Saxophonist and composer Daniel Bennett tried to find his own way after the disruption of the New York City nightlife through the Covid-19 pandemic and his answer is summarized in this new album called ‘New York Nerve’.

During lockdown Daniel started to play on the rooftop of his apartment building and when restaurants and jazz-clubs opened again he performed with his band under “snow-covered heat lamps”. His idea was always to bring the music to the people and he found some comrades that shared his idea and followed him in the last 15 months. When studios re-opened in 2020 he recorded this album together with

•  Assaf Kehati: Electric Guitar
• Kevin Hailey: Electric Bass
• Koko Bermejo: Drums

The album starts with ‘Television’, a song that has a beautiful melody built on a steady rock-groove with the Bennett-typical change of tonal centers. The seamless transition from saxophone to clarinet together with the change of the background from guitar riffs to piano chords is done quite nicely.

‘The Town Supervisor’ moves much slower. Assaf Kehati on guitar trades solos with Daniel Bennett, interesting is how the groove is slightly modified and I think the long background notes are played by Daniel Bennett on clarinet.

‘Gold Star Mufflers’ is a song that Daniel recorded before but this new version sounds much cleaner and has a certain spirit of a merry-go-round in an (sometimes enchanted) amusement park. Excellent song and great arrangement.

The album continues with ‘Human Playback’. The melody is accompanied by arpeggios while the solo part reduces the harmonic elements significantly to a simple pattern. The short guitar solo is played without any harmonic support. The final melody returns again to the arpeggio accompaniment. The long coda of this song is dominated by a vanishing saxophone.

‘Rattlesnake’ begins as an open improvisation and changes to an steady nice sad melody which is repeated multiple times giving this song a contemplative character.

The album closes with ‘The County Clerk’. The solo part of this slow song starts with a duet between Daniel Bennett on saxophone and Assaf Kehati on guitar before each of them has its own solo part.  One final major chord and some cymbals swoosh and the album comes to and end.

‘New York Nerve’ is the right title for this album because it shows – with Daniel Bennett as its most passionate advocate – the courage and unfaltering spirit of this city to stay positive and creative. The songs are all typical Bennett-songs with beautiful melodies and strong modulations, the arrangements are done quite nicely and the band produces a compact and transparent sound on this album.

More information on the Daniel Bennett group is available on their website:
https://danielbennettgroup.com/

And finally the complete album as Spotify-playlist:

From Zurich, Switzerland comes a new album of saxophonist and composer Nicole Johänntgen. ‘Henry III’ is (obviously) the third album with her acoustic funk band from New Orleans featuring

Nicole Johänntgen – saxophone
Jon Ramm  – trombone
Steven Glenn – sousaphone
Paul Thibodeaux – drums

The album was recorded live at the Domicile Jazzclub in Pforzheim, Germany, on October 22, 2018. An old-fashioned analogue two-track recording machine was used for this production and Nicole made sure that the album is also available on vinyl. Overall, an interesting setup for this record and so I was curious when I started listening.

The first song on the album is called ‘Life’ and starts easy with drums and sousaphone setting the groove with sax and trombone warming up a little bit before playing the melody.  Played with great precision and fantastic timing. The first solo part of this song is a dialog between sax and trombone with fantastic support from drums and sousaphone followed by a conversation between sousaphone and drums. Excellent start and frenetic applause from the audience confirms the impression of amazing interplay combined with a cool groove.

The album continues with ‘Too Lose’, a slower and almost greasy tune based on a 3-3-2 bossa nova groove. The melody captivates us with its nice two-voice arrangement. The solo part ends with an old-fashioned almost dixie style duet between saxophone and trombone.

‘Discoland’ is the next tune on the album and it is based on a disco groove. Parts of the melody remind me of one disco song from the  1980′s, very funny. After solos of trombone and saxophone (with trombone support) comes a great drums solo.

‘Sweet and Honest’ is a nice ballad. Drums and sousaphone play very soft and keep trombone and sax in the lead. A great sousaphone solo raises from nowhere, feels like a wake-up call from the grave.

The album continues with ‘Biological’, a song in gospel-style harmonies. The first solo goes to Steven Glenn on sousaphone followed by another dialog between sax and trombone.

