“It’s great that Meineke revives the great tradition of chansons with such a finely crafted production. Vocally soft but forceful, lyrically and musically well-honed.” (Konstantin Wecker)
If anyone ought to know, then Mr. Wecker. Ecco Meineke began to write songs when he was 17 years old, then still in a duo with Werner Schmidbauer. Since then he has told many musical stories in all sorts of stylistic variations.
As a folk musician, murder ballad singer, klezmer instrumentalist, film musician (he sang and wrote all male parts in the movie “The Shoe of Manitou”!) and as a cabaret artist, among other things as a permanent member at the Munich “Lach- und Schießgesellschaft” for 7 years. But especially known as soulman and jazz crooner under the moniker “Ecco DiLorenzo”. With the album “Selffulfilling prophecies” he delivered his jazz debut in 2012 on GLM Music.
In 2013 Andy Lutter joined his jazz quartet and took part in Meineke’s experimental art project “room is music is room” with 11 sculptures and video projections. The collaboration proved fruitful. In 2015, Meineke decided to develop a chanson program and discovered the ideal partner in Lutter. In addition to his jazz piano studies in Boston and Berlin, he is a graduate of the Richard Strauss Conservatory in composition. The director of the “Jazzfest Munich” not only worked in the classical field (radio orchestra and state opera), but also worked for the “Lach- und Schieß” ensemble (including as a companion of Werner Schneyder).
It only felt natural to combine these potentials and the result bears the title “Blattgold”. The lyrics were exclusively written by Meineke, half of the compositions by Lutter, who is also responsible for the entire production, from the arrangement to the final mix.
In “Blattgold” the two explore the limits of the chanson genre. Conceptually, it ranges from folk songs (“St. Nic”) to polkas in the Brecht / Weill style (“Blattgold”), from jazzy-pop feel-good tracks (“So ein Tag, so sinnlos schön wie heute “) to the classic French love song in the style of Brassens (“Eva”) or dark art songs such as the Frank Wedekind musical setting “An einen Jüngling”.
It goes without saying that the cabaret artist Meineke also allows his critical-political spirit to be heard on this album: The “Pastinaken Polka” is a bitter couplet against the rightwing shift in our society in recent years.
Their German version of the Charles Aznavour classic “She” got unintentionally topical is by the sudden passing of the great French-Armenian singer!
The ensemble on the album consists of horn player and tubist Marion Dimbath (Herbolzheimer, Sportfreunde Stiller, Leichtmetall), bassist and guitarist Alex Haas (Unsere Lieblinge) and the vibraphone player and drummer Tim Collins from Boston. Who loves life with all its wit, in all its sadness, will love this album.
