We praised "Remedy", an album by Thomas Heberer on trumpet, Joe Fonda on bass and Joe Hertenstein on drums for its wonderful combination of deep-rooted jazz genes and modern day abstract freedom. The album got a lot of positive response, not only by us, which led to a grant from the German Music Fund to create and publish their sophomore album, which was recorded in 2022.
As a band of equals, all three musicians penned two or three pieces, spread in alternation across the album. The compositions - structural and thematic agreements - are of cours the backbone for the groups improvisations, solos and common interaction. Like on the fist album, this is an album of enjoyment, for the players as well as for the listeners. A tribute is made to Mark Whitecage, the former saxophonist of the Nu Band.
The nature of the music is the same as the debut album, and even if the boppish nature of the music is still very present, the explorative nature is even stronger than on their first one, even with their very straight approach of keeping the basic sounds of their instruments unaltered.
I'm not sure what the title actually stands for, but I can imagine that 'remedy' could be interpreted as a kind of mental boost or musical encouragement during the lockdown of the Covid years. Even if the pandemic is over now, the quality of the music, the joy of the performance, the wonderful example of what people can achieve when creating together, are still a strong 'remedy' to stay positive in life. And of course the big part of the joy is the incredible musicianship of the three artists, their listening skills and the deep emotional power that their music radiates.
I hope the German music fund has some money left for a third installment.
In the meantime, I'm sure you will enjoy this one.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
3 comments:
Thank you, dear Stef, your kind words are much appreciated!
Fantastic!
Such a great album!
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