Dance On Deep Water Edgar Knecht

• 1 Lilofee 06:02
• 2 Gedankenfreiheit 10:18
• 3 Tiefe Wasser 05:18
• 4 Nachttraum 04:39
• 5 Fenjas Lullaby 07:38
• 6 Schwesterlein 08:57
• 7 Frühling 03:33
• 8 Wiegenlied 06:16
• Total Runtime 52:41

Info for Dance On Deep Water

The critics just can’t hide their excitement when it comes to Edgar Knecht. “Jazz hasn’t been this original and stimulating for a long time”, one of them enthused; “This music is simply stunning”, respected monthly Jazzpodium confessed; and Germany’s biggest quality newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: “This is truly unheard-of music.” And truly, the German pianist and his band of bassist Rolf Denecke and drum-duo Stephan Emig and Tobias Schulte succeed in creating something genuinely new: A fusion of the vivacity of jazz and world music with the elegance of classical composition and the depth and clarity of ancient folk melodies.

On his 2010 debut album “Good Morning Lilofee”, Edgar Knecht demonstrated that dusty German folk songs could be brought back to life if interpreted with empathy and passion. It gained his ensemble invitations to some of the most renowned inter- national festivals, playing alongside established stars like John Scofield, Buena Vista Social Club, Pat Metheny and Dave Holland. And wherever they went, they turned both the public and critics into fans.

On their new CD Dance on Deep Waters, the brilliant quartet continue their forage through the “Old German Songbook”. As a result, some of the most popular songs of the romantic era are turning into works of spine-tingling, mesmerising intensity, including Latin-flavoured “Gedankenfreiheit” or lightningspeed bebop-piece “Frühling”.

With his unique and refreshing approach, Edgar Knecht has both raised the bar for those following in his trail and opened up new gateways to long-lost traditions. Thanks to their airy, playful magic, his songs are suspenseful spaces for the imagi- nation to run wild and seeming paradoxes to co-exist: “Der wilde Wassermann” (“Wild Aquarius”) is both minimal and classically rich, while tragic love story “Es waren zwei Königs- kinder” (“Once there were two king’s children”) seems to dispense with time and space altogether.

Piano, bass and drums are dancing on the waves of deep waters, rhythms and melodies are rising like ecstatic fireworks. “And all of this”, according to newspaper Hessische Allgemeine, “is done with plenty of Innigkeit, a boisterous joy of playing, a love for improvisation and spontaneity. Sometimes it’s so good, it makes you cry.”

Edgar Knecht, piano
Rolf Denecke, bass
Tobias Schulte, drums
Stephan Emig, percussion

Produced by Dagobert Böhm for Ozella Music Recorded and mixed 2012 by Stephan van Wylick, fattoria musica, Osnabrück
Mastered by Hans-Jörg Maucksch at Pauler Acoustics, Northeim

Edgar Knecht - Piano

The pianist and composer Edgar Knecht has been performing his own compositions for the piano since the age of 14. Among award-winning solo programs he has written numerous pieces for theatre, film and television. With his valsanova project, Knecht travels and performs around the world.

Rolf Denecke - Bass

Bassist Rolf Denecke plays at the Deutsches Theater in Göttingen and at the Staatstheater Kassel. He has worked on different projects with Barbara Thompson, Jasper van't Hof, Hamid Baroudi and Detlef Landeck, among others.

Stephan Emig - Drums

Drummer Stephan Emig studied at the Los Angeles Music Academy. His work has won several awards, such as the 'Kasseler Kunstpreis' and the 'Deutscher Rock- und Pop-Preis', and he has played in worldwide guest performances with Hamid Baroudi and 'trioscence', among others.

Tobias Schulte - Drums

The drummer Tobias Schulte studied at the Los Angeles Music Academy also. He is profiled as an accomplished musician in many bands of different styles, with which he was able to celebrate international successes.

Booklet for Dance On Deep Water