Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a band perfectly willing to wear their enthusiasm on their collective sleeve. After all, the project that brought Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson together and gave them their group name was a tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Willie P. Bennett, and they've never been hesitant to cover songwriters they look up to or bring in guest artists they admire…
In 2009, together with Moroccan oud and guembri virtuoso Majid Bekkas and Spanish percussionist Ramon Lopez, Joachim Kühn recorded "Out of the Desert", the follow-up to their celebrated debut "Kalimba" which was described as "pure magic" (Jazzthetik). "Out of the Desert", praised for its "previously unheard sound" (Kulturspiegel) went on to win the German Record Critics Award. It was this "desert jazz", which culminated in 2011 with the powerfully organic and incredibly intense "Chalaba", that Stötzler suggested that Kühn transpose this to a greater dimension, that the trio’s African inspired improvisations should fuse with the diverse sound repertoire of the big band. Kühn was immediately taken with the idea of playing with the Frankfurter big band because, as he says, "they put their whole heart and soul in it"…
Jazz has always had a certain fascination for the moon. After love, it is one of the more common topics for jazz standards, and for Nils Landgren is no exception. For some time he has planned a ballad album as a sequel to his highly successful "Sentimental Journey", which according to the newspaper Die Welt "stole the hearts of the audience".
These songs include jazz standards, such as Henry Mancini’s "Moon River" or Herbie Hancock’s "Stars in Your Eyes", as well as folk and pop songs like Kris Kristofferson’s "Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends" or "Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens, and he also includes South American song by Kurt Weill called "Holofotes" alongside his own compositions. As such, "The Moon, the Stars and You" has grown into a concept album with a whole spectrum of different moods - meditative, longing, occasionally funky yet continuously inspired and swinging.