Joe Sample & NDR Big Band "Children of the Sun" live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Jörg Achim Keller conductor, arrangements
Joe Sample compositions, piano
Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter, Reiner Winterschladen trumpet
Fiete Felsch, Peter Bolte alto sax
Christof Lauer, Lutz Büchner tenor sax
Frank Delle baritone sax
Nils Landgren trombone, vocals
Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich, Stefan Lottermann trombone
Ingo Lahme bass trombone
Stephan Diez guitar
Ingmar Heller bass
Robert Ikiz drums
Marcio Doctor percussion
recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 5, 2011

1. Buttermilk Sky
2. Islands Of The Mind
3. Rumfire
4. Gold In The Cane
5. I Believe In
6. Children Of The Sun
7. Blue Abyss
8. I Wanna Go Home
9. Street Life

With the Crusaders he became famous far beyond the jazz scene, his song Street Life was a massive international disco hit, and he has proved to be a reliable provider of chart-breaking material, like One Day I’ll Fly Away for Randy Crawford. He has recorded with a wide range of bands and musos, among them Canned Heat, Steely Dan, The Supremes, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton.
Joe Sample is the golden boy of American fusion-jazz, but his recent project Children of the Sun is not as sunny as the title might imply. Stimulated by a visit to the Caribbean island of St. Croix, he started to look particularly into the subject of slavery – a part of his own family history.
Sample has been planning this project since 1995, and will bring his composition to the Berlin audience with the NDR Bigband (the Hamburg Radio Big Band), arranged by Jörg Achim Keller.
In 2005 Nils Landgren released Creole Love Call featuring Joe Sample.

Merry Christmas

Thank you for staying with us for three years now!
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Stanton Moore Trio live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Stanton Moore drums
Robert Walter Hammond B3, keyboards
Will Bernard guitar
recorded live at Quasimodo, Berlin, November 4, 2011

1. Pie-eyed Manc (Stanton Moore)
2. Pot Licker (Robert Shawn Walter)
3. Marple Planc (Robert Shawn Walter)
4. Over Compensating (Stanton Moore)
5. Magnolia Triangle (William E. Bernard)
6. Funky Miracle (Arthur L. Neville)
7. Late Night At the Maple Leaf (George Porter)
8. Who Ate The Layer Cake (Stanton Moore)
9. Adelita (Robert Shawn Walter)

In medieval times, alchemy was a mystical pursuit based on a belief that gold could be created from common raw materials. It’s an ancient practice, an idea that has long since been debunked by centuries of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Or has it? Attempts to derive precious substances from lead or tin may have been dismissed by modern-day science as a fool’s errand, but the belief that something of great value can come from something common persists. For drummer Stanton Moore, it’s just a matter of finding the right groove.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Stanton Moore is a dedicated drummer and performer especially connected to the city, its culture and collaborative spirit. Driven and inspired by the thriving music scene of his hometown which includes such greats as Professor Longhair, Doctor John and The Meters, Moore’s name is now mentioned amongst these Big Easy mainstays.
In the early ’90s, Moore helped found the New Orleans-based essential funk band Galactic, he played with metal legends Corrosion of Conformity and the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, with his trio Garage A Trois and – alongside Trombone Shorty, Big Sam ao – in the brass band Midnight Disturbers. His latest album "Groove Alchemy" was released on Telarc Records in 2010.

Adam Baldych Quintet live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Adam Baldych violin
Maciej Kociński saxophone
Krzysztof Dys piano
Andrzej Święs bass
Dana Hawkins drums
recorded live at Quasimodo, Berlin, November 3, 2011

1. Lot mazgorzaty (Adam Baldych)
2. Welcome Pill (Adam Baldych)
3. Babuszka (Adam Baldych)
4. Diabel Boruta (Adam Baldych)
5. Abra kadabra (Adam Baldych)
6. Yes or No (Wayne Shorter)

Ever since Zbigniew Seifert revolutionized the jazz-violin in the 1970ies, tantamount to Coltrane's sax or Hendrix’ guitar, the Polish jazz scene has been a hotbed of a unique line of outstanding violinists, from Michał Urbaniak or Krzęsimir Debski to Henryk Gembalski, latest representative of this trade being Adam Baldych.
In spite of his youth this extraordinarily creative artist has been performing and recording with some of the best Polish and international musicians. The former “infant prodigy’s” music is an extremely expressive combination of modern musical flows. The virtuosity which is his trademark turns Adam's concerts into a unique experience full of energy, youthful zing, yet with a mature sound that receives popularity and respect both from the audience as critics. His nickname “Evil” is probably the best certificate defining his emotional kind of playing and improvising.

