EC624 CD, Vinyl, Download & Streaming
Release CD, Streaming und Download 06.02.2026 Release LP 06.03.2026
With her „Suite for Dignity“, composer and jazz flutist Isabelle Bodenseh invites listeners into a musical encounter that is profoundly moving—a suite that creates space for the fragile, courageous and deeply human realm in which vulnerability becomes audible.
CD, Vinyl, Download & Streaming! FM442
In a world that can be filled with both beguiling beauty and quiet worries, the music of Trio Sfera opens a door to a realm of sensuality—full of light, hope, and inner movement.
The three musicians spent many years accompanying singer Konstantin Wecker at his concerts as a live ensemble. However, they have long since emancipated themselves as an independent instrumental ensemble and now stand on their own as a trio. With their debut album “Verschwiegene Lieder” (Secret Songs), they embark on a journey into undefined spheres. Rooted in classical music, they playfully transcend stylistic boundaries – always guided by curiosity about how form and sound can give rise to new aesthetic landscapes.
FM437 CD, Download & Streaming Release 05.12.2025
“Take your time” – this phrase could serve as an invisible motto for the album MOVING. That’s exactly how these recordings came into being: without haste, with time to breathe, mature and listen. Ten intense days in the studio, supported by a wealth of concerts beforehand, have fused guitarist Paulo Morello, bassist Sven Faller and drummer Mauro Martins into a single musical organism – one that confidently calls itself the Sambop Trio.
Here, the radiance of Brazilian rhythms meets the elegance of modern jazz. A trio that moves effortlessly between a driving choro, a funky octave groove and a bolero-tempo ballad – with the kind of natural ease that makes it feel as if samba, choro and bebop had always been destined for each other.
Christian Elsässer (Piano) – Niels Klein (Sax) – Tim Collins (Vibraphone) – Henning Sieverts (Bass)
Fabian Arends (Drums)
Life is change. At its best, it gives rise to inventive jazz—as in Christian Elsässer’s new album The Move.
After a long phase working primarily as a composer, arranger and conductor for big bands and orchestras Christian Elsässer reveals a particularly intimate, chamber-like side on his new quintet album.
„While working on the music a lot of changes were about to happen in my personal life. The most crucial one was that my wife and I decided to leave Munich behind and create a new home for our family in the country-side.“ This emotional shift—filled with excitement, nostalgia, and the magic of new beginnings—runs like a thread throughout the album.
The choice of musicians and the associated instrumentation had a decisive influence on the realization of the compositional ideas. „For this recording I invited four long time friends with whom I have worked in various musical contexts – but never in exactly this lineup. When mentally assembling the band’s sound, I was imme-diately fascinated by the many colorful possibilities that arose from the combination of instruments.“
With The Move, Christian Elsässer creates a musical diary of change: a journey full of farewells and new be-ginnings, shaped by the growth of a family and the quiet yet profound changes that life brings over time. It explores movement in its deeply rooted facets—from the life-changing experience of relocating to a new place to the small and significant steps toward a nature-oriented way of life. Pieces like Birds, Morgentau, and Wie-genlied create sonic landscapes drawing on the rich palette of modern jazz. Other original compositions, such as Kanon and Circles & Corners, reflect Elsässer’s inventive structural concepts, already hinted at in their titles. Likewise, Short Story No. 2 follows a self-imposed challenge: to fit entirely on a single sheet of music—quite a contrast to his large-ensemble arrangements, which typically require dozens of pages.
Christian Elsässer is one of the most versatile voices of contemporary Jazz in Europe. He is regularly commissi-oned by top ensembles such as the Metropole Orkest (three-time Grammy winner), the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and all four German radio big bands (WDR, HR, NDR, SWR). He has worked with a wide range of acclaimed artists such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Aaron Parks and Mike Stern. Elsässer is also a pro-fessor of Composition and Jazz Piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
CD, Download & Streaming!
The name says it all! The trio sees itself in the best sense of its name as a traveling ambassador of acoustic world music—beyond conventional genre boundaries. Their playing combines elements of French valse musette, jazz, Brazilian samba, and bossa nova, the melancholic bandoneon sounds of Astor Piazzolla, and the rhythmic richness of the Balkans to create a multi-layered soundscape. Despite the musical diversity, the three musicians always retain an unmistakable signature. Their arrangements never seem collage-like, but develop with natural flow, esprit, and personal expression.
Vladislav Cojocaru (accordion), Vlado Grizelj (guitar), and Giorgi Makhoshvili (bass) come from Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Georgia. Due to the musicians’ biographical backgrounds, their phrasing is interwoven with Eastern European embellishments and lyrical melodies.
The pieces, penned by the ensemble members, tell of independence, joie de vivre, and inner agility. Delicate and daring one moment, explosive and full of emotion the next—the sound spectrum is wide. Pride and down-to-earthness are just as present as the joy of virtuoso playing. At the center are the elegance of French musette and the rhythmic sophistication of jazz.
