Joachim Kühn : & Young Lions

At just 82 years old, Joachim Kühn is still in impressive shape.

Is this because he generally surrounds himself with musicians younger than him?

Undoubtedly, and for this new album, the pianist has hired German instrumentalists who could be his grandchildren. For this ensemble, the pianist has called upon two instruments with which, to my knowledge, he has never recorded before: the marimba and the trumpet.

And it is around the relationship between his piano and these two timbres that he has composed a new repertoire after he invited these two musicians to rehearse with him in Ibiza, where he lives. It is a refreshingly invigorating repertoire in which his piano and the two other soloists produce a magnificent ensemble sound and deliver highly convincing improvisations.

For the double bass/drums rhythm section, Kühn called on two musicians who are used to playing together in their own band and who therefore provide the group with remarkably relevant and high-quality support. Discovering a new opus by Joachim Kühn is always a great pleasure, as this musician has a knack for surprising and—because he hates boredom—offers stimulating formulas that delight him as much as the instrumentalists he invites to join him. A veteran of German and European jazz, Kühn has a knack for cultivating youthful inspiration in both his playing and his compositions, and for revealing new talents who are delighted to rub shoulders with such a remarkable figure, never feeling as though they are in the presence of an elder.

Few musicians are able to cultivate such a capacity for renewal and offer music of such freshness. One cannot help but be won over by such sincerity.

Musicians:

Joachim Kühn: piano

Jakob Bänsch: trumpet

Andrés Coll: marimba

Nils Kugelmann: double bass

Sebastian Wolfgruber: drums

Label :Act

Sortie : April 24 2026