(Vocal Jazz) Cecile Verny Quartet - Fear & Faith - 2013, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

To explain the phenomenon Cécile Verny would mean to carry saxophones (or rather, microphones) to Harlem. Extraordinary, well-rounded, charismatic, charming, sought-after, popular and busy as a bee: Attributes like these describe the singer with Franco-African roots and longtime Freiburg-resident. But Cécile Verny is more than just that.
The singer and her quartet with bassist Bernd Heitzler, pianist Andreas Erchinger and drummer Lars Binder were never content with resting on their laurels of having produced seven by critics and audiences acclaimed CDs or having given countless acclaimed concerts in Germany, Europe and overseas. Not by any means do they want to simply preserve their success with falling into a routine. We're a band which wants to keep developing further and further, describes the singer the basics of the CVQ.
That is the reason why Fear & Faith is a very special album. It is a milestone in the history of the ensemble which has delivered the perfect instrumental outfit for their singer during the past 20 years. From the first idea in their heads to the final recorded note, the album is a real joint effort. Since we are on tour quite often, we made a virtue of the shortage of time, Cécile Verny says about the first days of producing the album in September 2011. Instead of hanging around during breaks or on our off-days, we agreed to meet in our hotel rooms for jam sessions. Andreas had a keyboard with him, Lars played the drums on a phone book or something else that was handy and Bernd grabbed his acoustic bass guitar. Everyone contributed a lick or a phrase, a melody or sometimes a rhythm and we always recorded everything. Afterwards, we went through the material together. We discarded a great deal of our recordings but some parts we liked, so they were processed.
A medley of ideas as it is often used in pop and rock music. That`s how music is created and matures. That`s grass-roots democracy in a very literal sense, laborious but fertile. Consequently, all members of the Cécile Verny Quartet appear in various combinations as authors in the selected twelve songs of Fear & Faith.
It is due to Nils Wülker that the album is not called The Hotel Room Sessions despite its prehistory. The trumpet player is efficient like no other in Germany, managing the balancing act between claim and popularity, between pop and jazz. The quartet met the musician and producer in Hamburg at the Elbjazz Festival. We were on good terms with him right from the start and we realized that we are on the same page concerning many musical aspects. The CVQ invited Nils Wülker as a producer to the Musica Frattoria in Osnabrück in October 2012, one of the most modern and most beautiful recording studios in Germany. With the relaxed and focused atmosphere of the old farm, the compositions got their final touch with the help of sound engineer Manfred Faust. The result: The Cécile Verny Quartet did not necessarily reinvent itself (why should they?) but they progressed to the next level. It`s Jazz, for sure, still very variable, but this time formed as a whole, says Cécile Verny. We wanted to get away from the old scheme: a swing song, a latin song, a ballad, to combine many styles on the album. This time it's completely different. For example there is no solo in three of the songs. Andreas Erchinger plays the organ in some songs, Bernd Heitzler the electric bass guitar. The songs are dominated by groove, beautiful melodies and bewitching lyrics and a turn to a classic song structure. Nils helped us a lot to stay on track underlines Cécile Verny the role of the producer, who appears with the trumpet in the song . . . Car Désespérée.
We are all getting older, my children are growing up, friends are getting divorced and acquaintances are dying. Many lyrics are about these themes because I can`t live in this world without reflecting. Fear and faith are a part of life.