# Concert review: Deeply moving jazz without technical frills: Peter Lehel Quartet at the Zehntscheuer Schonaich: Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2025/11/15/concert-review-deeply-moving-jazz-without-technical-frills-peter-lehel-quartet-at-the-zehntscheuer-schonaich-photos/
- Published: 2025-11-15T18:54:11+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**The Peter Lehel Quartet pays tribute to the writer Paul Auster with jazzy notes
in the packed Schönaich tithe barn.**

The organizers of the “Jazz in the Tithe Barn” series have once again achieved a
resounding success.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1323_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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Word has spread among jazz fans that it’s not to be missed when double bassist Judith
Goldbach, together with the Schönaich Music School, presents top-notch jazz.

This currently happens three times a year, and the bassist utilizes her connections
within the scene, to which she and her husband, Andreas Francke, ultimately belong
themselves. “It’s nice to be on the other side sometimes,” she says, meaning listening
in the audience rather than on stage.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1362_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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The Peter Lehel Quartet is scheduled for Saturday evening. Awarded the Baden-Württemberg
Jazz Prize in 1997, as well as the German Record Critics’ Award, Lehel has long 
been considered one of the crème de la crème of German jazz saxophonists.

He broke new ground with his CD recordings for “Paul Auster Jazz.” Inspired by the
novels, stories, and characters of the American author, who died in 2024, he dedicates
his latest work to him.

Without much electronics – Lehel’s fellow musicians in the newly formed quartet,
given their skill, don’t need to rely heavily on electronics. The only exception
is Ull Möck’s small Hammond organ, which he occasionally uses to great effect.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1260_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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Dirk Blümlein plays his electric bass without any effects pedals, instead playing
melodically and with a strong emphasis on harmony. Jakob Dinnebier’s drum kit is
minimalist, and Peter Lehel needs neither reverb nor any other gimmicks. His embouchure
alone encompasses a wide range of tonal colors.

“Mr. Vertigo” kicks off the colorful program. It begins with a lyrical, expansive
piano/bass intro by Möck and Blümlein, before Lehel joins in with a warm tenor saxophone
tone and his signature phrasing. Dinnebier on drums provides the rhythmic drive.

The musical realization of Auster’s ideas is also audible in the subsequent numbers,
not least because Lehel explains the underlying concepts of each piece in his introductions.
After “Kitty Wu’s Moon Palace,” “Quinn,” “Jim Nashe Blues,” and “Blue Smoke In The
Face,” the quartet bids farewell to Auster shortly before the intermission.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1267_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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Appearing as if from nowhere… What happened up until then? Visually, the relaxed,
serene posture of Lehel and Dinnebier, as well as the lively, expressive, and smiling
communication between Möck and Blümlein, are striking. Musically, Möck’s fingers
dance across the keys, creating innovative and harmonious connections.

Lehel lets his saxophone tell the stories with occasional, screeching high-note 
licks, which he playfully intones. And then suddenly, as if from nowhere, razor-
sharp unison phrases from the four musicians emerge, interspersed with a tender 
yet driving soprano sax solo. Blümlein’s multifaceted, melodic bass lines are at
times reminiscent of Weather Report’s electric bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius (1951-
1987).

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1252_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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Dinnebier places himself entirely at the service of Lehel’s compositions, unobtrusively,
delicately, and technically adeptly. Lehel himself is a seasoned saxophonist, and
there’s hardly any room for improvement—simply beautiful, performed with radiant
dynamics!

It doesn’t stop at a tribute to Auster; Before the intermission, the great jazz 
saxophonist John Coltrane (1926-1967) is honored. “Trane’s Mood” begins with a solo
sax, effectively blown into the open grand piano. Coltrane would likely have been
delighted by the ethereal quality, the subsequent dense intensity, and Lehel’s keyboard
acrobatics!

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1317_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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Inspired by Coltrane’s “Naima,” Lehel wrote “Anima” for his daughter, a beautiful
ballad with an expressive piano solo. “The Hussar Ride” brings the approximately
two-hour concert to a close with full force—almost.

With so much talent on display, the audience also has a say. The quartet has “Celebration
Blues” and “Losing My Mind” up their sleeves as encores. These, like all the other
pieces, are Lehel’s own compositions.

With impressive solos, they leave their mark, and the audience will remember the
experience as a jazz evening par excellence!

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzreportagen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Peter_Lehel_Q_1315_C_Rainer_Ortag.
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