Tomasz Stanko "Litania" live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Tomasz Stańko trumpet
Mark Turner saxophone
Joakim Milder saxophone
Marcin Wasilewski piano
Sławomir Kurkiewicz bass
Michał Miśkiewicz drums
recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 3, 2011

1. Litania (Krysztof Komeda)
2. Sleep Safe And Warm (Krysztof Komeda)
3. Svantetic (Krysztof Komeda)
4. Ballada (Krysztof Komeda)

Tomasz Stańko was 20 and a graduate of the Cracow Music Academy when he formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with pianist Adam Makowicz in 1962. Inspired by early Ornette Coleman and the innovations of Coltrane, Miles Davis and George Russell, the group is often cited by music historians as the first European group to play free jazz, but for the trumpeter its importance was eclipsed by the invitation to join Krzysztof Komeda’s quintet the following year. Stańko toured for five years with Komeda, appeared on eleven albums with him, and also made contributions to all of the films scores that Komeda realized in Poland.
In 1970, Stańko joined Alex Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra, which brought him into contact with all the key figures of the European jazz avant-garde, and also formed a quintet, with violinist Zbigniew Seifert. The following year he collaborated with Krysztof Penderecki and Don Cherry. His most important work of the 1970s, however, may have been with Finnish drummer Edward Vesala.
During the 1980s Tomasz Stanko explored many approaches to improvisation and when many Polish musicians left the country in the late eighties he kept true his roots. From his Polish homebase he went travelling to India, worked extensively with Cecil Taylor and, together with the crop of the Scandinavian scene, did recordings for ECM – amongst them the album Litania (1996).
The JazzFest Berlin 2011 edition will see an updated version of this Komeda-tribute, with members of Stańko’s ‘house band’, the Wasilewski Trio, and Joakim Milder from the original cast.

Leszek Możdżer live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Leszek Możdżer piano
recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 3, 2011

1. Crazy Girl (Krystof Komeda)
2. Nighttime, daytime requiem (Krystof Komeda)
3. Ballad for Bernt (Krystof Komeda)
4. Cherry (Krystof Komeda)
5. Sleep Save And Warm (Krystof Komeda)
6. The Law and The Fist (Krystof Komeda)
7. Svantetic (Krystof Komeda)
8. Cherry (Krystof Komeda)

Starting from Frédéric Chopin as originator, Poland looks back on a long tradition of piano esthetes. After Krzysztof Komeda, Mieczysław Kosz and Adam Makowicz, outstanding pianist/composer/producer, Leszek Możdżer is widely considered to be the greatest revelation of Polish jazz of the last decade, eventually proving Frankfurter Allgemeine’s prediction right: “Leszek Możdżer, one of the greatest piano virtuosos, could easily be dubbed the Star of the East”. Over the years he has recorded more than 100 albums, not only with all the stars of the Polish scene but also with the likes of John Scofield, Pat Metheny or Lars Danielsson.
With his solo-project, Komeda, Możdżer not only fathoms the universe of the legendary film composer. He re-translates his great ancestor’s sonic world back into the classical context from which Komeda had drawn his essential impulses 40 years earlier.

Adam Pieronczyck feat. Gary Thomas: Komeda – The Innocent Sorcerer live at JazzFest Berlin 2011

Adam Pierończyk saxophones
Gary Thomas tenor sax
Nelson Veras guitar
Max Mucha bass
Łukasz Żyta drums
recorded live at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main Stage, November 3, 2011

1. Sleep Save and Warm (Krysztof Komeda)
2. Roman (Krysztof Komeda)
3. Kattorna (Krysztof Komeda)
4. Roman II (Krysztof Komeda)

Adam Pierończyk belongs to a younger generation of Polish musicians who concern themselves with their national jazz history in a fresh and jaunty way. On his cd Komeda – The Innocent Sorcerer he celebrates a nostalgia-free homage to the sonic universe of the great jazz pioneer and film composer Komeda; And much like his musical ancestor, Pierończyk manages to conjure musical magic with relatively simple means.
New York’s Cadence magazine certifies him to be “a discovery, for he has a lovely warm tone and a clever imagination, but he can also blow for the borders.” Besides playing with Polish musicians Tomasz Stańko or Leszek Możdżer the Krakow-based saxophonist has worked with international stars like Greg Osby, Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp and Ted Curson.
“Adam Pierończyk is among the very finest of the Polish jazz scene. He is successful like few others in combining instrumental virtuosity, precision, and intellectual refinement with an emotionality that borders on exhibitionism. He burns in his improvisations, and the listener burns with him.”
(Gazeta Wyborcza)

