The Answer

Jakob Manz & Johanna Summer - CameoCD / Vinyl / digital Johanna Summer piano Jakob Manz alto saxophone & recorder The duo of pianist Johanna Summer and saxophonist Jakob Manz is a stroke of luck for the young German jazz scene: the pair are two of its stand-out figures, each blessed with supreme virtuosity, indomitable boldness, broad musical horizons, and an unmistakable individual signature. Their thorough grounding in jazz can be clearly discerned, but at the same time one can hear how they broaden the idiom, welcoming in all kinds of other influences. For Johanna Summer, classical music is particularly prevalent. She regularly performs in major classical music venues, playing free improvisations on everything from Bach to Ligeti, both solo and in a duo with Igor Levit. Jakob Manz’s musical heritage and leanings are very different: his combination of the melodic and rhythmic power of pop with the sensitivity of jazz is totally compelling. He has deep admiration for pop-jazz crossover artists such as Dave Sanborn and Marcus Miller, and through his recent work with German pop star Sarah Connor, the art of projecting his lively sound into huge venues has now become second nature. Jazz, pop, classical, improvisation, composition...on their second album together, ‘Cameo’, Johanna Summer and Jakob Manz have made the choice to deploy this vast palette of colours in the smallest and most intimate format in which musical interaction can happen, the duo. The repertoire and concept of the new album, produced by Andreas Brandis, mark a step change from their debut together ‘The Gallery Concerts I’. Johanna Summer explains: ‘This time we wanted to write and/or select pieces that not everyone can play, but which suit Jakob and me particularly well. On the first duo album, we played standards and classics, very spontaneously and live. This time, we have tailored the pieces to suit each other.’ The range of original compositions reflects that of their protagonists, from the heartfelt opener ‘The Opposite’ to the rousing ‘The Turmoil’ (with Jakob Manz's virtuoso performance on the recorder) and the soul-drenched ballad ‘The Endless Dream’.In addition to the eight original compositions, there are also three unusual and particularly characterful arrangements: ‘Im Schönsten Wiesengrunde’(in the loveliest meadow) is a folk song from Jakob Manz’s home region of Swabia, a melody which has been in the air around him ever since early childhood. ‘Mahler Neu(n)’ (Mahler new/nine) is based on the 4th movement of Mahler's 9th symphony – a very familiar piece for Johanna Summer. ‘It almost has the feel of a pop song’, she says. The same can be said of Herbert Grönemeyer's ‘Flugzeuge im Bauch’ (aeroplanes in the belly), although interpreting this piece has been quite some challenge. As Jakob Manz recalls: ‘Transferring Grönemeyer's completely uniquely expressive singing to an instrument turned out to be extremely demanding. The song has more of the sense of words being spoken than a classic melody; I tried to extract the essence of the song.’ Manz and Summer have found clever ways to gently and carefully manoeuvre themselves around the original, very edgy theme. The result is that the pair succeed where all too many jazz arrangements of pop songs come to grief: this one adds another dimension and takes the song to a new level. There is true alchemy in what these musicians do, not least because they are both so keen to seek out and discover new music. There is magic in their way of listening and reacting, complete enchantment in how the two protagonists – so different and yet so aligned – complement and surprise each other again and again. ‘Whenever Johanna improvises, something happens that you’re not expecting. When she takes a solo, it often seems as if it's been composed, but in fact it’s different each time, it’s just emerged in the moment. There are very few musicians who have mastered that. It challenges me again and again.’ And Johanna Summer responds: ‘I'm impressed by how endlessly musical Jakob is. Everything he plays is coherent and strong; his playing has a clarity that is very human, musical and relatable. Even when he plays something very complex, it is never an end in itself, but always integrated into something that makes perfect sense and is very clear. It is a clarity that is very human, musical and comprehensible. And I am impressed by how Jakob can deliver to the point and draw out everything from within, regardless of external circumstances. He is always 100% there.’ How and why does the duo of Johanna Summer and Jakob Manz function so well? Rather than trying to investigate the two musicians’ individual backstories or influences, one might just as well admit that their appeal is something which can only be felt rather than explained. For some magical reason, a lot of what happens in the music of Johanna Summer and Jakob Manz finds them in complete accord with each other, even though nothing they play is foreseeable until a split second beforehand.. Jakob Manz says: ‘When I play in a duo with Johanna, many of the habits I have developed in playing with other musicians simply don't work any more. Something new can happen at any moment, so you always have to stay incredibly alert. It's very inspiring!’ This album is a testament to the great alertness and sensitivity of both musicians. The listener cannot fail to notice the particular effervescence and immediacy of their musical dialogue. One can only marvel at how such freedom and such clarity co-exist, at the way in which these two very disparate characters interact with each other with such gentleness and self-assurance. The music they co-create is colourful, lively, and deeply felt. A stroke of luck, indeed, maybe even a miracle.Credits: Music composed by Johanna Summer & Jakob Manz, except #4 (traditional), #7 (Herbert Grönemeyer) and #9 (Gustav Mahler) Produced by Andreas Brandis Recorded by Emanuel Uch from July 31 to August 1 at the ACT Gallery in Berlin, Germany Mixed and mastered by Emanuel Uch

The famous compliation "Magic Moments", curated by Siggi LochTracklist: 01 Elevation of Love // Album: e.s.t. 30 Magnus Öström, Dan Berglund, Magnus Lindgren, Joel Lyssarides, Verneri Pohjola, Ulf Wakenius 02 Second Nature // Album: Life Rhythm Wolfgang Haffner03 Raw // Album: raw Nils Landgren Funk Unit 04 The Answer // Album: The Answer Jakob Manz 05 Shots // Album: Bloom Bill Laurance 06 Das Handtuch // Album: Tough Stuff Iiro Rantala 07 She’ll Arrive Between 10 & 11 // Album: Guitar PoetryMikael Máni 08 Terrible Seeds // Album: While You Wait Little North 09 Se Telefonando // Album: Ennio Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin 10 Wonderland // Album: Wonderland Daniel García Trio 11 Fresu // Album: Inner Spirits Jan Lundgren, Yamandu Costa 12 Hands Off // Album: Stealing Moments Viktoria Tolstoy 13 Hidden Prelude // Album: What the Fugue Florian Willeitner 14 Pralin // Album: Let Them Cook Emile Parisien 15 My Brother Rolf // Album: Komeda Joachim Kühn 16 Passacaglia // Album: Passacaglia Adam Bałdych, Leszek Możdżer 17 Linden Tree Rag // Album: Rag Bag Bernd Lhotzky 18 Zafeirious Solo // Album: Arcs & Rivers Joel Lyssarides, Georgios Prokopiou

The Jakob Manz Project - The AnswerCD / Vinyl /digital Jakob Manz alto saxophone & recorder Hannes Stollsteimer piano &keyboards Frieder Klein electric bass Paul Albrecht drums Karl-F. Degenhardt percussionGuests Lionel Loueke vocals & guitar on 2 Matthias Schriefl alphorn & trumpet on 5 Alexandra Stollsteimer violin on 6 “Groove jazz, that’s what we grew up with,” says alto saxophonist Jakob Manz. “Marcus Miller, David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers - they’re all in our DNA. But for The Jakob Manz Project’s second album, we also wanted new inspirations which would push us further”. The main catalyst for this was a performance at the Papjazz Festival in Haiti. The band were deeply affected by the country and its music, as well as a first encounter with pianist Meddy Gerville from La Réunion. So, whereas we can hear Jakob Manz’s breathtaking virtuosity again on “The Answer”, it is always something he puts to the service of the music. Grooves and melodies are to be heard here which are clearly influenced by the more soulful and poppier sides of American jazz. But there are also new colours derived from a serious immersion and engagement with music from beyond the western world.Manz conquers these newly expanded sonic horizons with his band consisting of Hannes Stollsteimer (piano), Frieder Klein (bass) and Paul Albrecht (drums), plus additional percussion from Karl-F. Degenhardt. The guests on the album are from the most diverse directions: Lionel Loueke contributes a fascinating West African touch with vocals and guitar, Alexandra Stollsteimer contributes the sound of classical violin and Matthias Schriefl is on trumpet and alphorn – this last instrument certainly a very raresighting in a band playing groove jazz. As ever, jazz provides musicians all over the world with a vocabulary to express, share and communicate what moves and influences them, and to allow audiences to appreciate it. In its own life-affirming way, jazz definitely has “The Answer”. Credits: Produced by the artists Cover art "California Suite No.7, 2004" by Mimmo Paladino

