Electric Stories

High-Energy Jazz with Depth

After the great success of his Haruki Murakami-inspired album "Two Moons" (2022) – with over 8 million streams – Düsseldorf jazz pianist Sebastian Gahler is releasing his next album just two years later. "Electric Stories," coming out in autumn 2024, offers groove-based high-energy jazz with depth, underscoring Gahler's self-conception as a versatile musical storyteller.

Gahler Goes Electric
The sound setting is inspired by the electro, funk, and fusion jazz of the 1960s and 70s, where Gahler locates his musical roots, following the footsteps of pioneers like Herbie Hancock's groundbreaking album "Head Hunters" (1973). For this, Gahler switches from the classical jazz grand piano to a fortress of vintage keyboards. He combines the chime-like tines of a Fender Rhodes with the punchy attack of a Wurlitzer electric piano, mixes the floating vibrato of a Hammond B-3 organ with the warm lead sounds of a Moog synthesizer, and adds the final touch with the silvery tone of a Hohner String Performer.

Exploring New Soundscapes with Star Trombonist Andy Hunter
The electromechanical keyboard quintet is completed by a top-notch ensemble of exceptional musicians: Niklas Schneider on drums, Nico Brandenburg on electric bass, Martin Feske on electric guitar, and – as a guest on five tracks – Denis Gäbel from the HR Big Band on tenor saxophone. A special highlight: Gahler was able to enlist the renowned New York jazz trombonist Andy Hunter for his Electric Project. Hunter, who has toured the world with Snarky Puppy, Richard Bona, and the Mingus Big Band, is currently a permanent member of the WDR Big Band in Cologne. The proximity to the Cologne Maarweg Studios, with their vintage equipment, provided the perfect resonance space for the eleven live-recorded tracks of "Electric Stories."

The innovative potential of the new ensemble is explored right in the first track, "Cruisin’ (0816)": trombone and Moog synthesizer play the theme in unison, creating an unprecedented floating mood. "Cruisin’ (0816)" is anything but ordinary in sound. Smooth jazz cruising at its best.

With "Song for B.M.," Gahler pays crunchy-fresh homage on the Wurlitzer electric piano to one of the most important jazz pianists of the last decade – Brad Mehldau. "Meditation," meanwhile, is a lighthearted reminder of his own beginnings: the title track of Gahler's debut album (2009), originally composed as a jazz waltz in 3/4 time, comes to new life 15 years later in a laid-back 4/4 time with extended harmonies.

"Rest," created in the summer of 2020, reflects the ambivalent calm of the first Corona lockdown: the total slowdown, even near shutdown, of (artistic) life, increasingly mixed with tones of dissonant despair, up to a raucous-percussive rebellion at the end of the piece.
"Casino" is a groove-heavy homage to Gahler's former piano teacher and jazz mentor of the late 90s, Buddy Casino, known to many from his long collaboration with Helge Schneider. Here, the Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hammond organ take turns in a jam session style that's impossible not to move to.

Last but not least, every Gahler album includes exactly one cover song: in his new arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Creepin' “ from 1974, Gahler's keyboards and Hunter's trombone alternately take on the vocal parts. A chill homage to one of the most important musicians of the last 50 years.
With "Electric Stories," not only does a circle close on the electro-jazz of the 70s, but also in Sebastian Gahler's own musical work: what has been repeatedly tested live and in changing line-ups with the concert series "Funky Vibes" at Düsseldorf's KIT for over eight years is now available in autumn 2024 as a perfectly mixed and mastered studio album (Vinyl/CD/Digital) with Gahler's dream line-up. It is the first physical release on Gahler's own label "Jazz Kitchen Records."

Line-up:

Sebastian Gahler – keyboards & composition
Andy Hunter – trombone
Martin Feske – guitar
Nico Brandenburg – bas
Niklas Schneider – drums
Denis Gäbel – sax