Matthias Bergmann (fl-h, tp) Claudius Valk (ts, ss) Hanno Busch (g) Hendrik Soll (p, Fender-Rhodes) Cord Heineking (b) Jens Düppe (dr) Recorded 30./31.07.2007 at Fattoria Musica Studio Osnabrück by Markus Braun, www.fattoriamusica.de Mixed by Markus Braun, Matthias Bergmann und Florian Ross It did take a little longer until flugelhorn- and trumpet player Matthias Bergmann from Cologne finally released his debut album. After more than thirty CD recordings and countless concert tours in over 35 countries as sideman for e.g. Andreas Schnermann, Frank Sackenheim or Florian Ross as well as for bigger groups like Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination & Brass or the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the 35-year-old is now presenting the first CD in his own name with seven self-composed titles and one adaptation of a Tom Waits ballad. So this CD is not a rush job but a well-considered, mature album containing plenty of moments of suprise, not a trace of sportive trumpeting and much room for the carefully assorted band. Listen to Hendrik Soll’s free piano introduction to the first piece and you will know where the musical journey will be taking you: Almost 50 minutes of modern, melodic jazz with a distinct European character, supremely recorded at the Fattoria Musica Studio in Osnabrück, with Hanno Busch on guitar, alternating aptly between accompanying and melody parts, with the superior and always communicative Cord Heineking (bass) and Jens Düppe (drums) and with Claudius Valk on saxophone, who instictively adds the right dose of energetic solos and more intimate, quiet notes to the success of the music. But it is the bandleader who keeps holding the reins at all times, staging his warm flugelhorn sound over and over again and taking delight in demonstrating that one does not necessarily need a steady working band to produce a convincing CD – sometimes only two rehearsals, a little skill in choosing the right music and musicians and - let’s say twenty odd years of experience as sideman will do.