Jakob Manz - Groove ConnectionCD / Vinyl / digital Jakob Manz alto saxophone & flute Roberto Di Gioia keyboards Karin Hammar trombone Bruno Müller guitar Tim Lefebvre electric bass Per Lindvall drums Guests: Paolo Fresu trumpet (on 01) Nguyên Lê guitar (on 04) Mark Harrington spoken words (on 01) "Jakob Manz will always surprise you," says pianist /keyboardist Roberto Di Gioia, who produced the young saxophonist´s new album alongside Siggi Loch. "It is widely known that Jakob can play the saxophone unbelievably well, and also that he can take it in just about every conceivable direction in modern jazz. What is less appreciated is how authentic he sounds when he plays soul, funk and rhythm'n'blues. And just when you think you've heard everything from him, he will play you a blues solo so deep and soulful, it’s incredible." The release of Manz’s jazz-rock debut "Natural Energy" in 2020 gave a good pointer to his potential. That album was followed by headline appearances at important festivals: the Leverkusener Jazztage, Jazz Baltica, and also in the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart where he was a guest soloist at the "70 Years of the SWR Big Band" concert, and then at the ACT30 anniversary concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie. 2022 saw the release of the exquisitely crafted acoustic duo album "The Gallery Concerts I" with pianist Johanna Summer.This showed a different side of Jakob Manz, as an improviser of great depth and sensitivity. Whereas Jakob Manz's debut album gave us a cross-section of his musical spectrum in all its breadth, "Groove Connection" offers a close-up of what are probably his greatest strengths: the ability to enthral and delight an audience with soulful melody, his incisive soloing and his infallible sense of rhythm. This very rare combination of qualities was the starting point for producers Roberto Di Gioia and Siggi Loch, to which they added a top international top line-up...so the sparks could really fly. Loch comments: "Jakob Manz is an unbelievable talent. For me he stands in the tradition of great saxophonists such as Lou Donaldson, David Sanborn (his hero) and also Klaus Doldinger and his band “Passport”. All of these are musicians who found their characteristic sound on a foundation of jazz, which they combined with soul and blues, and became successful worldwide with it." The bar was deliberately set high for "Groove Connection", and right from the start. It should be an album of international standard, with musicians like Jakob Manz who penetrate the vocabulary of soul, jazz and rhythm'n'blues deeply and make them their own. Roberto Di Gioia, on keys and also a songwriter, was a shoo-in from the beginning – partly because of his history with Klaus Doldingers Passport and his current groove-jazz band "Web Web", and also because of his pop and soul sensibility as a producer of German Motown artist Joy Denalane and hugely popular rapper / singer Max Herre. First choice to underpin the band from the bass was American Tim Lefebvre, another hero of Jakob Manz’s, an authority on his instrument and collaborator with artists as diverse as David Bowie, Wayne Krantz, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Michael Wollny. A stylish groove comes from the drums, and from the Swede Per Lindvall in particular. His range of credits includes membership of the first Nils Landgren Funk Unit, and also having been drummer for ABBA. Bruno Müller, one of the most sought-after German session guitarists, adds flavoursome funk. The Swedish trombonist Karin Hammar creates a gentler counterpart to Manz's brilliant alto saxophone. There are also guest appearances from guitarist Nguyên Lê, trumpeter Paolo Fresu and speaker Mark Harrington.As soon as the members of Groove Connection met in the studio, everything clicked instantly. Roberto Di Gioia remembers: "We had everything perfectly prepared, including top-level bass equipment for Tim...who arrives, plugs his €500 no-label touring bass into the amp, starts to play a bit, then Per Lindvall joins in and immediately there’s something happening. That's when I had to shout into the control room that they should start recording immediately." The vibe of those first few minutes continues over the duration of the recording. Everything just flows, everyone seems to grasp subconsciously exactly what the music really needs, which notes to play - and which ones not to. In the end, one or two takes are sufficient for most of the tracks on the album. The fact that it all succeeds so seemingly effortlessly, and that the result sounds so light and unencumbered, but at the same time so rousing, is proof of the fabulous quality of all those involved in the recording. Everyone is at the top of his or her game, and, even more importantly, everyone has deeply internalised the vocabulary and the feeling of this music, there is real communication going on, and a lot of joy in the room. And that joy is audible to listeners from the very first bar - with a mixture of originals and groove-jazz versions of Adele, Billie Eilish, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie...and many more. There are very few young jazz musicians who master their instrument with such complete and daunting virtuosity as Jakob Manz, and yet his playing always sounds so