Album Release “put the jazz back in jazz” 19/10/2018
PUT THE JAZZ BACK IN JAZZ
“Put the Jazz Back in Jazz!” An album title as a call-to-action, bold and directly
into the jazz world’s conscience: THE SAZERAC SWINGERS frankly proclaim
what they’re up to. The title of their eclectic 76-minute, 18-track masterpiece,
however, is more than just a name. It is a statement, a mission, a lifestyle. “In the evolution of jazz culture in Europe, something went terribly wrong. It’s time we finally put that jazz back in jazz. Come celebrate with us!” These are the opening lines of the beautifully crafted 16-page booklet. In the past 6 years the band has played almost 500 shows in Germany, France, Switzerland, and the USA, and made a reputation for their sheer untamable raw energy displayed at their eccentric stage appearances. Following their 2013 and 2014 albums, the Germany-based, multi-national band has matured, and now transported its spectacular live sound into the studio. Uninhibited, yet beautiful.
So jazz is supposed to return. All 18 original compositions, including two exclusive guest entries by New Orleans giants Glen David Andrews and Fredy Omar, appear as a musical punch in the faces of overly intellectual neo- jazzers, silent foot-tappers, sheet-gazers, pseudo-academics, genre-border-patrol, and jazzfest dads – all those who are responsible for the fear and disgust that young party crowds are stricken with when they hear the word “jazz.”
The album’s Dionysian feel and compositional style are heavily influenced by the sound of New Orleans (two tracks were even recorded there). This is the place where the Sazerac Swingers, named after the city’s official drink, spent some considerable time and learned how to celebrate jazz. The record’s down-to-earth feel draws from the rhythm section consisting of Georg Kirschner
(drums), English native Roger Clarke-Johnson (double bass), Dennis Koeckstadt (piano), and band leader Max Oestersötebier (guitar). Its elemental force and playful virtuosity is delivered by the horn section composed of Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet), Lars Bechstein (trombone), French native Musina Ebobissé (tenor sax), and Jonas Rabener (soprano sax). The impure elegance is served by Canadian singer Emily Rault.
From electrifying party swing “The Count of Rietberg” via cool pre-bop “Brown Eyed Devil” to an emotional tour de force as portrayed in “The Night before the Storm,” a 14-minute ballad dealing with the personal experiences around hurricane Katrina:
the album contains all these moods that reflect pure life; moods that can’t be expressed better in any kind of art form other than jazz. Love and hate, life and death, happiness and mourning – this album has it all. THE SAZERAC SWINGERS use this record to return some of its lost soul back to jazz.
