Pocket Rhapsody Frank Woeste feat. Ben Monder & Justin Brown

• 1Terlingua06:14
• 2Moving Light06:00
• 3The Star Gazer06:42
• 4Buzz Addict06:45
• 5Interlude02:00
• 6Pocket Rhapsody08:13
• 7Intro Nouakchott01:39
• 8Nouakchott07:50
• 9Mirage05:39
• 10Melancholia03:43
• Total Runtime54:45

Info for Pocket Rhapsody

Frank Woeste is not just an exceptionally fine pianist and a gifted exponent of the Fender Rhodes, he also has a thorough understanding of his own creative process. If all art is about leaving an impression, then Woeste's mission is to etch a deep mark both as a player and as a composer. His debut as an artist on ACT, then, not only reveals a musician brimming with ideas, but also a fully-fledged composer and an extremely adept arranger. His trio with guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Justin Brown creates a sound which is orchestral in its scale and its impact. The intimacy of chamber music goes hand in hand here with the forward propulsion of a jazz trio, and with the power of a big band. In other words, the title “Pocket Rhapsody” gets it right.

Woeste is not short of eminent companions for this voyage. Youn Sun Nah sings “The Star Gazer” with the kind of captivating emotional intensity that might be expected of her. Ibrahim Maalouf contributes his incomparably expressive, orientaltinged trumpet lyricism to the glistening “Moving Light” and to “Nouakchott,” a magical and richly evocative whirring of warm air over the desert sand. The time has come for Frank Woeste to be re-discovered in Germany as a prodigal son, and to be recognized more widely as a prodigious talent.

Frank Woeste, piano, Fender Rhodes, organ & bass synth
Ben Monder, guitar
Justin Brown, drums
Additional musicians:
Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpet (on tracks 2, 8)
Youn Sun Nah, vocals (on track 3)
Sarah Nemtanu, violin
Gregoire Korniluk, cello

Frank Woeste
is a pianist, composer, arranger and producer living in Paris, France. Besides his work as a pianist Frank is known to have developped a unique sound on the Fender Rhodes combing the natural sound of the the rhodes piano with different effects.

He has recorded 5 albums as a leader and appears on a large number of albums as a sideman and arranger. Several of these albums have been awarded with a french « Victoires du jazz ».

After graduating from Paris Conservatory ( Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris) in 2001 Frank won several 1st or 2nd prizes in international jazz competitions : the Steinway Prize at the Montreux International Piano Competition, Jazz Hoeilaart International Competition ( Belgium) and the Gexto European Jazzcontest (Spain).

He s one of the grantees of the French American Jazz Exchange 2014 along the american trumpet player Dave Douglas. The two recorded an album together that will be released in 2016 .

He s also a grantee of the French American Jazzexchange 2015 along with american tromboniste Ryan Keberle.

He has worked with Ibrahim Maalouf , Dave Douglas, Michel Portal, Youn Sun Nah, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier , Clarence Penn Nasheet Waits Malik Mezzadri, Mederic Collignon, Stefano di Battista, Sylvain Luc and Gretchen Parlato, Jeff Ballard, Stefano di Battista among others.

He has played all the big festivals like Northsea Jazzfestival , Jazz à Vienne, Jazz in Marciac, Montreal Jazzfestival, Paris Jazzfestival, Ginza Jazzfestival Tokyo, London Jazzfestival, Jazz à Juan les pins , Nice Jazzfestival etc.

His last album « W - Double You » featuring his trio with a woodwind section and Malik Mezzadri has been nominated at the « victoires du jazz « in 2011.

His next album « Pocket Rhapsody » will be released on ACT Music in January 2016.

Several albums he s played on received also the french » Victoires » award :

Mederic Collignon - Porgy and Bess (2006) ,Mederic Collignon Jus de Bocse quartet- Shangri Tunkashi-La (2010 )Ibrahim Maalouf - Wind – (2013) ( Frank Woeste piano and arrangement with Mark Turner , Larry Grenadier and Clarence Penn) , Mederic Collignon –le roi frippé (2013) and Ibrahm Maalouf s « Illusions ».

About his latest album « W-double you » Michel Contat wrote in french Telerama Magazine « Woeste suit (..)sa trace pour les voicings de ses arrangements, extrêmement réussis, pour le phrasé, le climat harmonique, l'approche même du piano : féline, lyrique, affectueuse et tendre, turbulente par moments, intensément habitée. »

« Woeste further follows his path, with brilliant arrangements, phrasing, harmonic colour, and the approach of the piano itself : feline, lyrical, affectionate and tender, sometimes turbulent, with a strong personal imprint. »( translation) and according to the german WDR 3 ( January 2015) « One of the best german Jazzpianists « -

Booklet for Pocket Rhapsody