(Editor) 20th anniversary of Siegfried Loch's ACT. I congratulate and thank him for placing in its catalogue Polish artists like Leszek Możdżer ("Komeda"), Vladyslav Sendecki ("Solo Piano") or Paweł Kaczmarczyk ("Complexity In Simplicity")...
With a roster that boasts some of the most influential contemporary jazz recordings of recent years – namely those of the epoch defining sound of the sorely missed Esbjörn Svensson Trio – among a wide range of leading jazz instrumentalist and singers German label ACT has grown to a global force all thanks to the singular vision of label boss Siegfried ‘Siggi’ Loch and 2012 will mark the 20th anniversary of ACT Music.
Over the past two decades ACT has championed an incredible array of jazz artists who are defined by their desire to push musical boundaries while reaching out to a wider audience with both authenticity and innovation at their core. This list includes the likes of popular trombonist Nils Landgren, double bassist and cellist Lars Danielsson, pianists Jan Lundgren and Joachim Kuhn, saxophonist Heinz Sauer, drummer Wolfgang Haffner and guitarists Ngyuên Lê and Ulf Wakenius. More recent luminaries include Michael Wollny’s [em], the brothers Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr, Finnish trumpet sensation Verneri Pohjola, singers Viktoria Tolstoy and Youn Sun Nah and the genre-defying string ensemble radio.string.quartet.vienna. While former EST bassist Dan Berglund’s Tronbruket band and drummer Magnus Öström’s powerful rock-edged quartet have both made critically acclaimed albums and bold steps forward as solo artists.
The label has had another good year in 2011 with a Mercury Prize nomination for pianist Gwilym Simcock’s Good Days At Schloss Elamu, the signing of artists like saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappaand pianists Vijay Iyer and Leszek Możdżer to the label, and several international accolades being awarded to the label’s artists, such as guitarist Ngyuên Lê picking up the coveted French CHOC award for the album Song Of Freedom, and trombonist Nils Landgren taking home the German Jazz Gold Award for his recent The Moon The Stars And You.
Next year is already looking very promising with a slew of new releases slated to come out between February and April, these include; Ulf Wakenius -Vagabond (6 Feb), Jens Thomas - Speed Of Grace (6 Feb), Lars Danielsson -Liberetto (20 Feb), Verneri Pohjola - Ancient History (20 Feb), Vijay Iyer Trio -Accelerando (5 Mar), Michael Wollny’s [em] - Wasted & Wanted (March 2012), The Lighthouse Trio (Tim Garland, Gwilym Simcock, Asaf Sirkis) - title TBC (April 2012).
There are UK concerts to look forward to as well with Polish piano sensation Leszek Możdżer (pictured above) performing music from his debut album for ACT, Komeda, at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London on 1 February. While Vijay Iyer plays exciting new material from his new album Accelerando at The Vortex, London on 1-2 May.
Author: Mike Flynn
http://jazzwisemagazine.com
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