“Pure And Natural” – Jocelyn Smith (voc); Volker Schlott (sax, fl, acc); Bene Apperdanier (keyb); Arne Jansens (g); Markus Runzheimer (b); Heiko Jung (dr) & backing vocals.
The musicians are absolute experts in their field: take first the legendary saxophonist Volker Schlott who was very famous in the Berlin jazz scene of the 70s and 80s when the city still belonged to the German Democratic Republic. And then you have the extremely versatile pianist Bene Apperdanier, who – as musical director of such talent-spotting TV programmes as “Star Search” and “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” (“Germany searches for a superstar”) – possesses a wealth of experience in music. Ame Jansens rocks with his mix of technical brilliance and wild, improvised musical abandonment. Heiko Jung, a real sparkling diamond of the German music industry, makes great use of his experience in the areas of jazz, funk and soul to round up the ensemble as a drummer. And if Heiko is a diamond, then Markus Runzheimer is definitely a bombshell. Quiet and modest, until he reaches for his bass, but then truly explosive beats are let loose with a vengeance. With all these amazingly talented musicians Smith succeeds in becoming totally professional and, thanks to her ‘live band’ concept, creates a sound that is extraordinarily sophisticated and, more importantly, thereby reveals a true love of art.
Recording: May 2011 at Studio 1, Emil Berliner Studios, Berlin, by Tim Tautorat and Maarten de Boer, Production: Rainer Maillard & Stephan Flock.