A German figurehead in jazz and musical diversity like no other German jazz musician, trumpeter Till Brönner enjoys an international reputation.
A traverser between different styles, but always with an incomparable tone, the Jazz Open was a “vacation with a trumpet” in the beautiful ambience of Stuttgart’s Old Castle.
His congenial arranger and composition partner Christian von Kaphengst, as a bandmate, was already a guarantee that there would be some exciting notes to listen to. And the septet was also perfectly assembled in other respects.
A tour through his albums with “my pretty best friends,” as he announced the formation.
The two keyboardists Olaf Polziehn (grand piano / Fender Rhodes) and Jan Miserre (keyboard) provided the appropriate soundscape on which Brönner and his colleagues could spread out, then take off into high-flying heights.
The flugelhorn licks in the ballads, in particular, created an ethereal atmosphere that invited the audience to fly along. As a contrast, the young guitarist Bruno Müller, playing his semi-acoustic Gibson, took the audience into more rock-oriented territory. There was something for every taste.
Unique arrangements. Of particular note was a very idiosyncratic arrangement of Carlos Santana’s “Europa,” which began in a very meditative manner and peppered with sound collages.
Tenor sax and trumpet hinted at the theme from time to time, but anyone who had the Santana number in their head was initially lost in the forest of sound.
And suddenly the sun rose as Müller shone his “Santana guitar” brightly into a forest clearing. Electro-jazz elements also suddenly appeared.
A meditative, minimal beat developed into a huge drum solo. The completely off-the-wall version of this rock classic finally led into a calm, delicate tenor saxophone solo by Mark Wyand, followed by flugelhorn excursions of the finest quality!
The band could hardly have presented a better showcase for sophisticated musical creativity.
There’s no doubt that Brönner is also a great verbal entertainer; for example, when he vividly recounts his impressions of Rio de Janeiro, where he “actually wanted to meet Antonio Carlos Jobim,” as he said.
Even though that didn’t work out, it didn’t diminish his affinity for bossa nova. He emotionally celebrated his love for this Brazilian groove from the “Rio” album.
With “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, Brönner managed to get the sold-out castle courtyard to sing along at the end of a magnificent performance.
Cheering audience and standing ovations. The artist’s bread clearly mutated into a cake!
Till Brönner, trumpet, flugelhorn
Christian von Kaphengst, bass
Olaf Polziehn, grand piano, Fender Rhodes
Jan Miserre, keyboards
Bruno Müller, guitar
Mark Wyand, saxophone