Jacky Terrasson Trio live at Rheingau Musik Festival, Rüsselsheim 2011

Jacky Terrasson - Piano
Earl Travis - Bass
Justin Faulkner - Drums

recorded live at Rheingau Musik Festival, Stadttheater Rüsselsheim, August 6, 2011

1. Medley: Harry Potter/Beat It/Over The Rainbow/Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 
2. Love For Sale (Cole Porter)
3. Caravan (Duke Ellington/ Juan Tizol)
4. Smile (Charles Chaplin)
5. Maraba Blue (Abdullah Ibrahim)
6. My Church (Jacky Terrasson)
7. Softly As In The Morning Sunrise (Romberg)

Ever since pianist extraordinaire Jacky Terrasson burst upon the jazz scene in 1993 by winning the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition, he has consistently recorded richly refined and remarkably free-spirited music. After delivering 10 CDs for Blue Note Records, Terrasson's Concord Jazz debut Push is an 11-track gem of dynamic pianism that opens up a new door onto his creative technique and ingenuity. Push features seven new Terrasson compositions as well as a sampling of fresh spins on standards, including two Monk tunes and a Cole Porter beauty as well as a version of the timeless melody "Body and Soul" melded with "Beat It," Michael Jackson's Thriller hit. 

Ron Carter Trio live at Jazzfest Bonn 2011

Ron Carter - Bass
Mulgrew Miller - Piano
Bobby Broom - Guitar
recorded live at Jazzfest Bonn, May 28, 2011

1. Cedar Tree (Ron Carter)
2. Samba De Orfeu (Luis Bonfa)
3. The Golden Striker (John Lewis)
4. Soft Winds (Henderson)
5. My Funny Valentine (Richard Rogers)
6. Laverne Walk (Ron Carter)

Walk or wander into the world of jazz. Ron Carter is there. His reputation in the music world is peerless. He stylishly accompanies any player or group and, without breaking stride, performs with stunning virtuosity as a soloist. His work is rich in detail, pure in sound, and technically impressive. His long list of accolades as a performer is unprecedented; he may be the most popular bassist there is. 

A lean six feet four inches with a mixture of pride and courtliness, Ron displays an elegant calm on stage as well as off. He has created music with consummate skill for more than forty-five years, apparently without rumpling his tasteful suits or raising a serious sweat. In the early 1960s, he performed throughout the United States in nightclubs and concert halls with Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, and Wes Montgomery, then toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. He was a member of Miles Davis’s now classic quintet from 1963 to 1968, along with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter.
Ron was among the few bassists who continued to play acoustic bass when many turned to electric bass. “It was a conscious choice,” he says. “I felt a responsibility to present a viable alternative to the popular electric sound.”

One of Ron’s chief traits is that he creates bass lines so harmonically and rhythmically rich that soloists must go far to respond to his challenge. As he puts it: “A good bassist determines the direction of any band.” Often Ron uses gonglike tones and glissandos in his work. Once his exclusive trademark, these sounds have now become part of every modern bassist’s vocabulary.
When he first formed his own group, the bass was not generally considered a lead instrument. Ron found a solution in the piccolo bass, an instrument one-half the size of a standard bass. He tuned the instrument so as to foster an unusual sound quality, one that stands out in an ensemble. Backed by a quartet of piano, drums, percussion, and an additional bass, Ron created one of the most distinctive and unusual jazz combos ever heard.  In 2003 he recorded the great album "The Golden Striker" featuring his trio with Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russell Malone.

Dave Douglas / Donny McCaslin Quintet live at JazzBaltica 2011

Dave Douglas - Trumpet
Donny McCaslin - Tenor Saxophone
Jason Linder - Keyboards
Tim Lefebrve - Bass
Mark Guiliana - Drums
recorded live at Konzertscheune Salzau, Jazzbaltica Salzau, July 3, 2011

1. Five Hands Down (Donny McCaslin)
2. Creature Theme (Dave Douglas)
3. L.Z.C.M. (Donny McCaslin)
4. Prologue (Dave Douglas)
5. Memphis Redux (Donny McCaslin)

Donny McCaslin´s Perpetual Motion meet Dave Douglas´ Keystone. For this concert the two Greenleaf recording artists joined forces.

Following the sparse tenor trio album Recommended Tools (Greenleaf, 2008), Perpetual Motion is a 180° turn for McCaslin. Never sounding more confident, McCaslin delves into angular post-bop, blistering polyphonic funk, backbeat-driven R&B, and delicate, ethereal balladry, all without compromising his distinct compositional voice.

