Upgraded In Gothenburg

Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr - Safe PlaceCD / Vinyl / digitalJulian Wasserfuhr trumpet & flugelhorn Roman Wasserfuhr piano, bass & drums (#10) Jörg Brinkmann cello Paul Heller saxophone (#6 & #7) ‘Safe Place’ was originally just one song, but Roman and I soon realised that it needed to be the title of the whole album. That was because it describes so well the feeling and the intention behind the music,’ says trumpeter Julian Wasserfuhr. The album “Safe Place” is a collection of music which gives you a feeling of being thoroughly at home. ‘Home’ here doesn’t mean so much a specific location, but rather an idea of familiarity, warmth, self-reflection. And the album – which also marks 20 years on the ACT label for the brothers Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr – offers an opportunity to reflect on what is essential: clear melodies, atmospheric musical images painted in warm colours, and an interplay between the players which has not just remarkable precision but also ineffable lightness.For the Wasserfuhr brothers, the concept of ‘home’ also represents their connections with people who are significant to them. First and foremost, naturally, they have their own relationship, inseparable in life as in music. But there are also firm musical friendships such as the one with cellist Jörg Brink-mann, with whom they recorded their previous album ‘Relaxin’ in Ireland’. Brinkmann clicked immediately with the ‘smallest form of a band’, as Julian and Roman call their duo. It was the beginning of a long collaboration, and the experiences which they shared, such as a tour of Central America, brought them even closer together. It therefore made sense once again to add the rich colours of the cello, as a means to broaden the possibilities of their combined tonal palette. In addition to cellist Jörg Brinkmann, another guest is added to the trio for two tracks: saxophonist Paul Heller. ‘Paul just has a fascinating way of playing,’ says Roman. ‘Working with him was actually an experiment at first, since our music is more like chamber music and he tends to play in larger ensembles. But especially in combination with Jörg, it was something wonderful.’Even if ‘Safe Place’ is intended to be understood as an abstract idea, this music has also clearly not been immune to events affecting the world in the past few years. ‘Of course that plays a role,’ says Julian Wasserfuhr. ‘The way people treat and communicate with each other has always been very important to us in the past. But it is precisely the current time, with its conflicts and contradictions, that makes us think – about the world, but also about ourselves.’ And so ‘Safe Place’ has become an extremely personal and emotional album. It seems as if the great tragedies and triumphs of the world are reflected for Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr on a small and intimate scale: in the gentle, warm breeze, ‘Vent Chaud’, with which the record begins, in the dreamlike ‘Dodo’, based on the French term ‘faire dodo’ – a lovingly child-like way of saying ‘going to sleep‘. ‘Luzifer’ describes Julian's concern for his ailing cat, while “El Caballo Valiente” tells of the will to live and the courage to face life of a fallen horse. “Solitude”, on the other hand, portrays the isolation and loneliness of the Corona pandemic. Roman says of the only cover on the album, Sting's “Fields of Gold”: ’We've covered Sting's music before. And ‘Fields of Gold’ in particular is just a wonderful song, describing such a beautiful place that it is also a ‘safe place’ for us‘.The last two tracks “Safe Place” and “Perfect Tiny Moment”, once again reflect the album’s essence: ‘Safe Place’ was initially created on the guitar, even though I can't play the guitar at all,’ says Julian. ‘I went to Roman with this initial idea, and he then developed it.‘ The two of them then played the song last year with the WDR Big Band, and then also gave it a try out with Jörg Brinkmann in a small line-up. “To this day, it remains the song from the record that we love to play on stage the most. In other words it's the absolute ”safe place’ for all three of us.’ The minimalist ‘Perfect Tiny Moment’ also expresses exactly that: the one small moment when all seems perfect, when everything simply is – and absolutely feels – just right.

