Description
"My aim for my new record was to find really unusual combinations," explains Rolf Kühn, in cheerful mood after his last day in the studio. The special attraction of these 13 'Spotlights' emanates from the extraordinary combination of instruments and styles, and above all from the fact that a group of virtuoso artists from very different musical backgrounds have come together to participate in a a project very close to their hearts.
The theme running through and joining up the album is of course the unmistakable sound of Rolf Kühn's clarinet. Hamilton de Holanda, the distinguished Brazilian expert on the bandolim, a kind of mandolin, immerses Kühn's clarinet in Latin-sounding melancholy. Albrecht Mayer, international classical star and solo oboist with the Berlin Philharmonic, provides a fascinating angle with his highly sensitive playing and the rich facets of his art. Asja Valcic, the outstanding Croatian cellist, contributes her impressive, classical virtuosity and daring improvisation, as she races frantically through the notes with Kühn. Christian Lillinger, the exceptional percussionist with the Rolf Kühn Unit, adds his wild groove to the mix and 0 like Berlin bassist Oliver Potratz - accentuates the tense dynamic mood. Ed Motta, heavyweight Brazilian singer and megastar in his homeland, brings out his baritone to sound like a synthesizer suffering voltage fluctuations, breathing and scatting resounding word scraps into Kühn's compositions.
And as if that were not enough, Rolf's famous younger brother, pianist Joachim Kühn, weighs in with his inimitable style of playing, his rhythmic soul.