unpretentious, clear, soulful and at the service of the tune - all at the same time. His success in doing this is due on the one hand to his talent and the determination with which he works on his musical expression. On the other hand, it is also due to his will to inspire and touch the emotions of the audience with his music. He says it is important to him that he should play his particular instrument, the alto saxophone, in a way that fills the room, but at the same time reaches each individual listener with directness and immediacy. And there is no doubt: he succeeds in this with flying colours, whether it's in a club, a large concert hall, a festival stage... or indeed wherever the listener might hear his new album. Credits: Recorded by Arne Schumann at Soundfabrik Berlin, 20. - 22.11.2022 Mixed by Arne Schumann Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann Produced by Roberto Di Gioia & Siggi Loch

Nils Landgren - 3 GenerationsCD / Vinyl / digital Nils Landgren with Joachim Kühn, Michael Wollny, Iiro Rantala, Lars Danielsson, Cæcilie Norby, Viktoria Tolstoy, Wolfgang Haffner, Ulf Wakenius, Jan Lundgren, Ida Sand, Youn Sun Nah, Vincent Peirani, Emile Parisien, David Helbock, Marius Neset, Nesrine, Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, Anna Gréta, Johanna Summer, Jakob Manz, and many more We are Family – Celebrating 30 ACT Years Nils Landgren has been and remains the absolute linchpin of the ACT family. To date, the Swede has made forty albums on the label as leader, plus another twenty as producer or soloist. Michael Wollny, whose many many projects with Landgren give him a special connection, sums up a key ele-ment in his success: “With Nils everything becomes easy.” There is indeed a particular ease about Mr. Red Horn’s way of being; it is infectious and runs through everything he does. Which is all the more remarkable when one considers the sheer number of roles he takes on: trombonist, singer, band-leader, producer, festival director, professor, curator, talent scout and mentor.All of Landgren’s multiple roles and traits come to the fore on “3 Generations”. Working alongside producer and ACT founder Siggi Loch, Nils Landgren brings together three gene-rations of ACT artists’ in various line-ups to mark the label’s 30th anniversary. Landgren and Loch have a friendship and habits of working well together which go back almost as long as the existence of ACT itself. The two met for the first time at the 1994 Jazz Baltica Festival, just two years after the label was founded. Landgren became an exclusive ACT artist shortly thereafter. Since that time, it has been through Landgren’s network that artists such as Esbjörn Svensson, Rigmor Gustafsson, Viktoria Tolstoy, Ida Sand, Wolfgang Haffner and many more have joined the label. Nils Landgren continues in his trusted role as ACT’s leading connector and integrator. Finding and nurturing young talent has always been one of ACT’s strong suits. It was true for Nils Landgren, then later for Michael Wollny who joined the label in 2005 and is today one of the most significant pianists in Europe. With artists such as Johanna Summer and Jakob Manz - both born many years after ACT was founded - the label looks to the future with its younger generation of musicians bringing new ener-gy and impetus to the world of jazz.The Times (UK) has written: “Since 1992, ACT has been building its own European union of musicians, fostering a freedom of movement between nationalities and genres, and has given us an authentic impression of what the continent is about.” “3 Generations” demonstrates quite how true that assertion is. Around forty artists from the ACT Family make this anniversary album a celebration of the breadth, openness and inclusive power of jazz. The core of the album consists of recordings made at a summer 2022 studio session lasting several days. In reality, it is only Nils Landgren and Siggi Loch who could have brought this pano-rama of musical Europe into being. The influences here range from jazz, popular song and folk to classical and contempo-rary music, and much more. Thirty tracks from three generations of musicians marking thirty years of ACT, with Nils Landgren as driving force. Not just a retrospective, but above all an insight into the present and future of the discovery label “in the Spirit of Jazz”.Credits: Recorded by Thomas Schöttl at Jazzanova Studio, Berlin on June 7 - 9, 2022, assisted by José Victor Torell – except as otherwise indicated Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann Produced by Siggi Loch and Nils Landgren The Art in Music: Cover Art by Yinka Shonibare CBE: Detail from Creatures of the Mappa Mundi, Mandragora, 2018

