Ben Zahler’s Songgoing - Quietly Cold (2018) [Hi-Res]

"Quietly Cold" the title of this album may be somewhat misleading, as the music is neither as quiet nor as cold as it suggests. Intense songs, a girlish-fresh, innocent-sounding voice, the concise flute -playing of the bandleader and a compelling, swinging groove: these are the outstanding features of this evocative, drum-less quartet.

It is the well-honed rhythm section made up by Thomas Baumgartner and Marco Nenniger that provides the ideal foundation on top of which voice and flute confidently layer their melody lines. Whether the pianist is establishing the base colour or placing accents in his solos, or the bass player is providing the grounding for a ballad or getting into the groove with a counter-melody, Scott LaFaro-style: this duo seems joined at the hip.

With the exception of "Lullaby for the Wild" and "Andy's Food Corner" (both composed by Thomas Baumgartner), all songs on the album were written by Ben Zahler. While the music is easy on the ear, it nonetheless has depth and not a little humour: the songs are contemplative, altogether beautifully rounded, intelligent and entirely honest, with magnificent dialogues and a convincing interplay between the four musicians: Quietly cold - but always on the move. Steff Rohrbach

Ben Zahler - Flute
Isabelle Ritter - Vocals
Thomas Baumgartner - Piano
Marco Nenniger - Bass