Joshua Becker

With his first original big band album, the conductor, composer and arranger Jochen Neuffer impressively demonstrates why he has already written arrangements for great musicians of the calibre of Lalah Hathaway, the Metropole Orkest and Helen Schneider. With finely balanced melodic phrases, richly colorful harmonies and a wide-ranging musical span, AUGMENTED REALITY, except for a refreshingly modern implementation of the classic “Pennsylvania 6-5000”, comprises only original and multi-faceted compositions from the pen of Neuffer and leaves the traditional conventions of traditional big band jazz to one side.

Ehrfürchtig äußerte der Komponistenkollege Paul Hindemith über Max Reger: „Er war der letzte Riese in der Musik. Ich bin ohne ihn gar nicht zu denken.“ Leicht hatte es Reger, zu dessen 100. Todestag im vergangenen Jahr vielerorts seine Musik verstärkt zu hören war, mit seinen Werken nicht. Er scheint ein Komponist für Kenner und Liebhaber zu sein, der viel bewundert wurde, sich aber dennoch nicht richtig durchsetzen konnte, denn dafür ist seine Musik zu komplex, mitunter zu opulent und wenig fasslich und nicht leicht zugänglich. Als Komponist war Reger ein Getriebener, unersättlich in seinem musikalischen Mitteilungsbedürfnis.

"I’ve been playing and studying Reger’s piano music for a long time now. In the 1990s, not long after graduation, I recorded his complete works for solo piano. Ever since then, I’ve been featuring Reger frequently in my recitals: not only solo piano pieces, but chamber music including violin, clarinet and cello sonatas, the works for two pianos, piano trios, quartets, and Lieder. Reger composed an impressive quantity of music in almost all genres.

With his first own big band album AUGMENTED REALITY, the conductor, composer and arranger Jochen Neuffer impressively demonstrates why he has already written for such greats as Lalah Hathaway, the metropolis Orkest and Helen Schneider. Finely balanced melodic phrases, colorful harmonies and wide-ranging musical arcs: AUGMENTED REALITY contains except for a refreshingly modern implementation of the classic "Pennsylvania 6-5000" exclusively multilayered original compositions from the pen of Neuffer, the traditional conventions of traditional big-band jazz.