On April 24th, 2010, Dave Douglas and experimental filmmaker Bill Morrison unveiled their multimedia collaboration, Spark Of Being, at Stanford University. On film, it stands as a reinterpretation of that Frankenstein myth using new, archival, and distressed footage. The themes, penned by Douglas for his Grammy-nominated band Keystone, integrate electronics seamlessly into the improvised music, piecing sounds and movement together to make three strikingly different Creatures.

Vladyslav Sendecki Roots live at Rolf- Liebermann-Studio 2011

Vladyslav Sendecki (p)
Frank Delle (sax)
Michael Schiefel (voc)
Patrice Héral (dr)
Stephan Maass (perc)
recorded live at Rolf- Liebermann-Studio, NDR, Hamburg, September 8/9, 2011

1. Rain Dance (Trad.)
2. Piano Interlude (Vladyslav Sendecki)
3. Hymnus (Vladyslav Sendecki)
4. Krakowiak (Trad.)
5. Dubrowmica (Trad.)
6. Komeda Hommage (Vladyslav Sendecki)
7. Obertas (Trad.)
8. Back Where I Belong (Vladyslav Sendecki)
9. The Ballad (Vladyslav Sendecki)

Even though New York’s Village Voice named Sendecki “one of the world’s top five jazz pianists” he first had to endure a long struggle with himself and the music scene before he became what he is today. Born in 1955 in Gorlice in Poland, Sendecki first learnt classical piano in the great tradition of his home country. It was only the records by Western greats, that he secretly heard during his time at the Frederic-Chopin conservatory and the Krakow music academy, which brought him latterly to jazz. In 1981 he emigrated to Switzerland where he started an international career, playing with Klaus Doldinger’s Passport group, Billy Cobham, Michael and Randy Brecker, Jaco Pastorius, Joe Henderson, Lenny White and Charlie Mariano. But in the long term, he wasn’t fulfilled with the role of the highly regarded “musicians’ musician.” A period of self contemplation followed during which he hardly played for years until he moved to Hamburg and, in 1996, became a piano soloist with the internationally acclaimed NDR Big Band.

With his new band project Roots he reflects on traditional songs from his home. His latest CD available is the solo album "Solo Piano live at Schloss Elmau", released on ACT.

NDR Big Band feat. Maria Joao & Mario Laginha at NDR 1993

Maria João, vocals
Mario Laginha, piano, arrangements
Dieter Glawischnig, conductor
recorded live at Studio 10, NDR Hamburg, September 3, 1993
106th NDR Big Band Concert
October 27, 1994 (track 5)

1. O vos omnis
Soloists: Maria Joao, voc; Christof Lauer, ts; Mario Laginha, p
2. Varias dancas (Mario Laginha)
Soloists: Christof Lauer, ts; Mario Laginha, p
3. Saudosa maloca (Adoniran Barboas)
Soloists: Johannes Faber, tp
4. O coro das meninas (Mario Laginha)
Soloists: Christof Lauer, ts;
5. Hino - passagem - certeza (Joao Paulo Estevas da Silva)

Maria João is a Portuguese jazz singer, known for her vocal flexibility and improvisational skills. While normally considered a jazz singer, her music incorporates a mix of folk/ethnic music, modern jazz, and the avant-garde. Depending on the thematic slant of a release, she has approached electronica, symphonic and other genres as well.
Although her main collaborator is Portuguese pianist Mário Laginha, she has worked with many musicians throughout her career, including Manu Katche, Trilok Gurtu, Bobby McFerrin, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Joe Zawinul, Ralph Towner, Dino Saluzzi and Kai Eckhardt.
Together with Mário Laginha she has released quite a dozen of great albums, for example in 1994 the cd "Dancas".

Bobby McFerrin live at Jazzfest Brno 2011

Bobby McFerrin, vocals
recorded live at Jazzfest Brno/Czech Republic, March 29, 2011

1. Improvisation (Bobby McFerrin)
2. Smile (Bobby McFerrin)
3. Drive (Bobby McFerrin)
4. Sweet Home Chicago (R. Johnson)
5. Ave Maria (Gounod/Bach)
6. I Want You/She's So Heavy (Lennon/McCartney)
7. I Can See Clearly Now (Nash)
8. Blackbird (Lennon/McCartney)
9. Improvisation (Bobby McFerrin)

