Florian Weber
a German Jazz Critics Prize winner who has worked with the likes of Tomasz Stańko, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and Albert Mangelsdorff, made his ECM debut on the 2016 duo session Alba in collaboration with trumpeter Markus Stockhausen after having garnered much acclaim for a string of recordings with saxophonist Lee Konitz. His quartet leader date Lucent Waters followed in 2018, seeing the pianist paired with an American all-star cast of trumpeter Ralph Alessi, Linda Oh and Nasheet waits. The album was received with great enthusiasm. Downbeat magazine: “Weber’s compositions straddle jazz and the avant-garde seamlessly. The emphasis is on economy and beauty; it’s hard to resist the melting of colors of the compositions, the delicate touch of the players and the seductive calm of the tempi. […] The delicate, kinetic execution of Weber’s exquisite, often pensive compositions at times conveys the rejuvenating splendour of savouring crisp spring water.”

A master improviser with an equal interest for notated music – Florian also performs traditional classical repertory and original compositions alongside international orchestras –, Weber has appeared on ECM as part of Matthieu Bordenave’s groups on La Traversée and The Blue Land, as well as on Ralph Alessi’s 2023 quartet recording It’s Always Now. Released in Autumn 2024, Weber’s Imaginary Cycle is a hybrid of multiple musical languages that seamlessly blends the harmonious with the oblique, conceived for the unique instrumentation of brass ensemble and piano. On the album Weber presents a cycle in four parts, plus an opening and an epilogue, in which the pianist is accompanied by a group of four euphoniums, a trombone quartet as well as flautist Anna-Lena Schnabel and Michel Godard on the seldomely used “serpent” brass instrument, together performing a work that blurs the line where improvisation ends and composition begins.

Weber’s compositions straddle jazz and the avant-garde seamlessly. The emphasis is on economy and beauty; it’s hard to resist the melting of colors of the compositions, the delicate touch of the players and the seductive calm of the tempi. […] The delicate, kinetic execution of Weber’s exquisite, often pensive compositions at times conveys the rejuvenating splendour of savouring crisp spring water. – Downbeat magazine on Weber’s Lucent Waters

Florian Weber has established himself as one of the most enigmatic and accomplished pianists and composers between the genres in Europe and beyond – the online magazine Something Else! has called him “a truly forward thinking pianist… astonishing!”, while the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung hailed him as “an exceptional pianist with a fresh new sound.” Since his ECM debut in duo with Markus Stockhausen on 2016’s Alba, Weber has gone from strength to strength, garnering awards, commissions and spotlights in international festivals.

He released his leader recording Lucent Waters in 2018, playing alongside trumpeter Ralph Alessi, Nasheet Waits on drums and bassist Linda May Oh. As a sideman, the pianist appears on both Matthieu Bordenave albums (La Traversée, The Blue Land) and Ralph Alessi’s It’s Always Now (“Immediately one senses Weber to be an ideal harmonic partner, able to anticipate and gently react to Alessi’s movements, which are by no means predictable” – Making A Scene).