Lorenz Hargassner Quartet
Lorenz Hargassner (alto and soprano saxophones, spoken words), Buggy Braune (piano), Roland Fidezius (bass), Paul Kaiser (drums), feat. Hanna Jursch (vocals)
Tracklisting:
1. .September 1st (6:11)
2. Collage (6:08)
3. Mira (4:55)
4. Repeated behaviour (7:18)
5. Peter's blues (6:06)
6. Sisyphos (4:50)
7. On y va (6:15)
8. Tanti Anni Prima (6:00)
Recorded March 24th and March 25th 2009 at Fattoria Musica, Osnabrück.
Released 2011.

Lorenz Hargassner is already known as one of the leading new voices on the alto saxophone in Germany. As follow-up to the highly acclaimed debut Diversityville which was published in the successful series Jazz thing Next Generation he is now presenting a new album full of inspiring creative energy. Vitality is telling a story using emotional compositions that were recorded during a 3-week-tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a highly trained ensemble around the Viennese saxophonist who currently resides in Hamburg.
The repertoire of Vitality contains a diversity of musical directions which follows a red line through the individual performance of the quartet. At every point this band sounds like itself and features the different musical influences of its protagonists.
On the one hand there is Paul Kaiser on drums who has been brought to wider recognition as member of Stanfour which is a chart-breaking band in Germany. His affinity to pop and rock music is unmistakable, which might have roots in his seven years of a musician’s life in L.A. In the studio and live scene of California he paid his tribute by defining his very American style of drumming. 2005 he returned to Europe to found the quartet with the saxophonist.
Lorenz Hargassner had enjoyed classical training, started with violin and clarinet and arrived at jazz and the saxophone at the age of 20. As “Kick-starter” he began a “breathtaking career” (Jazz thing) and collaborates with diverse ensembles such as the band of Adam Holzman, former musical director of Miles Davis or pure desmond, a cool jazz ensemble leaning on the tradition of music from the 1960s. His classical influence is shown in the choice of the repertoire, where we find an adaption of an opus by Astor Piazzolla next to original compositions of the band leader.
In Roland Fidezius the Berlin jazz scene also finds a voice in the band. As member of So.Weiss he is used to sounds from the avant-garde as well to those of the rock-era of his own group Oddshot. His tasteful solo at the begin of the album on the opener “September 1st” shows his good hand not only for well-rooted accompaniment but for elegant lines and an honest groove.
With Buggy Braune an “elder statesman” of Northern Germany Jazz has found its way into the ensemble. Since the professor for jazz piano from Hamburg has become part of the group, the band has won new creative playfulness. His unbreakable will to improvise and his credible knowledge of the tradition and contemporary expressions of jazz lead to an outstanding sound. He is able to redefine the pieces again and again and therefore is one of the guarantees for exciting new interpretations of the repertoire by the band during their concerts.