Joachim Kühn

CD deluxe, gatefold mini LP replica with obi & Japanese insert. Pianist-composer Joachim Kühn has been a force on the international jazz scene for half a century. Trained as a classical pianist, Kühn migrated to jazz, playing fusion with Alphonse Mouzon, free jazz with Ornette Coleman, and modern jazz in his iconic group with bassist JF Jenny-Clarke and drummer Daniel Humair. Here he teams up with acclaimed German electric guitarist Toto Blanke, the eclectic Afro-American bassist John Lee, and Lee’s long-time playing partner, drummer Gerry Brown (Stevie Wonder, Marcus Miller, Chick Corea, etc.). Zoom, 1&2 features Blanke’s and Kühn’s electric wizardry with string arrangements by Joachim’s brother Rolph.

On One String More legendary Polish violinist Zbignew Sievert riffs over a fractured electric landscape, and Vibrator buzzes with a free-playing acoustic piano. Travelling I takes a spacy synth trip on into an impressionistic piano solo, as Part 2 races on with Blanke’s and Kühn’s adventurous solos. Kühn intros Success on alto sax, and takes a blistering solo. Starting with a Bartokian string intro and classically-tinged acoustic piano response, Black Tears turns into a lush, beautifully orchestrated ballad. A musical extravaganza as colorful today as it was some four decades ago.