Pictures in Sounds

Ekkehard Wölk piano, arrangements
Lars Gühlke double bass
Andrea Marcelli drums
Kristoff Becker cello, electronics (track 5,12)
Walter Gauchel tenor- (4,8), soprano sax (6,10)

This new trio CD by EKKEHARD WÖLK consists entirely of his earlier compositions. His experience in the field of multistylistic jazz is what lies at the heart of the compositions and arrangements and also the sense of togetherness heard in the band’s improvisational performances.
The trio, having played together over a considerable number of years, successfully manage to connect concepts of modern jazz (tonal-bound or free collective) in a context in which influences from other musical styles are convincingly mingled.
Many of the compositions feature extra-musical ideas and images which appear in the compositional texture and are developed in an improvisationally arresting style. This creates, particularly in a live concert setting, a “jazz programme music” inspired by classic models, seeking to combine poetic musical sequences in the mind of the listener.
One feature of the band’s tried-and-tested concept is to create ever more open sound spaces within the context of the individual compositions, using free improvisation to open up spaces in which the listener’s individual associative powers can be released on hearing this music.

This eclectic style is combined with the special powerful vitality and rhythmic finesse of “contemporary jazz”.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.

Petrichor

Gero Schipmann, guitarist from Cologne, has been inspired to write the music for this album by a twelve-month stay in Iceland. Petrichor is not simply a sampler which sets out to paint a musical portrait of Europe’s remote north, but rather than a mere collage of reconstructed nordic sirens, folk airs and ethereal „Lord of the Rings“ film music, we hear open-sided jazz from a quartet head up by a guitar which exhibits neither technical prowess for its own sake nor tediously melancholic nebulosity.
Following his graduation in music in Cologne, Gero is now based in London, where he is completing a masters degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Solar Energy

The distinctive sound of the band comes from grooves rooted in funk and hip-hop, enriched with harmonies of jazz and vocal melodies. Becker’s compositions and improvisations are sensitive and profound.
Ten new songs, songs without words, that create vivid imagery in the minds of the listeners. Musical poems, born in an urban environment, in search of the poetry by the roadside.

Recorded in High Resolution Audio Format (96Khz, 24bit)