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

Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr - MosaicCD / Vinyl / digital Julian Wasserfuhr trumpet  Roman Wasserfuhr piano & keys with Tim Lefebvre bass Keith Carlock drums Harry Mack vocals Markus Schieferdecker bass Oliver Rehmann drums Tony Lakatos tenor sax Paul Heller tenor sax Martin Scales guitar Vitaliy Zolotov guitar Jörg Brinkmann cello Axel Lindner violin & viola Sebastiaan Cornelissen drums “Mosaic”. The Wasserfuhr brothers, Julian (trumpet) and Roman (piano) explain the title: “It fits in with our musical processes of the past two years. Despite a huge variety in the individual pieces - and also in the emotions associated with them - and even though we have chosen a wide range of musicians and friends to record this music with, the whole album nevertheless forms a coherent picture. It has emerged from our experiences, conversations and encounters with people during this time." "Mosaic" has also been pieced together from places a long way apart: from the Wasserfuhrs’ studio in peaceful Hückeswagen, the small town to the North-East of Cologne where the two brothers, who have always stayed close, grew up and still have their base, to Nashville where they worked (virtually) alongside a dozen other musicians. There is a kaleidoscope of different moods here, including a rap song and a homage to Kurt Cobain... The Corona pandemic gave the Wasserfuhrs the space and the time for good things to happen. The Colombian philosopher Nicolás Gómez Dávila has said that “if we want something to endure, we strive for beauty, not for efficiency." and the idea of taking the time to explore new things was very much on the brothers' minds during this time. They made sure they took the time "to reflect on the world, society, authenticity, friendship and family", as they say. It proved fruitful: "In the past two years we have written 42 compositions," Julian still marvels, and "Mosaic" is the distillation of all this creative activity – a time in which they have also found new and invigorating stylistic directions... There is luxury casting in the rhythm section which is to be heard on four of the tracks here – a fact that no shortage of rock stars would gladly corroborate: bassist Tim Lefebvre, whom fans of the Wasserfuhr brothers will already know from the album "Landed in Brooklyn", has played with David Bowie, Elvis Costello and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. He is here alongside his fellow American, drummer Keith Carlock, a Nashville resident who has played with Steely Dan and Toto. Contact and travelling restrictions made it impossible for most of the musicians to be present in the same studio, so a lot of the music came to the Wasserfuhrs’ home studio via remote recording. From there, a remarkable process of creation got under way: "First we recorded most of the songs ourselves with all the instruments. The musicians could then mute their tracks and make their own contribution. This input, in turn, had an effect on the other parts, which we then adapted and re-recorded," says Roman. This was ‘call and response’ in the best jazz sense, and that is the reason why "Mosaic" sounds quite so organic and so full of life, that it sounds like a recording session where everyone is together in the same space. There were exceptional cases where this did prove possible: cellist Jörg Brinkmann, was able to drop by and record at the Wasserfuhrs’ studio.  There are pieces on “Mosaic” written with specific musicians in mind. "Forward" is inspired by Pat Metheny's album "From This Place". Thinking about who might have the sound they wanted, the brothers remembered guitarist Vitaliy Zolotov with whom they had studied in Cologne, but had had no contact with for 10 years. "Hymnus Varus" with Jörg Brinkmann as soloist revisits their collaboration in "Relaxin' in Ireland; here it is in an XL version for sextet. The driving groove number "Target II", on the other hand, is based on a beat by Keith Carlock, which the Wasserfuhr brothers discovered in a YouTube video. Social media such as YouTube were a focus for the brothers during the long domestic isolation of the pandemic: "That's how we came across the rapper Harry Mack from LA, an incredible freestyle rapper. So we just asked him and he agreed to do "Never Hold Back". Later it emerged that he had originally been a jazz drummer. "It’s just right, isn't it?" asks Roman. The two tenor saxophonists on "Mosaic", Paul Heller and Tony Lakatos, are also right for the Wasserfuhr sound. Martin Scales, the guitarist from Doldingers Passport is also an old acquaintance, appearing here for the first time on an album with the Wasserfuhrs. Finally, there are two tracks that honour heroes who have passed away: "Hank", derived from the name of Charles Bukowski's literary alter ego, comes with a breezy New Orleans groove, setting the dissolute German-American cult writer’s love of life to music. And quite a few Nirvana fans are going to be surprised by this slowed-down version of the grunge classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit". “Mosaic”, then, in place of a single unvarying concept, represents a cleverly conceived sequence of varying timbres and vistas, and yet the individual and authentic voices of the Wasserfuhr brothers are never absent for a moment. The compositions give room for manoeuvre, musical ideas develop in a way which makes time flow naturally, the pieces are akin to the entries in a diary. There are meetings with acquaintances old and new, near and far. Whereas the production process was both elaborate and unusual, "Mosaic", considered together, is a remarkably coherent entity. It is an album to celebrate the joy of making music together.Credits: Cover art by Tomás Saraceno

