 premiere at German Jazzfestival Frankfurt was an overwhelming success and Frankfurter Allgemeine magazine even praised the stirring performance a “musical miracle”.

Joachim Kühn, first and foremost world-renowned as an imaginative virtuoso, in this project also impressively bears witness to his capabilities as a composer and big band-arranger. His input is the perfect starting point for the vibrant attacks of one of Germany’s longest-serving jazz orchestras which happily contributes all of its wealth of experience reaching from swing to avant-garde. 

HR Big Band feat. Steffen Schorn: Tuvawabohu! – Mongolia live at 41st German Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2010

Steffen Schorn | cond, arr, bs
Nara Naranbaatar Purevdor | Moorin Hoor (Horsefiddle), Hoomii (Overtone singing)
Epi Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig | Horsefiddlebass, Umzad
Badma Badamkhorol Sandandamba | voc
Bodek Janke | perc
Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø | tb
Manfred Honetschläger | bass-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht, Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles, Rainer Heute | reeds
Martin Scales | g;  Peter Reiter | p; Thomas Heidepriem | b; Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr

recorded live at HR Sendesaal Frankfurt, October 28, 2010

1. Introduction
2. F.A. (Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig)
Soloists: Peter Feil, tb; Oliver Leicht, alto clarinet; Bodek Janke, perc
3. Far Away (Schorn)
Soloists: Steffen Schorn, bass-fl; Martin Scales, gt; Bodek Janke, tabla
4. Gii´ngo
5. Mongolian Love Song (Gool´dingor)
6. Moorun Torg´un (Horse Race) (Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig)
Soloists: Axel Schlosser, tp; Tony Lakatos, ts
7. Sana ch´riin (Naranbaatar Purevdor)
8. Aryuna - Die Heilige (Schorn)

For this very special project Steffen Schorn arranged original Mongolian folk songs for the HR Big Band featuring three soloists from Mongolia playing horse fiddle and doing some very nice overtone singing. I have no idea how to spell the titles of these tracks correctly, I wrote down just what I heard, but due to my bad Mongolian I might have spelled them wrong... can someone help?

Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig is one of the most active, open minded and creative Mongolian musicians and has played with a lot of different people from all over the world.

HR Big Band feat. Aki Takase & Rudi Mahall: The Music of Eric Dolphy live at 41st German Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2010

Manfred Honetschläger | cond
Jim McNeely | arr
Aki Takase | p
Rudi Mahall | bcl
Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser | tp
Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø | tb
Achim Hartmann | bass-tb
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht | as
Tony Lakatos, Steffen Weber | ts
Rainer Heute | bs
Martin Scales | g
Thomas Heidepriem | b
Jean Paul Höchstädter | dr

recorded live at HR Sendesaal Frankfurt, October 29, 2010

1. 17 West/ Something Sweet, Something Tender (Eric Dolphy)
Soloists: Aki Takase, p; Rudi Mahall, bcl; Oliver Leicht, cl; Paul Hochstädter, dr; Christian Jaksjø, tb
2. Rudi My Beer! (Takase)
Soloists: Aki Takase, p; Rudi Mahall, bcl
3. Hat And Beard (Dolphy)
Soloists: Aki Takase, p; Rudi Mahall, bcl;  Steffen Weber, ts
4. Serene (Dolphy)
Soloists: Aki Takase, p; Rudi Mahall, bcl
5. Miss Ann (Dolphy)
Soloists: Aki Takase, p; Rudi Mahall, bcl;  Paul Höchstädter, dr; Axel Schlosser, tp
6. 245 (Dolphy)
Soloists: Peter Feil, tb; Rudi Mahall, bcl; Aki Takase, p; Rainer Heute, bcl

Berlin based pianist Aki Takase and bass clarinetist Rudi Mahal did a duo recording featuring tunes by late Eric Dolphy called "Duet for Eric Dolphy" released on enja, so they were a kind of natural choice for the HR Big Band on this tribute. 