“There is something almost superhuman about the range and technique of Bobby McFerrin,” says Newsweek. “He sounds, by turns, like a blackbird, a Martian, an operatic soprano, a small child, and a bebop trumpet.” But despite the undeniable uniqueness of his gift, Bobby’s music is always accessible and inviting. When he invites his fans to sing along, as he almost always does, few can resist. Inclusiveness, play, and the universality of voices raised together in song are at the heart of Bobby’s art. Bobby McFerrin was exposed to a multitude of musical genres during his youth–classical, R&B, jazz, pop and world musics. “When you grow up with that hodgepodge of music, it just comes out. It was like growing up in a multilingual house,” he says. Bobby McFerrin continues to explore the musical universe, known and unknown. Drawing on all genres, demonstrating matchless improvisational skills, he never fails to dazzle. He never seems to run out of new ideas, and he loves having no clue what’s going to happen next. Ask him where he went to school, and he just might tell you that he is a graduate of MSU: Making Stuff Up. “Music for me,” McFerrin says, “is like a spiritual journey down into the depths of my soul. And I like to think we’re all on a journey into our souls. What’s down there? That’s why I do what I do.” His latest album "Vocabularies" was released in 2010.

Jeff Ballard Trio live at Rolf-Liebermann-Studio 2011

Jeff Ballard - dr
Miguel Zenón - sax
Lionel Loueke - git, voc
recorded live at Rolf-Liebermann-Studio, NDR, Hamburg, September 8, 2011

1. Gaida (Miguel Zenón)
2. Hangin' Tree (Queens Of A Stoneage)
3. Off The Top (Miguel Zenón)
4. Come With Me Miz P. (Jeff Ballard)
5. Vivi (Lionel Loueke)

One of the most exciting drummers in jazz today, Jeff Ballard, may be best known for being a member of piano phenom Brad Mehldau's Trio, but he also leads his own groups, and his newest features Miguel Zenon on saxophone and Lionel Loueke on guitar.
After three years with Ray Charles, Ballard moved to New York City, where he soon began to play with jazz giants including Eddie Harris, Bobby Hutcherson, Lou Donaldson, Danilo Perez and Chick Corea, as well as up-and-coming players closer to his age, including Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mehldau, Avishai Cohen, Larry Grenadier and Guillermo Klein. His newest trio, with Zenon and Loueke, comes from sessions with some of his closest collaborators.
"I met Miguel [Zenon] through playing in Guillermo Klein's band, and I met Lionel [Loueke] for the first time when we played in a group with Avishai Cohen, the trumpet player," Ballard says.
Saxophone, guitar and drums is an unusual combination for a jazz group, though there is one outstanding trio led by drummer Paul Motian, with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell. But Ballard says they weren't an influence on his group.
"I put this trio together not thinking of Paul's trio, but afterwards, I have thought of it like a World Music-Paul Motian trio thing," he says. "They are both from cultures which are rich in the tradition of the drum, and this allows us to meet in a similar place musically."
While Ballard and his trio might meet in a similar place musically as Motian's trio, they journey to places far away from the usual musical fare. While Ballard is quick to complement the sound and skills of his fellow players, he also draws attention to the importance of his diverse drum kit - which contains drums from around the world with real skin heads - in the trio's sound. But above all, he says, it is the group's serious approach to music that sets them apart.
"For me, it's not good enough just to have ability. There must be a life energy to it with reasons and feelings and understanding as to why. Music is one of the highest things we have in life. We can be proud that it is a human invention," he says.
This fine trio hasn´t recorded an album so far, the latest album available by Jeff is the 2009 record "Sky & Country" featuring FLY, another trio with Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier and Mark Turner.

Rolf Kühn / Joachim Kühn / John Patitucci / Brian Blade: Impressions Of New York Revisited live at 42nd German Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2011

Rolf Kühn | cl
Joachim Kühn | p
John Patitucci | b
Brian Blade | dr

recorded live at HR-Sendesaal, Frankfurt, October 29, 2011

Impressions of New York is an album by German jazz clarinetist Rolf Kühn and his brother, pianist Joachim Kühn, featuring performances recorded in 1967 for the Impulse! label
Although throughout much of his career Rolf Kuhn has been a swing-based clarinetist, he also has had an open mind toward much more adventurous jazz, possibly inspired a bit by his younger brother, pianist Joachim Kuhn. On this recently reissued album, the two Kuhns, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Aldo Romano perform a 33-minute suite titled "Impressions of New York," which is divided into "Arrival," "The Saddest Day," "Reality," and "Predictions." The music flows with a strong momentum, never losing one's interest. Rolf Kuhn easily keeps up with his younger sidemen, and the overall results feature strong development and some surprises. Recommended.
For the 42nd German Jazzfestival Frankfurt the Kühn brothers joined forces with John Patitucci and Brian Blade (followed by a recording session one day later, to be released on cd next January).