The eponymous debut disc from German-Swedish supergroup 4 Wheel Drive went straight to the top spot as Best-Selling Jazz Album In Germany For 2019. And the media didn’t hold back with their praise either: “Four first-league jazz musicians with pure joy of playing and a love of good pop music,” said ZDF’s ‘heute-journal’ about this spirited and enjoyable group that combines trombonist / singer Nils Landgren, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist / cellist Lars Danielsson and drummer Wolfgang Haffner. For ‘4 Wheel Drive II’, it is evident that things have shifted up a gear right from the start, with the rocky, pulsating opening track, ‘Chapter II’, straight from Wollny’s compositional workbench. Landgren likes to let his trombone roar like a sports car engine. In similarly dynamic vein are pieces like Danielsson’s final track of the album, ‘The Wheelers’, which, thanks to Haffner’s nimble brushwork, makes you think you’re on a high speed train. Compared to the first album, there has been another change, an increase in the proportion of original compositions written by all of the participants, as Lars Danielsson, who has contributed a sensitive, poppy ballad to the new album, ‘Just Another Hour’, remarks. “Interpretations of worldwide hit songs were a factor behind the huge success of the debut album, but the ratio to original compositions here is getting closer to 50:50. That said, the fuel powering 4 Wheel Drive has remained the same: this band is all about creating music from deep within, and with like-minded people whom you can absolutely and implicitly trust to be in the driving seat.” “It just flows,” enthuses drummer Haffner, “we’re a group of close friends with nothing we need to prove, we can just go for it. I’ve had so many magic moments with this band, it really is incredible!” On the new album, listeners are treated to several new moments of pure magic, continuing 4 Wheel drive’s illustrious story. For example, their new instrumental version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, ‘Sound of Silence’, has something mysteriously Nordic about it. Or their newly-cast version of the surprisingly infrequently covered Genesis ballad, ‘Hold On My Heart’, putting it into a jazz context. The courage to approach pop tunes that have become so ingrained in many people’s minds from a completely different perspective pays off in full. Within 4 Wheel Drive are four originals at work, each of whom can be recognised from the very first note they play or sing.