‘Zydeco’ is a tune based on the dance and folk music style with the same name from southern rural Louisiana. Nice background of sousaphone plus trombone or sax while the other instruments play solo. The pushing drums is the main characteristic from the Zydeco music. The song ends with a brillant drums solo

‘Dig Deep’ is a slow jazz waltz featuring the incredible Steven Glenn on sousaphone  and ends nicely with  Nicole and Jon Ramm singing the melody in two voices.

‘Fahrtwind’ is the next song. It has a steady moving groove. Very impressive is the precise playing of the whole band. The solo is again the typical dialog between sax and trombone.

The album ends with a lullaby. ‘Guetnachtlied’ is just a sweet melody presented by Jon Ramm on trombone , the perfect last dance of a live show.

This whole album impresses with the great precision, dynamics and the superb timing of all musicians. You feel that these musicians spend quite some time together and play this music right from the heart.

Nicole Johänntgen is currently on tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to present the new album. I had the chance to see her in Bern, it was a night to remember, the music was played without amplification and Nicole Johänntgen invited a special guest (as she does in every concert during this tour). The surprise came with Victor Hege, a second excellent sousaphone player and so I had the pleasure to listen to two incredible sousaphones pushing each other to the limit.

Please check Nicole Johänntgen’s website for more information on tour dates and other projects:
https://www.nicolejohaenntgen.com/

And finally the complete album as playlist on Spotify:

A great relaxed album comes from Danish saxophonist Hans Ulrik. “In a Sentimental Mood” presents a mix of originals and standards from a Scandinavian all-star quartet featuring

• Hans Ulrik – saxophone 
• Steen Rasmussen – piano
• Johnny Åman – bass
• Anders Mogensen – drums 

Johnny Åman comes from Malmö in Sweden, the other musicians are from Denmark.  The songs have been recorded in June 2020 in “the Old Radio House” in Copenhagen by Henrik Holst Hansen and the release date was on October 12, 2020.

The album starts with “You Must Believe In Spring” by Michel Legrand. Hans Ulrik begins it with a excellent sax solo intro, the band joins gently and soft, a short and relaxed piano solo and the final head top this great ballad off.

“Scilla” is an original by Hans Ulrik, a 3/4-meter moll blues which modulates in the bridge. A beautiful composition with fantastic dynamic solos by Hans Ulrik on saxophone and Steen Rasmussen on piano accompanied by pushing bass and drums. This song is in nice contrast to the initial ballad and is one of my favorites on the album.

The album continues with Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood”, the title song of the album. The intro goes to piano and saxophone, where the piano plays and repeats an interesting melodic riff. The band starts in the bridge of the song. The first solo goes to Johnny Åman on bass, an excellent idea to keep the song quiet and relaxed. Hans Ulrik takes over in the bridge and the dynamics increase perfectly. A final saxophone solo cadence completes this song, another highlight on the album.

“Loose Caboose” by Henry Mancini from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” comes next. This modal song has a steady even groove and features Hans Ulrik on soprano saxophone.

“The Summer Knows” by Michel Legrand is the next ballad on this album. Hans Ulrik continues to play with his soprano saxophone. The melody is played very beautifully, long notes, great phrasing and much more emotions. The solo goes again to Johnny Åman on bass.

The album finishes with “Epilogue” a Jazz waltz that reminds me a little bit of “Little Waltz” by Ron Carter. This song has a nice melody and fine harmonies. Anders Mogensen on drums uses this song to present a very open and extraordinary rhythmic pattern.

This whole album is something I would like to call “comfort music”, beautiful melodies presented very easy and sophisticated but with great taste. A perfect companion for long winter nights. Please enjoy.

More information on Hans Ulrik can be found on his website:
https://hansulrik.com/

And finally the album as playlist on Spotify:

From Manchester, UK comes the band Skeltr with their second album ‘Dorje’ released on Ubuntu records on October 9.

The line-up for this band is

• Sam Healey – Alto Saxophone, Vocals, Keys
• Craig Hanson – Drums

Skeltr started as an experimental late night session and their first UK live show was at the 2017 Manchester Jazz Festival, where the band made an auspicious start, leading to performances across European jazz festivals, including Reykjavik JazzFestival, InJazz, Rotterdam and the famous Osloscene Club in Norway.
All six originals on the album are compositions by multi-instrumentalist Sam Healey and guest appearances are made by Hayley Williams on ‘Siren’ and Manchester rapper KinKai on ‘KinKai’s Question.’

