ANDREAS MAYERHOFER QUARTET

It is truly a challenge to attempt a "Tribute to Miles Davis": he was probably NOT the best/most virtuosic jazz trumpeter in the world. Nor was he the greatest jazz composer. Pianist Richie Beirach even once said: "Miles only wrote some ditties." But WHO was he then, that for decades he was surrounded by such a charismatic aura? He was undoubtedly a "culmination point," a "catalyst" of developments in jazz, who recognized the right currents at the right time and, above all, gathered the right musicians around him (who then composed far more than just "ditties" for the Miles Davis Band, especially in the 60s Wayne Shorter, or a decade earlier Bill Evans, and even earlier Gil Evans). As a bandleader, he was as great as he was enigmatic. According to Herbie Hancock, he often gave no instructions at all or spoke in metaphors that were difficult for the musicians to understand. But still, or perhaps because of this, he inspired his bandmates to creative heights, which he, in turn, as a brilliant "sound architect," was able to weave into a coherent whole. Thus, in this tribute "100 miles," the aforementioned musicians are also honored, along with a certain Joe Zawinul, who played a significant role around 1970 in the epochal stylistic shift of Miles Davis towards jazz-rock. The big question mark before starting work on this project was the choice of the "lead voice": which instrument would capture the special "touch" or the delicacy of Miles Davis's trumpet sound? Bertl Mayer, an exceptionally skilled harmonica player, takes on this task.

Line-up: Bertl Mayer - harmonica
Andreas Mayerhofer - Vintage Vibe Piano
Robin Gadermaier - electric bass
Wolfi Rainer - drums