Act Label

Producer and ACT label boss Siggi Loch turns 75 on August 6th this year and to celebrate his birthday ACT are releasing a collection of music that Siggi had the pleasure of producing over the last 50-plus years, his own personal Best of… . 'Life in the Spirit of Jazz - Siggi Loch 75' represents a fascinating cross-section from the glittering career and from the passionate life of a man who has achieved legendary status in music. Right at the start of his career, he had the dream of running his own jazz label, and he has now fulfilled that dream. ACT has been voted label of the year four times in a row at the German ECHO awards, and in 2015 alone, its artists and releases garnered eight ECHOs: the label has achieved international renown.

Blues, Rock‘n’Roll and all that Jazz: a musical autobiography that represents a fascinating cross-section from the glittering career and from the passionate life of producer Siggi Loch - for his 75th birthday. Right at the start of his career, he had the dream of running his own jazz label, and he has now fulfilled that dream. ACT has been voted label of the year four times in a row at the German ECHO awards, and in 2015 alone, its artists and releases garnered eight ECHOs: the label has achieved international renown. However this CD collection is a snapshot of where things are, a provisional taking of stock to mark and to celebrate Siggi Loch's 75th birthday.

Producer and ACT label boss Siggi Loch turns 75 on August 6th this year and to celebrate his birthday ACT are releasing a collection of music that Siggi had the pleasure of producing over the last 50-plus years, his own personal Best of… . 'Life in the Spirit of Jazz - Siggi Loch 75' represents a fascinating cross-section from the glittering career and from the passionate life of a man who has achieved legendary status in music. Right at the start of his career, he had the dream of running his own jazz label, and he has now fulfilled that dream. ACT has been voted label of the year four times in a row at the German ECHO awards, and in 2015 alone, its artists and releases garnered eight ECHOs: the label has achieved international renown.

This album was recorded live in concert at The "Konzerthaus" Berlin on 2nd April 2017 to celebrate 25 years of Siggi Loch's ACT record label. Over twenty artists took part in various combinations offering the listener some live covers from recent studio albums plus some new material and the chance to hear combinations of musicians in fresh settings. The album makes a fine pairing with "Twenty Five Magic Years" (ACT 9850-2) which contains selected studio recording output over the last few years and was reviewed in our May listings.

Screeching Weasel have been released Act 1 of an epic, two-part punk rock opera titled Baby Fat. Featuring guest performances by Kat Spazzy, Blag Dahlia, Chris Burrows, Roger Lima, Todd Congelliere, Dave Klein, Line Dahlman, Paul Collins, Andrea & Mass of The Manges, and more. The second Act scheduled to release in 2017.

Following on from the successful 1950’s cool jazz and bop excursions in “Kind of Cool”, “Kind of Spain” is again with an 100% acoustic band. Traditional Spanish music meets jazz. The vibe created by this sextet is introvert, warm and atmospheric, and the listener’s mind might easily drift off… to a roof terrace somewhere in Granada by night, perhaps.

The “Sound of Europe,” captured and documented on CD and vinyl. For over 25 years, the ACT label has had a consistent mission to support and promote European jazz, and had substantial impact through doing it. All shades, all hues…but with an emphasis on specific countries and regions, among which maybe the best examples are Sweden and France.

Given enough time, things in life often come around full circle. Julia Hülsmann's three recordings for Munich's ACT label were all vocal affairs, where the German pianist's core trio—with bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling—were joined by singers ranging from Norway's Rebekka Bakken to Germany's Roger Cicero. Since moving to another Munich label, the more heralded ECM Records, Hülsmann has demonstrated a more careful approach to expanding and evolving her work. Her first two recordings for the label—2008's The End of a Summer and 2011 followup, Imprint—pared things back to her core trio as if to signal a new beginning, adopting a wholly acoustic approach.

German brothers Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr show the action-packed nature of Brooklyn through hard-hitting, horn-and-piano entanglements. Their new album, Landed in Brooklyn and features established musicians, like Grammy-winning Blackstar tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who is all over this nine-track extravaganza, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and Kneebody drummer Nate Wood. Julian plays trumpet and flugelhorn, while Roman goes off on piano, marimba, and seaboard. The two received the break of a lifetime when Siegfried “Siggi” Loch, founder of the independent German jazz label ACT, gave the brothers their first shot at 17 and 20.