Weinhold, Bastian: Cityscape

German borne Bastian Weinhold is an up and coming jazz drummer/composer having been schooled at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and the Manhattan School of Music. He moved to New York City in 2009 and released his debut as a band leader titled River Styx and has recently followed that up with his sophomore effort Cityscape.

As we all know making music is usually a group effort and his backing band are exceptional musicians which include Nils Weinhold (guitars), Adam Larson (tenor saxophone) and Raviv Markovitz (bass).

Cityscape is a very nice contemporary jazz album that is both melodic and intricate, especially Weinhold's drum work. It is outstanding throughout the album. That said, all the musicians are given ample room to breathe.

The disc begins with "Interlude I" blending sounds of the city with Weinhold's vibrant drumming. Bass and sax also figure prominently. The title track features excellent tenor sax and a lovely lyrical guitar solo. A heavy bass and drum intro begins "The Snowman" with sax adding the melody. Bass and sax solos also highlight the classy "Alone" along with some pretty complex drum parts. One of the prettier tunes is "Interlude II" featuring more of Larson's sublime saxophone. Another great track is the vibrant jazz fusion of "Mole Hunt" featuring a rock solid rhythm section and excellent guitar and sax solos. The intricate layering of guitar and sax in the almost delicate "One for the Doctor" is another highlight. It also features outstanding solo bass from Markovitz.

Cityscape is easily a four star jazz album for me. Weinhold's compositions are both melodically complex and highly entertaining. Released on Frame Music.

Track Listing:
1. Interlude I
2. Cityscape
3. The Snowman
4. Alone
5. Interlude II
6. Mole Hunt
7. Home to Home
8. Everybody List
9. One for the Doctor
10. Interlude III

Added: December 19th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 1631
Language: english

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