Karoline Weidt Quartet - Inviting | Jazzthing Next Generation Vol. 98 (2023) Hi Res

The music of Karoline Weidt and her band sounds inviting indeed, which is why "Inviting" is also a fitting title for Karoline Weidt Quartet's debut album. The singer, born in Brandenburg in 1995, discovered her artistic destiny at a very early age. "I've always sung," Weidt said. "After singing in a children's choir, I decided to take professional singing lessons." This quickly fell on fertile ground, and Karoline Weidt soon discovered jazz. "When I was fifteen, I sang my first jazz song," she recalled. "I liked it very much because I had the impression that you don't have to be like someone else, but instead you can just be yourself. She has many role models, and they have changed a lot over time. Of course, at first I couldn't listen enough to Ella Fitzgerald, and later I also listened a lot to Norma Winstone." Karoline Weidt studied jazz singing in Dresden, and she also met the members of her band there. Bassist Loreen Sima ("Loreen plays very filigree, but can also develop a powerful punch") also has her own trio, and the areas of interest of pianist Mikolaj Suchanek range from Baroque to Modern Jazz. "Miko first studied classical piano and then switched to jazz," Weidt said. "You can discover completely new worlds with him, and I find that very exciting." Drummer Valentin Steinle not only sits behind the drums in Weidt's band, but also in the trio of pianist Emmanuel Walter. "Valentin plays in a very interesting way," the singer stated. "I think he listens to a lot of hip-hop. This makes for a great mix together with the others."

The songs on "Inviting" almost all come from the pen of the singer - not only the music, but also many lyrics. "I need peace and quiet for songwriting," Weidt said. "In the beginning I found it particularly difficult to compose lyrics, but now I love to play with words." This interest has also led Weidt to become enthusiastic about the poems of Emily Dickinson and therefore set three of them to music. "I like how Emily Dickinson putts words together and creates a complete world," the singer said, who now lives in Munich and has already won several prizes with her quartet: the New Generation #jazzlab at the Festival da Jazz in St. Moritz, the Junge Münchner Jazzpreis and the Blue Note Jazz Competition in Poznán, Poland.

"Inviting" also has two prominent guests. The title song is refined by the Berlin vibraphonist Christopher Dell, and trumpeter Sebastian Studnitzky is guest on the restrained "Revery". "Sebastian Studnitzky plays so beautifully and so spherically that I really wanted to have him on 'Revery'," the singer stated enthusiastically. "Since he's a lecturer in Dresden, I just asked him." All these ingredients make "Inviting" not only an inviting thing, but an album that combines many different songs and moods with a casual virtuosity. And Karoline Weidt is at the start of a promising career with her voice, which radiates a natural self-confidence from a young age.