Journey [Vinyl]

Bassist Tom Berkmann is joined on 'Journey' by a select crew of the brightest young stars of the thriving Berlin jazz scene - Ben Kraef on tenor sax, Carl Morgan on guitar, Simon Seidl on piano and drummer Fabian Rosch

Berkmann has travelled a long way already. In his childhood home among the Bavarian Alps, where the loudest sounds were the ringing of church bells and the mooing of cows, he discovered the power of music via his sister's collection of rock records: Jimi Hendrix, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Improvised music and the double bass were revelations that spurred his next voyages of discovery - first to the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich, then north to the Jazz Institute in Berlin, then across the ocean to New York at the Manhattan School Of Music.

Since returning to Berlin, he has released two acclaimed albums as part of the band SCOPES. Now we are invited to join him for 'Journey', his debut album as a leader and composer. The music hooks the listener immediately, anchored by Berkmann's resonating bass sound, beautifully captured in all of its gut- string glory. His compositions are complex yet accessible, mixing the sophistication of his immersion in the jazz scene with his love of popular song. As Tom explains: "Genre- wise I'd call it modern jazz but I don't really fit into that box of contemporary jazz - sometimes too melodic, too groovy. I wasn't thinking about whether it was experimental enough - it's just the music that felt natural to me as I wrote it."