The album starts with ‘Cheef Beef’ a song with a steady groove dominated by a multi-layered saxophone creating a really full and pushing sound. The lyrics of this song are about reflecting where we can find happiness. I guess the answer is given with this positive and cheerful song. Great start into the album.

‘Braila’ is the next song, named after the hometown of Sam’s wife. Long notes in the melody create an elevated feeling, like an anthem, but also with intermissions where Craig Hanson and his drumming is featured. A long and intensive saxophone solo leads to a magnificent end. One of my favorites on the album.

‘Siren’ features Hayley Williams on vocals, no lyrics, just her voice, the melody comes in unison with Sam Healey’s saxophone. Hayley’s singing has a great bluesy contrast to the clear composition.

‘KinKai’s Question’ is the next song and it features rapper KinKai in a fantastic song. Fender Rhodes and drums are laying the ground for the words of KinKai, another highlight of this album. The lyrics are inspired by the preface of the book ‘Modern Buddhism’ which Sam Healey presented to KinKai for this song.

‘Fjord’ starts with long synthesizer chords and a saxophone melody with very long notes, the middle part has harmonies that remind me of the Brecker Brothers.

‘Nesodden’ the last song is named after a small island near Oslo, Norway, where Sam spent some time and got the inspiration for this album watching the beautiful scenery and reflecting on the importance to work on his internal and external world. The melody comes again in great long lines, reducing to give space for an extensive saxophone solo, nicely supported by Craig Hanson on drums.

‘Dorje’ is a great album with a unique sound based on the saxophone playing of Sam Healey, the compositions are all convincing and the rich tone and the various stylistic elements are the main characteristics for this positive overall picture. Definitely something new and interesting, so please listen to this album.

Sam Healey produced also a nice little video going through the album and playing a little bit:

And finally the album as a playlist on Spotify:

From Munich, Germany comes saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Mulo Francel. His newest project is called “Crossing Life Lines” and combines eleven musicians from Germany, Austria, Poland and Czech Republic with originals, Jazz standards and compositions from Chopin and Smetana in an album that celebrates that borders, which have been closed for many decades during the Cold War, are open and people that have been expelled from their home after World War II have found peace together in an united Europe.

Mulo Francel has some more details:
“I had been on tour with my band Quadro Nuevo in the Czech Republic and Poland. It took us all the way to Przemysl in the very east to a great accordion festival with a heartfelt audience. On our last evening we played in Gliwice. Jakub, the young concert organizer, invited us afterwards to a restaurant in the countryside where his brother cooked wonderfully. We talked until late and tried to translate jokes for each other. The home-made brandy from Jakub’s father did the rest.
Still laughing I fell into my hotel bed. But soon I was rolling from one side to the other. The emotions of this journey left me no peace and on the contrary with a crucial question: How do I deal with the suffering caused by our grandfathers’ generation? Do I address it? Do I apologize?
The end of the Second World War was over 75 years ago. Gone are the occupation, the internment, the mass rapes and killings, the expulsion from the homeland. Finished. At least in Central Europe and the bordering countries of Eastern Europe.
I was looking for excellent musicians who understand my concern. Who, because of their biography, have a sense for overcoming borders and building reconciling bridges between peoples. Such as the Polish vibraphonist Izabella Effenberg, who lives in Nuremberg, or the Viennese guitarist Diknu Schneeberger, who has Jenish and Sinti roots. People whose family-DNA historically carries “Slavic” & “Germanic”, German-Bohemian & Czech-Bohemian, Sudeten German & Hungarian-Austrian, Jewish & Christian influences.”

The full cast of this album is:

• Diknu Schneeberger (guitar)
• Izabella Effenberg (vibraphone, array mbira, steel drums)
• Philipp Schiepek (guitar)
• David Gazarov (piano)
• Bernd Lhotzky (piano)
• Robert Kainar (drums)
• Stefan Noelle (drums)
• D.D. Lowka (bass, percussion)
• Sven Faller (bass)
• Jiří Bárta (cello)
• Mulo Francel (saxes, clarinet)

The album starts with ‘Valse du Bohémien’ an adaption of Bedřich Smetana’s ‘Moldau’ arranged by Mulo Francel and presented as a pushing Jazz waltz. First song and first highlight on the album, so the appetite for more was raised.

