Hey there,
i'm so happy that there is a new release in switzerland i want to tell you about. The Bird's Eye Jazz Club in Basel released it's 11th live-compilation and this Volume features a live-recording of my composition Gorée performed by the great ALMA Band in fall 2008.

That was our very last tour and actually the moment when i was most satisfied with the lineup of the band and the way the music sounded. it took me a long time to put the band together right. You can defenitely hear it in the recording, especially the strong and powerful performance of my brasilian friends Fabio Hess and Ana Paula da Silva.

Gorée was inspired by a visit to the small island right in front of Dakar, Senegal. It is a historically sad and important place because Hundrethousands of Slaves were kept under cruel circumstances to wait for boats in order to ship them to north and south america. The story is unbelieveably sad and i we wanted to transfer that in the music. i think everybody did a great Job!!!!

So, if you feel like supporting the Bird's Eye Jazz Club or buying the Music you can do so under:
Birds Eye Jazz Club

How nice to be back in Vienna, right in time to watch the beautiful spring here. After spending 2 months in Brasil and 3 weeks in NYC i am just glad to see my own apartment again. It will be great to settle down for a little while, meet my friends here, start to perform at the Naschmarkt-Deli with Nurandom3 again, continue the work on the new FLOW-Album, tour Austria with my friends Chanda Rule and Gernot Bernroider in June, before i will be going to Italy to spend July in Elba.

I am very proud to be invited by the foundation Dr. Robert and Lina Thyll-Duerr to be ARTIST IN RESIDENCE at the beautiful Casa Zia Lina in Elba, Italy. I will use my time there to compose and practise my new Solo-Performance.

The beginning of the year was full of inspiring experiences: In Brasil i was meeting, jamming recording and performing with great artists like Michael Ruzitschka, Alessandro Kramer, Joris Roelofs, Gabriel Grossi, Aline Araujo & Daniel Santiago. It got so much Input from visiting Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Florianopolis.
The same with my stay in NYC this April - it was like soulfood to see the city again, to listen to all the great players there and to record and perform with my friends Chanda and Gernot (The Oulipians) feat. great tenor player Donny Mc Caslin.

All that input and experience will flow into my new program,
my new compositions and the preparation-time i will have in Elba at the Casa Zia Lina.

well... that's simply too little light on the
northern hemisphere at the moment,
that's why i decided to make another
trip to brasil. it will be fabulous, i just
know it. i'll fly to rio end of january and
from there i hope to visit all my friends,
like lili, alegre, ana, fabio, leandro, marcos,
bebe, paulo..... ah! saudade!