HR-Big Band feat. Jim McNeely: The Artistry of Rabih Abou-Khalil - live at Bavarian Broadcast 2010

Rabih Abou-Khalil, oud
Michel Godard, tuba, serpent


Jarrod Cagwin, perc

Jim McNeely, cond
HR Big Band

recorded live at Bavarian Broadcast, Munich, May 7, 2010

1. "Ma muse m'amuse" (Rabih Abou-Khalil, Arr. Jim McNeely)
2. "No mar das tuas pernas?" (Rabih Abou-Khalil, Arr. Jim McNeely)
3. "How can we dance if I cannot waltz?" (Rabih Abou-Khalil, Arr. Jim McNeely)
4. "Maltese chicken farm" (Rabih Abou-Khalil, Arr. Jim McNeely)

Rabih Abou-Khalil grew up in Beirut and moved to Munich, Germany during the civil war in 1978. From early on, he learnt to play the oud, a fretless string instrument, similar to the European lute or Greek bouzouki. He studied in the Beirut conservatory from oud virtuoso Georges Farah. After moving to Germany, he studied classical flute at the Academy of Music in Munich under Walther Theurer. He has often blended traditional Arab music with jazz, and has earned praise such as "a world musician years before the phrase became a label, he makes the hot, staccato Middle Eastern flavour and the seamless grooves of jazz mingle as if they were always meant to" (John Fordham, Guardian 2002). He helped highlight the oud as a vehicle of eclectic "world jazz". Abou-Khalil and his associates are arguably creating a new international platform for improvised music, comparable to John McLaughlin and his associates in Shakti. Humor is a very important ingredient in Abou-Khalil's art and live performances. Various compositions are inspired by humorous stories, common to many is the absurdity of "commuting between cultures". Rabih Abou-Khalil's CDs are conspicuous for their high quality covers depicting Arabic art.

After recording with jazz greats, with traditional Arab musicians, with classical string quartets or Armenian musicians, after writing symphonic orchestral works for the BBC Orchestra in London and the Ensemble Modern in Germany – what would a Lebanese composer do next? Of course he would join forces with an upcoming, well known German Big Band, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band (HR-Big Band) conducted by arranger Jim McNeely.
Rabih Abou-Khalil´s latest CD called "EM PORTUGUÊS" was released on enja.

Jim McNeely & HR-Big Band feat. John Abercrombie: Timeless

John Abercrombie, guitar
Jim McNeely, conductor & arranger
HR-Big Band (Frankfurt Radio Big Band)

recorded live at hr-Sendesaal, Frankfurt a.M., Germany, November 9, 2009

1. Jazz Folk
2. Ralph's Piano Waltz
3. Bred
4. Ballad In Two Keys
5. Line Up
6. Anniversary Waltz
7. Soundtrack
8. Ralph (Out Of Towner)

Over a career spanning more than 40 years and nearly 50 albums, John Abercrombie has established himself as one the masters of jazz guitar.
After graduating from Berklee, Abercrombie headed to New York, where he quickly became one of New York's most in-demand session players. He recorded with Gil Evans, Gato Barbieri, and Barry Miles, to name a few. He was also a regular with Chico Hamilton's group.
But it was in Billy Cobham's band, which also featured the Brecker brothers, that Abercrombie first started to build a following.
In the early 1970s, Abercrombie ran into Manfred Eicher, who invited him to record for ECM. The result was Abercrombie's first solo album, Timeless, in which he was backed by Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette. Abercrombie's second album, Gateway, was released in November 1975 with DeJohnette and bassist Dave Holland; a second Gateway recording was released in June 1978.
His second group, a trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine, marked the first time he experimented with the guitar synthesizer. This gave him the opportunity to play what he called “louder, more open music” with a propulsive beat, demonstrated in the group's three releases, Getting There (featuring Michael Brecker) in 1987, Current Events in 1988, and John Abercrombie, Marc Johnson & Peter Erskine in 1989.
From there, he moved to partnerships that he would shuffle and reshuffle for the next 20 years.
Another album, titled Open Land, added violinist Mark Feldman and saxophonist Joe Lovano to the mix.
His affiliation with Feldman, in a quartet that included Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Barron, ushered in a period of looser, freer, almost improvisatory playing. “I like free playing that has some relationship to a melody; very much the way Ornette Coleman used to write all those wonderful songs and then they would play without chords on a lot of them,”
Throughout the 1990s and into 2000 and beyond, Abercrombie has continued to pluck from the ranks of jazz royalty--and be plucked for guest appearances on other artists' recordings. One propitious relationship was with guitarist, pianist, and composer Ralph Towner, with whom Abercrombie has worked in a duet setting.
His latest recording "Wait Till You See Her" featuring his quartet of violinist Mark Feldman and drummer Joey Baron, newcomer Thomas Morgan replacing previous bassist Marc Johnson, was released in 2009 on ECM.

