Michael Wollny, vincent Peirani

For once, here’s a band for which the word 'supergroup' is completely apposite. Swiss vocalist Andreas Schaerer, German pianist Michael Wollny, French accordionist Vincent Peirani and his saxophonist compatriot Emile Parisien are four of the brightest and most charismatic stars in European jazz, and they have now formed themselves into a quartet. Between them, they have so far garnered no fewer than twelve German ECHO Jazz awards, as well as just about every distinction of importance in their own countries. They are in their mid- to late thirties, and their new live recording “Out of Land” demonstrates why they are at the very pinnacle of jazz musicians of their generation. It is because they are re-defining the possibilities of their instruments; not just cutting loose from the boundaries of jazz, but doing it in a way which energizes and inspires audiences of all generations.

Admittedly, the title is misleading, the album is neither showy or flashy, in fact quite the opposite, it is an introversive and lyrical CD. Thrill Box refers to his instrument and Peirani’s unique way to play the accordion is full of surprises. He makes it sound like an organ, a piano, a wind instrument or a human voice, counterpoint and radically reduced passages alternate with dynamic parts, multitoned elegies and percussive parts. Peirani also sings in unison with the accordion, revealing an excellent voice that, along with his accordion prowess, initially got the attention of Youn Sun Nah…

Vincent Peirani is a jazz musician who is equally at home in world music, or classical music, chanson or pop. Yet what the listener will hear from his new album is that he has transformed the accordion into the baddest of rock 'n' roll axes. On “Night Walker” the Frenchman shines. His quintet with extensive experience of playing together produces fiery Led Zeppelin covers and has a sound that not only crosses genres but is also completely unique.

Andreas Schaerer’s recent projects have established him at the forefront of the creative jazz scene in Europe. The Berne-based artist’s debut on the label, the revolutionary orchestral work "The Big Wig", a commission from the Lucerne Festival, was followed by a quartet formation with Michael Wollny, Vincent Peirani and Emile Parisien, “Out of Land”, and most recently by an album with another quartet, “A Novel of Anomaly”. This succession of highly contrasting releases have shown that Schaerer is not a jazz singer in any conventional sense: he is a vocal artist capable of imitating almost every instrument or sound with his voice. He covers all kinds of vocal styles from crooning to operatic tenor, and he is able to juxtapose them all in a completely individual way. Now, having lain dormant while Schaerer pursued these other endeavours, the band that first put him on the map, Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (Hildegard learns to fly) is back in business.