Various Artists - Magic Moments 15: In the Spirit of JazzCD / digitalBest jazz infotainment for the 30th anniversary of ACT: 16 tracks, 65 minutes of music in the spirit of jazz, featuring artists like Nils Landgren, Emile Parisien & Theo Croker, Iiro Rantala, Vincent Peirani Trio, Michael Wollny Trio, Joel Lyssarides, Jakob Manz & Johanna Summer, and more.Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XIII: Celebrating Mingus 100CD / digital Magnus Lindgren baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, leader & arranger Georg Breinschmid double bass, leader & arranger Tony Lakatos tenor saxophone Jakob Manz alto saxophone Matthias Schriefl trumpet Shannon Barnett trombone Gregory Hutchinson drums Danny Grissett piano Camille Bertault vocals The centenary of the birth of Charles Mingus, in April 2022, has served to reinforce his importance in twentieth century music. His “achievements surpass in historic and stylistic breadth those of any other major figure in jazz.” (New Grove Dictionary). Mingus could be angry, even violent, but also loving and tender, and all of these aspects of his complex character are reflected in his music. As he once said, “I'm trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I am changing all the time.” Extremes of emotion are the very truth and core of Mingus’s music, and they are reflected in the six compositions by him heard here, on “Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic – Mingus 100”. The concert was one of the main events marking the centenary and took place on 13 April 2022 in the concert series curated by Siggi Loch. This album is a live recording from that concert. At one level, it was ‘just’ a concert. There were no protests. No basses or chairs were deliberately broken. Nobody took a shotgun and aimed it at a lightbulb. And yet, as is clear from this recording, the nine musicians who appeared on stage at this concert – and who mostly did not know each other before this project – each threw her or his whole musical essence into this project, while staying true to Mingus’s spirit and to his unique way of expressing defiance and dissent. The first musical sounds to be heard on the album come from Austrian bassist Georg Breinschmid (b.1973). One of the co-leaders of the project, he juxtaposes forthright attack and caressing tenderness in the Mingus manner as his bass introduces Mingus’s “Jelly Roll”. “Georg is a wonderful communicator and one heck of a bassist,” says the other co-leader, Swedish reedsman Magnus Lindgren (b.1974). Breinschmid’s story is remarkable. Until the age of 25, he had follo-wed a traditional path. As a young, top-flight classical double bassist, he had already become a full member of the Vienna Philharmonic, a role carrying lifetime tenure. He then turned his back on that world, and has pursued his own way as a musician rooted in jazz and Viennese popular music ever since. His passion for Mingus came early, and has remained with him. “As a fourteen year-old just starting on the bass, I remember loving the sound, the compositions, the whole package. It comes at you from so many sides,” he says. Breinschmid and Magnus Lindgren had not worked together before, but their mutual understanding and respect grew as they did. “Magnus is a great musician!” says Breinschmid. “An amazing virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, an expert arranger – simply a great artist. He always keeps a sense of the whole ensemble in his eye, and of how it’s going to work best.” Lindgren, better known on higher winds and flute, is to be heard here mainly on his vintage Selmer baritone saxophone, and also on bass clarinet. Lindgren was also drawn to Mingus’s compositions early on, his involvement strengthened by a close collaboration with Steve Slagle, a guiding light of the Mingus Big Band in the 1990’s. As regards the Swede’s instrumentalist role here, he simply says: “I love Pepper Adams – and it’s fun to play baritone.” “When Charlie speaks of Lester...” It was Joni Mitchell who put English words to Mingus’s beautiful lament on the death of Lester Young, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” on her “Mingus” album. The context here is different, as is the language. Out of some Mingus-ian polyphonic chaos emerges the authoritative singing voice of French vocal star Camille Bertault. The words she has written evoke Charles Mingus’s feelings of loss. Then, magically, wordlessly her voice ascends, and when she holds her final note (E natural) for a full fifteen seconds, it is a jaw-dropping tour de force of poise and control. She is also responsible for new and teasingly enigmatic words for “Self-Portrait in Three Colours”. There are other strong voices here. Two Americans are at the strong beating heart of the band: pianist Danny Grissett has had nearly two decades at the top level of the New York scene and has been a member of the Mingus Big Band. Drummer Gregory Hutchinson has worked in countless contexts, not least the classic second Joshua Redman Quartet from 1998-2001; he is one of the greats of