Jazz at Green Room: Jonas Sorgenfrei Quartett

While Jonas Sorgenfrei set himself an optimistic, metaphorical motto for the current times in his furious and critically acclaimed quartet debut Elephants Marching On (Unit Records label, 2021) and interpreted it musically in his wonderful compositions, in his second release he dedicated himself to the transparent sound of a trio without a harmonizing instrument: the saxophone trio. The compositions on the recording Moods tell of Jonas Sorgenfrei's thoughts and dreams in his everyday life as a busy musician, of journeys and impressions that haunt him in his life on the road. In the multi-colored, atmospheric compositions, which often oscillate between written-out and freely improvised passages, the interplay is dense and organic. The focus is on the melodious character of the pieces and the spontaneous, free interplay in a reduced, transparent formation.

The homogeneously warm sound of the band, with the fine, extremely agile but never intrusive, wonderfully pulsating playing of band leader Sorgenfrei and Matthias Akeo Nowak's earthy, full bass sound, provides the foundation on which the two outstanding soloists take off in an inspired manner.