Elisabeth Lohninger - Queen Goes Jazz (2025)

Queen Goes Jazz: Adventurous? Sure. Just a little bit crazy? You bet! Elisabeth Lohninger, hailed as the “Kate Bush of Jazz” by the press, doesn’t shy away from crossing boundaries in order to make music that is surprising, fresh and different. With her velvety, dark alto voice she represents the vocal antithesis to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. But that is exactly why this works – the secret ingredient that makes overly familiar lyrics shine in a new light.

Teaming up with her partner, pianist Walter Fischbacher, she has created a set of music stuffed with stadium anthems (We Are the Champions) as well as obscure finds (Cool Cat) – each one delivered with a razor-sharp focus on the lyrics, each simmered down to its essence, and each made-to-measure for the jazz vocalist.

Lohninger, who for many years has called New York City her home, thrives within the tension between this often-overwhelming city and the quieter life quality of her Austrian origins. But she finds her true home in a place where contrasts and opposites touch. Where an overlap can exist between that which is and that which is possible. The result? A set of music that is nothing short of profoundly original.

Elisabeth Lohninger (Austria/USA) – vocals, Walter Phishbacher (Austria/USA) – keyboards, Martin Zsiboras (Hungary) – bass guitar, Paul Jakob Brüllmann – (Germany) – drums