Various Artists - Fahrt ins Blaue III - dreamin in the spirit of jazzCD / digital Esbjörn Svensson E.S.T. Symphony Youn Sun Nah, Ulf Wakenius & Lars Danielsson Wolfgang Haffner Quartet feat. Dusko Goykovich Nils Landgren Quartet Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano &Jan Lundgren Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, Tim Lefebvre & Nate Wood Viktoria Tolstoy Cæcilie Norby & Lars Danielsson Matthieu Saglio &Vincent Peirani Ulf Wakenius Norah Jones, Joel Harrison & David Binney Jan Lundgren Quartet Michael Wollny & Vincent Peirani Natalia Mateo Jens Thomas & Christof Lauer Daydreams and soothing stories...in the Spirit of Jazz "There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us. Peace and quiet and open air wait for us. Somewhere…". These words from the classic song from Leonard Bernstein's “West Side Story” set the tone for "Fahrt ins Blaue III - dreamin' in the Spirit of Jazz": this is uplifting music, to take the mind and the soul to a place of safety. The kind of quiet interlude in a day which is always restorative. Switch off and then switch back on – better focused. We find calm, intimacy, thoughtfulness here; the sixteen tracks in this compilation have a sense of flow, while also allowing the listener to wander off into all kinds of musical dream worlds....From the very first spacious piano tones of Esbjörn Svensson’s "Ajar", one feels time standing blissfully still. This little gem, and the "e.s.t. Prelude" which follows it, is our entry point into the dreamy universe which will open itself up to us over the next 67 minutes. Youn Sun Nah's bittersweet "Lento", based on the music of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, gently emerges, seamlessly followed by Dusko Goykovich’s wonderfully warm and sad muted trumpet as he contemplates the falling of "Autumn Leaves" with Wolfgang Haffner's "Kind of Cool" ensemble. Then we hear singer/trombonist Nils Landgren, gentle almost to the point of weightlessness in "Somewhere". There is poetry and the originality in Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano and Jan Lundg-ren’s Mare Nostrum Trio: we hear Swedish pianist Lundg-ren’s earwormish ballad “Aurore”. Lundgren also appears with his own quartet, with some hushed lyrical magic from Finnish saxophonist Jukka Perko in "No.9". On "Fahrt ins Blaue III", Michael Wollny and Vincent Peirani show their astonishing kinship of spirit and their serendipitous ability to move together in their duetting on "The Kiss". Accordionist Peirani is also to be heard with Ricardo Esteve’s heart-rendingly lovely flamenco guitar and cellist Matthieu Saglio on the poignantly sad but uplifting and warmly Mediterranean "Bolero triste". We then hear the Wasserfuhr brothers transport us to New York's Brooklyn Bridge with a sweeping view of the shimmering Manhattan skyline at dusk with their relaxed grooving jazz ballad "Carlo". For peace and inspiration, there’s a man and his guitar: Ulf Wakenius plays Keith Jarrett's "My Song". That is followed by the duo of Caecilie Norby and Lars Danielsson enchanting us with an intimate version of Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah”. Two more singers take us to the world of cinema: Natalia Mateo sings Wojciech Młynarski's gorgeous lyrics to Krzysztof Komeda’s “Lullaby” from "Rosemary's Baby", starting in her native Polish, and drifting into utterly beautiful wordlessness; and Viktoria Tolstoy offers that most pensive and gentle of breakup songs, "Why Should I Care". from the Clint Eastwood film "True Crime", with some stupendous guitar work from Krister Jonsson. And then there is an appearance by inimitable Norah Jones alongside guitarist Joel Harrison and saxophonist David Binney. She recorded a languid version of the country song "Tennessee Waltz" on ACT, on the album "Free Country", from the same era as her 27 million-seller "Come Away With Me". Pianist Jens Thomas and saxophonist Christof Lauer give us the quiet poise of “Green Dance”. This epilogue sums up the aesthetic of "Fahrt ins Blaue III": dreamlike music of beauty, tranquillity and calm – that it is well worth spending some time with. Credits:Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr - Relaxin' in IrelandCD / Vinyl / digitalJulian Wasserfuhr trumpet & flugelhorn Roman Wasserfuhr piano Jörg Brinkmann celloMusic never happens in a vacuum. The places where it is played inspire it, shape it and help it to develop; they are like an extra musician. And therein lies the creative stimulus which Siggi Loch provides as producer to Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr. He continually seeks out new contexts for their playing, and that opens up hitherto unimagined musical perspectives. After the Wasserfuhrs’ musical journey to meet the elite in Gothenburg in Sweden in 2009, and a thrilling session in hip and happening Brooklyn in 2017, the brothers, who come from the peaceful little village of Hückeswagen near Cologne, have now travelled to the South Coast of Ireland, and to John Fitzgerald’s Lettercollum Studio in Country Cork, a secret bolt-hole where several Irish and English rock stars have recorded albums. They were joined there for the first time by cellist Jörg Brinkmann. Julian explains the concept of the new trio thus: “Dispensing with bass and drums gives us more scope to develop ideas, far greater harmonic freedom, and also allows us to think in long arcs. It gives the music much more buoyancy.” But why Ireland? Let Roman explain: “The studio in the middle of nowhere and directly by the sea offered us the ideal conditions to be creative. The weather was unusually fine for the season, almost Mediterranean, and that had a way of getting us into the right mood. Ireland has always been a place that Julian and I wanted to visit. We were struck by the culture, the joy, the “craic” of the Irish. Going to the pubs there, seeing how lively, relaxed and above all how unaffected they are when they play music together left a strong impression.” To which Julian adds: “and over and above that, Irish songwriter and singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is an artist whose music we really admire.”  It goes without saying that the Wasserfuhr brothers and Jörg Brinkmann aren’t playing Irish folk music; what the title of the album does is to set a tone. Here is the typical Wasserfuhr sound with a relaxed way of playing – the Irish attitude to life shines through again and again. There are also subtle melodic and harmonic twists from Irish music, or, to be specific, direct connections such as an interpretation of the O’Sullivan hit “Clair”, plus “Moondance” by Van Morrison, arguably Ireland’s best-known musician. Finally, the piece “Lettercollum” came into existence directly under the influence of the brothers’ Irish trip. “Relaxin‘ in Ireland” is the very personal glimpse of the Emerald Isle through the language of music. But it is also an album which tells the story of how the surroundings of West Cork cast their spell over the trio at the very moment of musical creation.Credits: Produced by Siggi Loch with the artists Recorded by John Fitzgerald at Lettercollum Recording Studios West Cork, Ireland, June 25 - 27, 2018 Additional recordings by Roman E. Wasserfuhr at Schnaff Recording Studios, July 03 - 06, 2018Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann, July 2018

