Till Brönner: Oceana

'One of the most internationally competitive German pop stars is a jazz musician' (Musikexpress, 12/05) Simple is not so difficult, one would think. But 'simplicity is a result of maturity', according to Schiller, and therefore no longer quite so harmless. Because this mature simplicity is experienced simplicity. It is a concentration on the essentials and therefore one of the desirable goals of progressive human development. Till Brönner, soon to be a 35-year-old 'star trumpeter' and one of the most versatile artists on the European music scene, has reached an enormous degree of maturity, which is now evident in the essential clarity of his new album 'Oceana'. For his tenth studio album, Till Brönner went to a place that embodies the longing for a better world like no other: Hollywood. His travel visa: the music of 'Oceana'. After two decades of intensive exploration of the freest music of the present day, Till Brönner has unearthed a masterpiece at a historic site that is as steeped in history as it is forward-looking and will make previous admonishers of Jazz Generation X sit up and take notice. The fact that one of the clearest and most unmistakable artists of new international jazz comes from Germany of all places, the once 'jazz-free zone', is a medium sensation. It seems, as is so often the case, that this Germany was the perfect breeding ground to draw such a mature conclusion as 'Oceana' succeeds in doing, despite the ongoing cultural post-war complex. These twelve tracks leave you stunned by their interpretation: you wait in vain for trendy grooves or absurd artist collaborations. Brönner's ally in this timelessly beautiful project is the legendary producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Péyroux, Leonard Cohen), who has audibly given the trumpeter room for his unmistakable playing approach. This is another reason why 'Oceana' unfolds its engaging but lonely elegance beyond all expectations or even clichés. With these discreetly effective original compositions and the beautiful, rarely heard melodies from Hollywood to hard bop, from honky-tonk to hit parade, nothing is as you might have expected, but everything is exactly as it should be. Every instrument, every note, is where it belongs, absolutely clear and consistent. The voices of the invited guests also sound as if they had been waiting for these songs. Carla Bruni, the singing supermodel from France, sings a tragically beautiful Leonard Cohen song. Madeleine Peyroux suffers in her incomparably touching way with Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'. Luciana Souza, multiple Grammy-nominated Brazilian, brings Edu Lobo's 'Pradizer adeus' to life. And Till Brönner himself sings 'River Man', Nick Drake's classic, more mature and poignant than ever. Above and above all, Till Brönner plays the trumpet on 'Oceana'. Sometimes with, sometimes without a mute, always with that unmistakable, touching soulfulness - as grandly simple as it is simply magnificent. Accompanied by an organ trio led by Larry Goldings, and occasionally with jazz legend Gary Foster on saxophone, he creates his own coherent, better musical world. Brönner's trumpet sounds so warm and clear that the vocal guests and instruments join him as if on a promenade walk, only to lose themselves again in the nearby street café. You immerse yourself in 'Oceana', floating and swimming through these wide sound spaces, these wonderful melodic currents that Till Brönner and his new friends play so skillfully and with such adept ease. New York was jazz for the head, Hollywood is jazz for the soul. The very first bars of Wes Montgomery's 'Bumpin'' make you feel good, and by the last song, the Brönner/Klein ode 'Tarde', you know how skillful and mature, how simple and essential music can and should be. The sound of jazz finally has a name again: 'Oceana'. To understand this, you really only have to listen. Quite simply.