our time. There are also two musicians who have made Germany their home. Since moving from Hungary to Germany in 1980, tenor saxophonist Tony Lakatos has appeared on over 300 albums and was a major presence in the Frankfurt Radio Big Band until 2021. The strong tone and improvising fluency of Australian-born trombonist Shannon Barnett, now based in Cologne, also prove ideal in this context. The home team from Germany, trumpeter Matthias Schriefl and young star saxophonist Jakob Manz both play as if their very lives depend on it, and in such a way that all stereotypes about German order and discipline need to be promptly thrown out of the nearest window. This is utterly passionate music-making at a very high level. There can be few sounds as joyous as the performance of “Better Git It In Your Soul” which brings this recording to a close. The 2022 Mingus Centenary has resonated deeply: just as injustice, fear and uncertainty and the need to grieve surround us, so do instances of super-human kindness and visions of beauty. All these human emotions are there in Mingus’s music. Whereas Mingus’s ashes were entrusted to the River Ganges, his indomitable spirit truly came to life in an unforgettable concert in Berlin. Credits: All music composed by Charles Mingus arranged by Magnus Lindgren (02, 03, 05 & 06) and Georg Breinschmid (01 & 04) French lyrics for Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and Self-Portrait in Three Colors written by Camille Bertault Live at Philharmonie Berlin, Kammermusiksaal, 13.04.2022 Recorded, mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann Curated and produced by Siggi Loch Cover art by Soshu

Jakob Manz & Johanna Summer - The Gallery Concerts ICD / digital Jakob Manz alto saxophone & recorder (on 5) Johanna Summer piano The Art in Music – Siggi Loch has had the clear objective to foster creative interaction between jazz and visual art ever since he founded ACT in 1992. As a producer who is also an art collector, he loves to bring not only topflight musicians together around him, but visual artists as well. Works by Philip Taaffe, Gerhard Richter, Martin Noël, Martin Assig and many more don’t just adorn album covers, they are also on display at the ACT Gallery in Berlin. And it is there, in the gallery, before a small and select audience, that private musical evenings known as the Gallery Concerts take place. The works of art provide an inspiring visual backdrop for artists to try out new things. The house concerts are special, up close and personal; these extraordinary musical experiences are now being made available for a wider public to enjoy. On 27 October 2021 Jakob Manz and Johanna Summer were performing... Manz and Summer are two of the most outstanding talents to emerge from the young German jazz scene in recent years. As a duo, their dialogue is intimate, open and scintil-lating. The saxophonist (b. 2001) has shown above all through his band the Jakob Manz Project that he is a passionate exponent of contemporary jazz-rock, playing “amazingly sophisticated, powerful, soulful-funky music with groove” (Jazzthing). In partnership with Johanna Summer (b. 1995), he also shows his mastery of the quiet and the lyrical. German jazz icon Joachim Kühn admires his young pianist colleague, and is full of praise for her “music, so full of fantasy and beyond category”. With Summer, nothing is ever done for the sake of surface effect; it is all about the storytelling, and her fully-formed instincts for dramaturgy, dynamics and harmony. From the very first note, it is evident how perfectly matched Manz and Summer are. A magic and freedom emerge in the way they play together.  Inspired by the spirit of discovery, they have the courage to surrender to the moment and be totally spontaneous, fresh and carefree in their musicmaking. Any flaws just become part of the charm. Manz and Summer's “Gallery Concert” is a musical prologue: one can still only guess where and how this artistic relationship, still in its early stages, might develop.Credits: Live in concert at ACT Art Collection Gallery Berlin, 27.10.2021 Recorded, mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann Curated by Siggi Loch Cover art "Das Sterben der Blätter" by Manfred Bockelmann / ACT Art Collection

Various Artists - Magic Moments 13CD / digitalBest Jazzinfotainment: 16 tracks, 75 minutes of music in the Spirit of Jazz, including Nils Landgren & Jan Lundgren, Wolfgang Haffner,Ulf Wakenius, Solveig Slettahjell, Grégoire Maret, Vincent Peirani & Emile Parisien, Kadri Voorand, Viktoria Tolstoy, Jazzrausch Bigband.Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Jakob Manz - Natural EnergyCD / digital Jakob Manz alto saxophone & recorder (on 6) Hannes Stollsteimer piano Frieder Klein bass Paul Albrecht drums The audience at the Biberach Jazz Prize a couple of years ago witnessed a miracle. Here was an alto saxophonist who instantly evoked memories of some of the very greats of the instrument: a player with the melodic invention of a Johnny Hodges, the big sound of an Eric Dolphy, the urgency of a Cannonball Adderley, the funkiness of a David Sanborn, plus his own definite touch of individuality. But here’s the surprise: this was no hardened journeyman, Jakob Manz was a mere sixteen years old. And, as was to be expected, this young musician from Dettingen near Stuttgart with his quartet The Jakob Manz Project not only won the audience award, he was also named the overall winner of the competition by a jury chaired by eminent bassist Dieter Ilg. Six months later, Jakob Manz achieved distinction again with a win at the Leverkusener Jazztage’s future.sounds competition.In the years before he won these two prizes, Manz had garnered support from some prominent people and organisations: while still at school he was accepted into the German Federal Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzo) where there was already quite a buzz about him. He attended the Stuttgart Musikhochschule (music academy) as a junior student and caught the attention of some shrewd professors such as Christian Weidner ("Jakob throws himself into the music with every sinew"), Klaus Graf ("He has extraordinary musicality, has a great blues feeling and an amazing understanding of harmony") and above all Wolfgang Schmid, one of Germany’s most influential jazz electric bassists, and a long-standing member of Klaus Doldinger’s Passport, who invited Manz to do gigs with him. In the meantime Manz has also played alongside Randy Brecker, Ack van Rooyen and most recently Wolfgang Dauner. In what seems a natural progression, Jakob Manz's debut album "Natural Energy" is a "Young German Jazz" release. This latest development sees Manz following in the lineage of Michael Wollny, Roman and Julian Wasserfuhr and Matthias Schriefl. All of these established artists released their first albums as part of ACT’s series representing the younger generation of German jazz musicians. "Natural Energy", then, is the first tangible evidence of a quite exceptional talent. Jakob Manz did have the advantage of being well nurtured from an early stage. He grew up as the son of an opera singer and a music teacher. He learned to play the drums at the age of five, the recorder at eight, and soon afterwards the saxophone. "It was through playing the recorder that I discovered my passion for jazz," he says. "What I started to feel was a freedom that could make me very strong in the moment, not thinking forwards, not thinking back, just concentrating on what I'm doing.” Before long Manz was winning awards from both "Jugend musiziert" and "Jugend jazzt". Like most young musicians today, he has a spirit of curiosity and a completely open mind to all kinds of music: "For me, good music is not defined by its style, it depends on the quality of a piece." As an example, the phenomenal feeling he has for playing mainstream jazz can be seen in a stunning flugelhorn-alto sax duet feature with Ack van Rooyen and the SWR Big Band which is available on YouTube.He is comfortable in that context – to say the least! – but jazz with groove and soul is his genuine passion. And he had the good fortune to find some kindred spirits early on, people just as talented as he is, and more or less of the same generation: Hannes Stollsteimer on piano, Frieder Klein on bass and Paul Albrecht on drums are the musicians who inspire and lift him in the Jakob Manz Project. The assuredness of this group is jaw-dropping. With astonishing power, finesse and creativity, strong instincts for melody, rhythm and catchy hooks, these four youngsters set about their work on "Natural Energy" in the spirit of the Brecker Brothers or the Crusaders. The listener picks up hints of Marcus Miller, Christian Scott and even Bill Evans, and yet they play exclusively their own compositions. In the opener "Endless Space”, the way the tempo is set by a driven by bass and drum-driven groove and the whirling solos is irresistible, as are the funk feel and the earworm-ish motifs of "Eyes Of Crystals". "Paul's Vision" has a rock drive about it, and the Latin rhythms of "Eyes Up" are a delight. The wonderfully expressive ballads on the album are impressive too: in "Soft Like Peanut Butter" and "Engaged", the saxophone truly takes wing. And there is a coalescence of the gentle and the energetic in the anthemic closing section of "How High Is The Sky". "Natural Energy" reveals not just dazzling virtuosity but also burning conviction and compositional maturity. It is safe to predict that we will be hearing a lot more from Jakob Manz. Credits: Recorded at Hansahaus Studios Bonn, August 12 - 15, 2019 Recording-, mixing- & mastering engineer: Nico Raschke. Produced by the artists Cover art by Mimmo Paladino, by kind permission of the artist