Press Release Sommeralbum

JAZZ IN THE SPIRIT OF SUMMER:“Sommeralbum“, the new release by „Jazztrio.at“

May 16, 2016, Vienna, Austria/ Europe

After their Christmas album (“Weihnachtsalbum”, December 2015), the “Sommeralbum“ is the second release by “Jazztrio.at”, a formation of seasoned players with international credits from Vienna, Austria, featuring Thomas Barth (piano), Johannes Strasser respectively Christoph Petschina (double bass) and Wolfgang Wehner (drums).

Which atmospheres of the season of golden glowing moments are musically painted, which stories are being told in this album?

The album offers an exquisite blend of 13 tracks, stylistically ranging from Bossa Nova („Summer Samba“, „Once I loved“), to standards from the Great American Songbook („Summertime“, „Emily“, „You are my Sunshine“, „What a Wonderfuf World“), to hits from the 60s (Lee Hazlewood’s „These Boots are Made for Walkin‘), the 70s (Lou Reed’s „Walk on the Wild Side“, Barry Manilow’s „Could it be Magic“) to the new millenium (Pharell Williams’ „Happy“) to original compositions („Libra“ by Johannes Strasser, „Rouge et Noir“ by Thomas Barth) and the collectively written, simmering „Summer Blues“.

Besides the selection of the material, there are several other factors that determine the sound and feeling of this production: “When arranging and interpretating songs of other composers and our own compositions, we try to integrate several elements:”, says Thomas Barth. “First of all we try to stay true to the song, meaning that we try to capture the musical and emotional essence of it. Then, we try to keep the arrangements compact, so that the song is immediately recognizable while balancing our voices in a democratic, equal way between the poles of structure and freedom. Maybe the most important element is that we do not just play the song as good as we can and that’s it, but that we try to stay open for moments where something special happens musically and emotionally between us, where we not only connect with each other on that level, but also share this musical and emotional experience with the listener”.

All tracks of the album were recorded live in Barth’s house, which for this purpose was converted into a recording studio, built around a 1912 7’ 4’’ Bechstein C grand piano.

“Sommeralbum” by jazztrio.at will be available online from major music retailers.