Press commentaries

Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung, August 4, 2009
Crossover Artists of Music by Birgit Jürgens
Hildesheim. The apparently separative unites. In this way, musicians also use the themes of Johann Sebastian Bach to fill them with own new ideas without losing sight of the original. Daniel Schmahl (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Johannes Gebhardt (organ) from Berlin are crossover artists between classical music and jazz. They chose “back to bach - bach, jazz & more” as one of their album titles for the farewell concert “Sommerliche Orgelkonzerte” in the cathedral. The duo enriched the cathedral with sounds that you usually hear there only very rarely. more...

HNA, August 3, 2009
Musical Freedom between Bach and Jazz Opened 950-Year-Celebration
by Nicola Uphoff-Watschong
Lippoldsberg. ... To be caught between two stools did in no way mean that this unique duo had not found its musical home yet. Gebhardt is rooted in church music, while Schmahl has been imbued with love for jazz for a long time. However, both musicians succeeded in breaking their learned boundaries and deeply entering the respective other music genre. more...

Schwabacher Tageblatt, July 10, 2009
“Bach like in Brazil” Sensational Opening of the Schwabach Music Festival
Bach wie in Brasilien
SCHWABACH (stt) – «Fantastic.» «Sensational.» «Brilliant.» The first concert of the Schwabach music festival was a raving success. Trumpet player Daniel Schmahl and David Timm on the organ presented much more than Bach and jazz. The audience at Town Church were especially impressed by the samba pieces. «I felt like being in Brazil», it was said. Toccata and fugue in South American. David Timm has shown how suitable a big church organ is for any kind of music. «Unbelievable, what he took out of the organ», a listener said. The enthusiasm about playing, the virtuosity and talent for improvisation of both musicians could be felt intensely, and the build-up of tension between the musical worlds guided the audience from the classical to the modern age in a lighthearted way.
… Such music has never been heard in Schwabach before.

Ostthüringer Zeitung, May 19, 2009
"Back to bach - bach, jazz & more" ... The sounds that Johannes Gebhardt elicited from the mountain church organ expressed pure passion. The handwriting of Johann Sebastian Bach was well recognizable, but the professor of organ explored everything that the keyed instrument was capable to give on Sunday. Together with Daniel Schmahl, a master on the trumpet and piccolo horn, he delighted the audience with a mixture of classical music and jazz as well as his tremendous pleasure in improvisation. The visitors listened fascinated to the partial very gentle but also powerful interplay of both instruments.
… The encore of both musicians was a free improvisation and it drew enthusiastic applause.

Neue Westfälische Zeitung, January 6, 2009
“Rapid towards Jazz”
Opening concert of the Sacred Evening Music was groovy
Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Johannes Gebhardt on the organ and Daniel Schmahl on the trumpet and piccolo horn are two versed masters in their profession. They came to delight the audience well and truly in particularly two ways: with an amazing tonal richness on the one hand, and groovy and swinging rhythms on the other…
Sluggish tempos are certainly not their kind of thing. In fact it was youthful and lively, even rapid in parts such as Clifford Brown’s song “Joy Spring” for trumpet and organ. The arrangement of Marcello’s Concerto in e for piccolo horn and organ was simply brilliant, especially in the first or last movements. “Tango Lamentoso”, a reverence for the king of tango Astor Piazzolla, was arranged with plenty of enthusiasm and passion. It was followed by “Jesus Groove”, also written by Gebhardt, who began softly with string parts and after using the trumpet mute he literally exploded inside towards the end.
… the thrilled audience in the St. Clemens Church rewarded this with standing ovation. What a start of the new year.

Freie Presse, January 6, 2009
"Brilliant Sound at the Beginning of the Year"
Flöha. Brilliant sounds presented the musical prelude of the new year in the George church Flöha on Sunday evening. The minds of the audience were excited by trumpet and organ in the Bachian chorale “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” right at the beginning…
… Daniel Schmahl and Tobias Berndt focused on three chorale settings in their concert in Flöha, in addition to “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” and “Jesus bleibet meine Freude” …
… Daniel Schmahl played the piccolo horn in the Italian concerti of Albinoni and Marcello, that were settings for this instrument and organ. They demanded great virtuosity from the hornist, which he was brilliant at.
However, the highlight of his art of playing was Mozart’s “Alleluja” from the motet “Exultate Jubilate”, inherently an aria for coloratura soprano. Here the voice of the trumpet became that of a diva…

Neue Westfälische Zeitung, January 3, 2009
”Fireworks, Tango, Rhythmical Breathing”
Marienmünster – Abbey (NW). „Bach, Jazz & more“, that is what the Society of Friends of Music promised the visitors of the Abbey Mariennmünster on New Year's Day. And it was actually more than what is presented at common concerts. Daniel Schmahl and Johannes Gebhardt played music exceptionally and with virtuousity. more...

Westfalen Blatt, January 3, 2009
"Between Classical Music and Jazz – Organ and Trumpet Sounds Delight Audience”
Marienmünster. Solemn trumpet sounds accompanied by a multi-faceted organ playing – Daniel Schmahl and Johannes Gebhardt provided a musically successful start into the new year. The audience felt all warm inside listening to the ninety-minute concert themed »Bach, Jazz & more« in the freezing Marienmünster Abbey Church.