According to the motto "The best comes at the end", the Living Hotel Frankfurt will once again bring exquisite music to the stage at the end of the year.
On October 16, November 11 and December 10, artists will perform at "Jazz? We Can!" artists you don't come across in this country all the time. Selected by music journalist and jazz excellence connoisseur Oliver Hochkeppel.
The first is Max Merseny, the charismatic, Echo-nominated high-flyer among German saxophonists, who likes to be mentioned in the same breath as his idol, David Sanborn, the king of saxophone groove in the eighties. But Merseny's own mixture of jazz, funk, R&B, soul and hip-hop sounds like both the best tradition and the hip present. Critics credited his 2011 debut album "Thank Y´all" with breathing new life into the genre, thanks in no small part to his keen sense of arrangement. Which he was able to underline with exceptional sidemen like guitarist Ferdinand Kirner, drummer Felix Lehrmann or Marcus Miller keyboardist Federico Gonzalez Pena on two further albums - all nominated for the Echo in each case. He now comes to Frankfurt with a lot of new material in his luggage, Roland Balogh as accompanist and, of course, soul jazz at its finest.
In November, things will then go international with the duo Lottchen: The Belgian Eva Buchmann, born in Holland and trained in Berlin, among other places, will meet the Swiss vibraphonist Sonja Huber. Vibraphone and singing, this rare combination unfolds an irresistible charm in the two young women. They draw their strength above all from their calmness: casual, collected, sometimes angelic, then again rough and earthy tones resound here. This is always surprising and varied, since the two belong to the young jazz generation that roams through music history and its styles without blinkers. Thus they play in their very own way through Brazilian, Chansonesque, arabesque onomatopoeia, hymnal vocalises, swinging pop or even tango. Outstanding rhythmic flair meets virtuoso musicianship and genuine songwriting qualities, as their new program following their two award-winning albums "Lazy Afternoon" and "Quiet Storm" will prove.
Fittingly for the Christmas season, the year will end on a high note at "Jazz? We Can!" will end in style with vocals - and one of the most promising young singers around: Hannah Weiss grew up in a family of artists in Basel and Zurich and has been surrounded by music since childhood. At the age of six she started on the drums, followed by flute, piano and choir. From the arts high school in Zurich, she went to study in Munich. "Jazz is easier for me to sing than pop, because of its naturalness and honesty," says Weiss. All the more challenging that her debut goes strongly in the direction of pop, but beyond any genre boundaries. Original songwriting with strong lyrics mixes with extravagant standard interpretations. She will be accompanied at the Living Hotel Frankfurt by the young American pianist Sam Hylton, who is one of the shooting stars of the German scene with the band Ark Noir.
So it's worth attending and listening! Invited are all guests of the house, the Sachsenhausen neighbors, all Frankfurt residents and simply everyone who likes to make and listen to good music.
Admission is free.