Magic Moments 1167 minutes of pure listening pleasure: The eleventh edition of the popular Magic Moments offers a comprehensive insight into our latest ACT releases with newcomers, ACT stars and real insider tips at a special price. Among others with Michael Wollny, David Helbock, Vincent Peirani, Iiro Rantala, Joachim Kühn New Trio, Ida Sand, Lars Danielsson & Paolo Fresu and many more.Credits:Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann Manufacturer 

Various Artists - Magig Moments 10 "In The Spirit of Jazz"CD / digitalThe anniversary sampler Magic Moments 10 gives an insight into the current album releases from the ACT catalogue. 14 tracks, over 1 hour of the best jazz infotainment "in the spirit of jazz".Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Julian Wasserfuhr trumpet & flugelhorn Roman Wasserfuhr piano, marimba, seaboard Donny McCaslin tenor saxophone Tim Lefebvre electric & double bass Nate Wood drums  With their fifth album, Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr have embarked on a journey to the homeland of jazz and landed in the international jazz hotspot: New York. There, they teamed up with American jazz stars Donny McCaslin, Tim Lefebvre, and Nate Wood, opening another chapter in their impressive career with "Landed in Brooklyn." Credits: Music composed by Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, unless otherwise noted Produced by Al Pryor Curated by Siggi Loch Recorded by Max Ross at Systems Two Recording Studios, Brooklyn (NY), August, 13 & 14, 2016 Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann, September 2016 Cover art by David Schnell, Auszug, 2016 (detail), by courtesy of Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig/Berlin 

It has become her most personal album: A large part of the compositions, recording and production all from one hand. This testifies to maturity, self-confidence and a clear idea of playing that the Wasserfuhr brothers have gained in the meantime.

After "Remeber Chet" and "Upgraded", another quantum leap in the career of these two exceptional talents: "The wonderful trumpeter Julian Wasserfuhr and his congenial pianist brother Roman succeed in directly conveying emotion beyond all the craftsmanship and instrumental virtuosity they possess anyway." Matthias Brandt (German actor)

With "Upgraded In Gothenburg," the Wasserfuhr brothers take the next step in their impressive careers. The way they tell fascinating jazz stories filled with wonderful melodies alongside Sweden's top musicians is a delight.

Remember Chet: Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr pay tribute to Chet Baker with a magical, melancholic jazz sound.