The Party‘s Over Ludwig Nuss & Michael Abene

• 1In Your Own Sweet Way07:51
• 2Once In A While00:00
• 3This Heart Of Mine05:29
• 4When The Sun Comes Out04:54
• 5In Love In Vain05:03
• 6If You Could See Me Now07:21
• 7Eiderdown05:18
• 8Polka Dots And Moonbeams04:51
• 9There's A Small Hotel06:08
• 10The Party's Over04:33
• Total Runtime51:28

Info for The Party‘s Over

Let's be clear from the start, the title of this CD 'The Party's Over' is somewhat self-contradictory! With these recordings by the exceptional trombonist Ludwig Nuss and the two-time Grammy winner Michael Abene as pianist and arranger, nothing is ever 'over'. Whenever you put this album on, it's rather more like a ray of light shining across a rainy day's horizon.

"When The Sun Comes Out", a standard found on the album, would have been a far more appropriate title - but this is not intended to be read as any form of criticism! The eponymous track on the album "The Party's Over" is actually meant as a tribute to the great artist Paul Kuhn. This wonderful standard was traditionally played as the finale of the annual Boxing Day concerts at the Kölner Philharmonie.

As a duo, Ludwig Nuss and Michael Abene are what one may with good reason call a true dream team. With their years of playing together in the WDR Big Band and on shared CD projects, a mutual musical understanding has grown which allows both of them complete freedom in the arrangement and interpretation of the pieces, and at the same time shows a blind trust in each other on every note.

Michael Abene, quite deservedly decorated with two Grammys, is a master of the American Songbook - a brilliant pianist and arranger, whose creative abilities are limitless.

Ludwig Nuss is a trombonist who seems to understand his instrument as a natural extension of his body - a man who is able to sing with his trombone.

Nuss and Abene unite in an intensive artistic friendship and look back across a long musical history. Again and again, pieces resurface which inspire both of the musicians equally, and trigger something deep within them; something that gives them the space to communicate and the courage to reveal their innermost.

Ten of these songs can be heard here - a very personal, very intimate diary of a very special musical friendship.

Ludwig Nuss, trombone
Michael Abene, piano

Michael Abene
is a renowned pianist, composer, and arranger/educator. He has been the Chefdirigent (chief composer and arranger), of the highly acclaimed WDR BIG BAND in Cologne, Germany since 2003. His arrangements are played worldwide, by big band as well as orchestra. His career takes him regularly around the globe, delighting audiences in concert performance, featuring his arrangements for artists such as Randy Brecker, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Patti Austin, Mike Stern, Gary Burton, Dave Liebman, saxophonist Bill Evans, Kurt Elling, Eddie Daniels, and Tom Harrell. Michael holds the Chair for Jazz Ensemble Conductor at the KUG Jazz Institute in Graz Austria. Check out “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age” – the new book he wrote with Richard Sussman, published by Oxford University Press – heralded as a necessary aid to study.

This album contains no booklet.