tickets:
regular: 14,- €uro
students, disabled persons: 7,- €uro
doors: 7.30 pm CET
concert starts:
approx. 8.00 pm CET
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and his European Quartet returned with a vengeance on Diamonds and Other Jewels (recorded live at LOFT). A collection of Weiskopf originals (and one standard), it showcases the powerful chemistry Weiskopf shares with pianist Carl Winther, bassist Andreas Lang and drummer Anders Mogensen – coupled with their audible joy at being together again.
The album is the sixth release from the acclaimed quartet, which Weiskopf put together for a short European tour in the winter of 2017, but quickly evolved into his regular working band (when he wasn’t on the road with Steely Dan, Weiskopf’s other regular gig). The winter European tour became an annual tradition – although 2020 was their last in-person peak in two years (the 2021 release Introspection 2.0 was recorded remotely, with Weiskopf on the other side of the Atlantic from his bandmates). When the opportunity finally presented itself again in January 2022, they were more than ready to seize it....
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tickets:
regular: 14,- €uro
students, disabled persons: 7,- €uro
doors: 7.30 pm CET
concert starts:
approx. 8.00 pm CET
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and his European Quartet returned with a vengeance on Diamonds and Other Jewels (recorded live at LOFT). A collection of Weiskopf originals (and one standard), it showcases the powerful chemistry Weiskopf shares with pianist Carl Winther, bassist Andreas Lang and drummer Anders Mogensen – coupled with their audible joy at being together again.
The album is the sixth release from the acclaimed quartet, which Weiskopf put together for a short European tour in the winter of 2017, but quickly evolved into his regular working band (when he wasn’t on the road with Steely Dan, Weiskopf’s other regular gig). The winter European tour became an annual tradition – although 2020 was their last in-person peak in two years (the 2021 release Introspection 2.0 was recorded remotely, with Weiskopf on the other side of the Atlantic from his bandmates). When the opportunity finally presented itself again in January 2022, they were more than ready to seize it.
„Playing together again was joyful, creative and productive; and what a relief to finally feel some semblance of wholeness,“ writes Weiskopf in the liner notes. „After our first concerts, I was excited and inspired to write new material during a train ride from Belgium to Germany. I realized that we now had enough music to make a recording really worthwhile.“
The title Diamonds and Other Jewels is a direct reference to actual song titles, including the dazzling waltz Black Diamond; the pensive but emotionally charged Blood Diamond, and the autumnal ballad Other Jewels. But it could well describe the overall quality of the album’s eight tracks. Among the sparkling treasures are dedications to two of Weiskopf’s mentors: Thad Nation, a colorful tribute to composer, arranger and (co-)bandleader Thad Jones, and the Arthur Johnston-Sam Coslow classic My Old Flame, dedicated to the late great alto saxophonist Andy Fusco.
These pieces are tight, most of them around six minutes long. It’s an impressive testament to how tight the band itself remains, both in terms of their personal bonds and their musical discipline. In these short periods of time, these musicians say an enormous amount.
Walt Weiskopf was born on July 30, 1959, in Augusta, Georgia, to a father whose work as a physician was offset by his pursuit of classical piano. His two sons – Walt and pianist Joel – followed in his formally trained footsteps. By the time he graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1980, however, Weiskopf was firmly in the jazz camp.
He started his career in Buddy Rich’s big band, moved to the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra a few years later and began to build a solo reputation there. His first two albums as a bandleader, Exact Science in 1989 and Mindwalking in 1990, both saw him leading a quartet with his brother Joel, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirshfield.
From then on, Weiskopf led and performed with a variety of different ensembles, recording 11 albums over a 15-year period from 1992 to 2007, while maintaining a healthy freelance calendar in the commercial world of the New York studio scene, Broadway showpit orchestras, as well as the Akiyoshi Band, the Frank Sinatra Orchestra and his notable piers, including Renee Rosnes, Conrad Herwig, Jim Snidero, John Fedchock and Billy Drummond, among others. In 2003, he received the call to join Steely Dan and has been part of the jazz-rock ensemble ever since.
Weiskopf put together his European quartet in 2017 and sprinted through Scandinavia and northern Germany for just one week – but gained enough momentum for the saxophonist to document it on a self-titled album. But a single recording could not contain the band’s creative energy: European Quartet was followed by 2019’s Worldwide, 2020’s Introspection and 2021’s Introspection 2.0, as well as the holiday EP A Little Christmas Music, before releasing Diamonds and Other Jewels in January 2022.
Walt sums it up: „This is what I’ve always wanted to do – collaborating with like-minded musicians, writing music, sharing it and performing all over the world, it’s the realization of my professional dream.“
NOTE: In 2024, the concerts at the LOFT will start round 8pm - the LOFT opens approx. 30min before the concerts begin.
Exceptions (until Eastern): Sunday Concerts (start approx at 6pm, if not noted otherwise).
Information about prices, ticket reservations and our opening times can be found here:
https://www.loftkoeln.de/en/tickets/
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