Jens Winther: Electrazz (CD)

Jens Winther (geb. 1960)

CD

CD (Compact Disc)

Conventional CD, playable with all CD players and computer drives, but also with most SACD or multiplayers.

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Label:: Stunt
Year of recording ca.:: 2010
UPC/EAN:: 0663993120324
Release date:: 27.11.2012

Product Information

Jens Winther recorded this – his last - recording a few months prior to his much too early death at the age of 50 on February 24, 2011. The music on this CD is a monument to Winther’s artistry. He was one of Denmark’s most remarkable artists: instrumentalist, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor. His music reached far beyond the borders of his native country, and shortly before his death, The Danish Arts Agency awarded him a lifetime grant.

Jens Winther was born with a searching soul, and his enor- mous energy and restlessness led him to explore many diffe- rent aspects of music. His inner drive was unmistakable, and the music on this CD documents his urge to redefine himself as an artist. Despite wide acclaim and respect, it is obvious that he felt cornered by the exclusive roles of composer and arranger.

Jens Winther had already performed with many outstanding Danish bands when he joined the Danish Radio Big Band at the age of only 21 and became the band’s primary trumpet soloist. During the same period he played with several other large ensembles such as Ernie Wilkins’ Almost Big Band. In 1989 he left for New York, spending the next couple of years studying and playing with many of the most progressive voices in salsa and jazz.

Jens Winther began fronting his own groups in the early ‘80s, and was soon recognized as a powerful composer not only in a basic jazz idiom, but also in the modern classical tradition. His musical scope was enormous – from rock groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin over Quincy Jones and Winther’s greatest hero Miles Davis, to baroque and new classical music. He successfully combined jazz and classical in his compositi- ons, which earned him many commissions from outstanding European orchestras. He also recorded a large catalogue of albums with small bands in his own name. He remained musi- cally ambitious and uncompromising to the end.

A few years before his death, Jens Winther moved first to Berlin and later to Geneva, not only to rekindle his relationship with an old flame, but also to rediscover his music. This CD repre- sents a farewell and a renewed journey back to his musical starting point. Electrazz documents a revitalized musicians- hip, an explosion of energy in the company of his son pianist Carl Winther, guitarist Mikkel Nordsø, the talented young bassist Christian Douglas, and drummer Johan Kolsut. There are traces of Miles Davis, Weather Report and the jazz-rock of the 1960s and ‘70s. The close, intuitive interplay explodes in force and vitality, tempo and savagery. This is music in search of a new expression, and it appeals to body and mind.

Jens Winther did not have a chance to edit or mix these recordings. Guitarist Mikkel Nordsø and Jens’ son Carl did the post-production. It is almost unbearable that there will be no more music from Jens Winther.