All Souls in the Dark

The terms “genre-bending” and “unclassifiable” are thrown around a lot today in musical discourse, but one performer who truly fits those descriptors is vocalist and ECM recording artist Theo Bleckmann. Bleckmann’s voice is a singular instrument: a rich, plaintive baritone one moment and an ethereal halo of a falsetto the next. He can deliver a lyric with unmatched nuance and clarity, or multiply his voice into an unearthly choir using a rig of electronics. Bleckmann has worked with artists as diverse as the iconoclastic vocalist and composer Meredith Monk, drummer/composer John Hollenbeck, guitarist Ben Monder, and the plugged-in jazz group Kneebody. Bleckmann’s own projects as a leader have covered a huge aesthetic ground, from the music of Weimar Germany to Kate Bush to nursery rhymes to his own compositions.

True to his name, Israeli-born pianist Shai Maestro is a magician at the piano. With unparalleled lyricism, maturity and playfulness he envelops the listener in his music. Whether playing with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Ziv Ravitz in a collaborative trio or backing up the likes of bassist Avishai Cohen, drummer Mark Guiliana, guitarist Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro always imbues his music with a delicate touch and effortless lyricism. Like Bleckmann, Maestro juggles many projectsand worlds simultaneously – his upcoming record includes featured solo singers of the Bulgarian Radio choir as well as the crème de la crème of the international jazz scene.

Since his move to New York in 2009, Maestro has kept a busy schedule, he can be found performing and recording with international artists such as John Patitucci, Theo Bleckmann, Jorge Rossy, Mark Guiliana, Donny McCaslin, Ben Wendel, Anat Cohen, Marcus Gilmore, Antonio Sanchez, Avishai Cohen, (trumpet), Avishai Cohen (Bass), Scott Colley, Ari Hoenig, Gerald Clayton, Justin Brown, Keith Carlock, Gilad Hekselman, Johnathan Blake, Camila Meza, Clarence Penn, Antonio Hart, Matt Penman, Harish Raghavan, Julian Lage, Jorge Roeder, Matisyahu, Kenrick Scott, Nate Smith, Nir Felder, Nate Wood, Jo Lawry, Will Vinson, Linda Oh, Joe Sanders among many others.