The second song is an original by Mulo Francel and D.D. Lowka called ‘Ada’s Song’ and is an homage to Mulo’s grandmother. The melody has some of those ‘killer’ sounds where guitar, piano and vibraphone play the background and melody together. Beautiful solos come from Izabella Effenberg, Diknu Schneeberger, Bernd Lhotzky and Mulo Francel. Great old-fashioned swinging band with the Gypsy-touch added by Diknu Schneeberger.

The Jerome Kern standard ‘Look for the Silver Lining’ comes next, arranged in Reggae-style with Mulo Francel playing a beautiful clarinet.

‘Schaschlik’ (German for ‘Shish Kebap’) is a song in style of the music of David Gazarov’s home town Baku. Mulo explains: “This song is played on weddings and grill parties. Composed of musical motifs of the multicultural Caucasian region. We had a lot of fun with this!”

‘Lover Man’ written for Billie Holiday is the next song, performed by Mulo Francel with the piano trio David Gazarov (p), Sven Faller (b) and Robert Kainar (d). An outstanding piano solo is the highlight of this tune.

We hear the same quartet in ‘Blues in X Moll’ a nice melancholic tune written by Mulo Francel.

‘The Rabbi from Namysłów’ by Sven Faller comes next. Mulo Francel and Philipp Schiepek on guitar play the melody beautifully together. The song was written in memoriam of Rabbi David Laqueur, the “forefather” of the clan of Sven’s grandmother after a family reunion in 2017 in Poland. Great song and fantastic arrangement based on guitar and clarinet. Sven Faller gets the chance for a nice bass solo.

‘Wiosna’ (Polish for ‘Spring’) by Izabella Effenberg is the next song. The song starts soft and open with Izabella playing the array mbira. Fantastic groove by the rhythm section with Philipp Schiepek (g), Sven Faller (b) and Robert Kainar (d). Mulo Francel plays the soprano saxophone, another change in sound which makes this album so diversified and manifold.

The album continues with ‘Ein Sommertag’ (German for ‘A summer day’) by composer Hans Winterberg. Winterberg came from a Jewish family in Prague and was a survivor of the concentration camp in the ghetto of Theresienstadt. Born in 1901, he first grew up in the Empire of Austria, then, after World War I, became a citizen of Czechoslovakia, and after his emigration in 1947 a German in Bavaria. A typical résumé in the 20th century and a perfect example that identity is something unique and individual.

‘September Remember’ by Mulo Francel brings back the fantastic Diknu Schneeberger in another great swinging tune.

‘Sám s děvčetem v dešti’ (Czech for ‘Alone with a Girl in the Rain’) is an old hit song from the 1930′s from the Czech Republic and wallows in nostalgia. Old-fashioned swinging and featuring Jiří Bárta on cello.

‘Naab’ by Sven Faller is an homage to the river Naab which is the border between Germany and Czech Republic and can be crossed now freely. The spring of the river is in the middle of a remote, enchanted part of the Upper Palatinate Forest where you can stand with each foot in a different country. Drums and percussion set the rhythmic layer for the improvisations. A very powerful and energetic song.

‘Frieda’ by Philipp Schiepek is the next song. It remembers Philipp’s grandmother who grew up in Bohemia and started a new life after the war in southern Germany. A soft song with Philipp Schiepek playing an acoustic guitar. Izabella Effenberg on vibraphone and Mulo Francel on tenor sax are the other soloists here.

The album finishes with ‘Fredinand´s Prelude’ a song based on Chopin’s E-minor Prelude played in Rumba-style mixed with a Jelly Roll Morton piano interlude. Very entertaining late night music for the last dance before the bar closes.

Mulo Francel has produced a fantastic album with “Crossing Life Lines”. All songs have beautiful melodies and are really great to listen, the band plays extraordinary, all involved musicians show their mastery and the result is of great excellence, an album which you can listen again and again and where you will detect new nuances every time you listen. It is also a very personal album for the musicians, they opened their photo albums and their personal history and let us participate in their feelings and emotions.

This great video (in German with English subtitles) explains this project in detail:

And finally the album as playlist on Spotify: