Ilja Weigel - Generations of Migration (2023)

A self-portrait does not have to reach for the stars by offering as much artificial achievement as possible - when it is primarily about showing your colors with sensitivity and commitment: The Russian-German pianist Ilja Weigel embodies this principle on his debut CD, where he also reveals his own family roots.

According to the Russian music-making virtue, he first learned to play and master his instrument without ifs and buts, no wonder if you come from a real family of musicians like him, where making music is like the air you breathe. When he calls his current album "Generations of Migration", this testifies to real migrantism, when this pianist sets off to new cultural and musical shores with a great deal of alertness. In this case also to jazz, where he became at home in the expressive world of Brand Mehldau or Bill Evans. And Ilja Weigel admits to many more things that he loves: "Saint Petersburg" or "Northern Lights" are deeply personal pieces that musically capture biographical stations and places of longing. For such mood pictures, Ilja Weigel applies broad imaginary brushstrokes from the pianistic palette of tones, directs wide-ranging jazz improvisations, formulates narrative melodic arcs and also likes to take the listener into harmonic labyrinths.

Weigel's touch culture is exquisite: It's wonderful how he dynamically differentiates between the left and right hand, how he sets accents and emphasis, that the music "speaks" in a clearly articulated way and also flows and revels in the best sense of the word "ballade-like". This is definitely a musical oasis of well-being over long stretches - but one that comes across as deeply felt and authentic and never vainly polished!

But another world comes into play: namely that of the musical homeland of Ilja Weigel and his family. Ilja Weigel tackles the folk music of the East with great enthusiasm. It's all about waltz and polka, and sometimes it's oriental. Incidentally, the pianist hasn't been alone with himself for a long time now: his father accompanies him on several pieces on the bojan, a kind of accordion. Ilja Weigel probably had this sound in his ears from an early age, which is combined with the piano in a lively, lively way.