HR- Big Band feat. The Headhunters live in Frankfurt 2009

1. Loft Funk (Mike Clark)
Soloists: Tony Lakatos, ts, Mike Clark, dr
2. People Music (Hancock)
Soloists: Rainer Heute, bcl; Martin Scales, gt; Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, ss
3. Spider (Hancock)
Soloists: Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, as; Peter Feil & Christian Jaksjø, tb
4. Actual Proof (Hancock)
Soloists: Tony Lakatos, ts; Oliver Leicht, as; Axel Schlosser, tp; Mike Clark, dr
5. Thunder (Örjan Fahlström)
Soloists: Peter Feil, e-tb
6. Swamp Thing (Mike Clark)
7. Sly (Hancock)
Soloists: Rainer Heute, bs, Axel Schlosser, tp, Julian Argüelles, ss, Mike Clark, dr
7. Hang Up Your Hang Ups (Hancock)
Soloists: Tony Lakatos, ts; Peter Reiter, key; Mike Clark, dr

hr-Bigband feat. Mike Clark
Tobias Weidinger, Martin Auer, Thomas Vogel, Axel Schlosser: Trumpets

Günter Bollmann, Peter Feil, Christian Jaksjø: Trombones 

Manfred Honetschläger , Bass-Trombone 

Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht, Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles, Rainer Heute: Saxophones
Peter Reiter, Piano; Martin Scales, Guitar

Thomas Heidepriem, Bass; Mike Clark, Drums
cond. & arr. by Örjan Fahlström

recorded live at Musiklokal Südbahnhof, Frankfurt a. Main/ Germany, March 26, 2009

Today, the Frankfurt Radio Bigband is a celebrated guest at numerous jazz festivals, and itself invites international jazz stars like Mike Stern, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, Django Bates oder John Scofield to perform, driving the development of Big Band music forward with commissions for compositions and arrangement. Thanks to their regular, intensive collaboration to create a tight, homogenous sound ensemble, the Frankfurt Radio Bigband's musicians are ready for any challenge.
Örjan Fahlström has also been associated with the Frankfurt Radio Bigband for a number of years as a guest conductor and composer. The latest example of this successful cooperation is the extremely successful joint tour through his native country of Sweden.

hr-Bigband feat. Roberta Gambarini: „Tribute to Ella“ - live at Rheingau Musik Festival July 2009

Roberta Gambarini, voc

Örjan Fahlström, ld
hr-Big Band (Frankfurt Radio Big Band):
Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser, Thomas Vogel: trumpets
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht, Tony Lakatos, Julian Argüelles, Rainer Heute: reeds
Günter Bullmann, Peter Feil, Manfred Hornetschläger, Christian Jaksjø: trombones
Peter Reiter, piano; Martin Scales, guitar; Thomas Heidepriem, bass; Paul Hochstädter, drums

recorded live at Schloss Johannisberg, Geisenheim July 5, 2009

1. When Lights Are Low
2. Please Don´t Talk About Me
3. Daydream
4. Honeysuckle Rose
5. Stardust
6. Just One Of Those Things
7. Manha da Carneval
8. Oh, Lady Be Good
9. This Autumn
10. Lover Come Back To Me
11. Round Midnight
12. Cotton Tail Part I
13. Cotton Tail Part II
14. I Hadn´t Anyone Until You

The Frankfurt Radio Bigband is one of the most innovative German jazz ensembles of our times. Its imaginative programmes, quality musicians and high-profile projects have raised the Big Band of the Hessischer Rundfunk (German Public Radio of Hessen) to the Champions League of large ensemble jazz music and have set new musical standards. From swing to the avant-garde, it covers the entire spectrum of jazz, as well as crossing over into classical, pop and world music.

Celebrated throughout the world by fans, critics and many of the world’s greatest musicians, Roberta Gambarini became a fast-rising star. The Boston Globe named Roberta as the “true successor to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae.” Roberta’s new album, ‘So In Love,’ out on August 25, 2009, is a stunning affirmation of her status as one of the most important vocal artists performing today.