Joachim Kühn is a modern genius of the piano who has spent his career in a state of splendid irreverence towards the boundaries between jazz, rock and classical music. Indeed, got used to adventuring into uncertain areas from his early days, when he fled his native GDR for Western Europe as a young man. It was later, in France, where he met the great Ornette Coleman and played alongside him. Kühn’s harmonic ear endeared him to the great saxophonist and the experience helped him define a unique style: free-roaming, impassioned and intricate playing between contemporary classical music and free jazz.
But in recent years, this singular virtuoso has been broadening his horizons through multicultural collaborations. Here, in the small commune of Ramatuelle in France, he plays with one such project. In his trio, he is joined by the Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez (a self-taught musician whose interest in Indian music has impacted his work on the European scene) and Majid Bekkas (a Moroccan singer and guembri player who is also a classical guitarist, making a name for himself via blends of gnawa music and the blues). Together, they deliver a dazzling and elusive repertoire that skirts between European, African and Arabic influences. Kühn is a master throughout.
