* DEBUT ON ARKADIA FEATURES IRA COLEMAN, HORACIO "EL NEGRO" HERNANDEZ AND LABELMATE T.K. BLUE*

Uli Lenz, the dynamic and gifted German pianist whose playful sense of time, melody and composition has been heard around the world, is one of the “new” discoveries in jazz. He’s been on the European scene for over 20 years and has constantly toured Europe, Africa, South America, The Caribbean, The Middle East, The South Pacific, China and Southeast Asia, and has recorded over 8 albums. Lenz’s appearances in the United States have been usually just in New York--but all that is about to change with the release of his first Arkadia Jazz CD, Rainmaker’s Dance.

The CD is a celebration of the newly found breakthrough for music by Uli Lenz. Featuring the spectacular Cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, the masterful bassist Ira Coleman with a special guest appearance by Arkadia labelmate, alto saxophonist T.K. Blue, Rainmaker’s Dance contains a menu of quirky, iconoclastic yet accessible original compositions and the standard My Foolish Heart. As Uli Lenz’s first recording to have world-wide distribution, it is a strong and comprehensive summation of his twenty years of international touring to diverse audiences, countries and people, all with one thing in common: the love of jazz.

Lenz was born in Frankfurt, West Germany in 1955 to musical parents who both played and taught piano and organ. Uli naturally followed in their footsteps, starting his studies of the keyboard at age 4. Simultaneously, he was exposed to jazz by his grandmother, who would wake young Uli in the middle of the night to listen to jazz broadcasts. One of the most direct influences was his own father, who taught Uli improvisation from the beginning, “so when I heard jazz when I was young, it wasn’t so strange for me, it was just a different way of phrasing. I was also influenced by the power of the blues, soul and R&B I heard in the clubs.” During the 70’s Uli attended at the Frankfurt Conservatory, studying classical piano and cello. Coupled with his staggering technique required for classical music and his love and exploration of jazz, Uli’s musical identity was formed, and soon made him a presence on the European jazz scene.

After graduation, Uli moved to Berlin in 1980 to work in the jazz clubs, and began to tour a multitude of countries in Europe and beyond. Uli also cultivated his formidable solo piano work, resulting in appearances at the Floez International Jazz Festival in 1985, the JazzFest Berlin, and a solo piano tour of the Balkan countries and the Mediterranean the next year. In 1987, Uli performed in New York for the first time, but after he returned to Germany, “I had an accident and hurt my hand. I couldn’t play for almost a year, I had operations and even a tendon transplant. All this forced me to concentrate on my concept of music… I was able to regain my technical abilities, but in this one year, I learned more about music than I had learned in the last 20.”

After the year of recovery, Uli got back to work to establishing himself as a truly international artist. He appeared at the Hennessey Jazz Festival in New York City, recorded a live CD with Joe Chambers and Cecil McBee, led his own trio through 10 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and appeared at the Montreaux Jazz Festival. Throughout the 90’s, Uli has worked with saxophonists Steve Grossman and Don Menza, vocalist Abbey Lincoln, bassist Ed Schuller, Idris Muhammad, and recorded with vocalist Nomakosazana Dhlamini and saxophonist Johannes Barthelmes. Uli continued to tour internationally, often sponsored by the Goethe-Institut to represent Germany as a musical ambassador to Europe, East Africa, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the list goes on and on.

“One day in April 1999, a fellow stopped by my office unannounced.” Arkadia CEO Bob Karcy recalls. “He told the receptionist, “My name is Uli Lenz, and I’m a jazz pianist from Germany. I’m only in New York for a few days and I thought I would drop off this package of my music for you to hear.” I was impressed with what he gave me, and after we decided to work together, we put together a date to record a new CD in New York. Although I felt we would have a productive session, I was not ready for the unexpected high level of Uli’s playing. It is rare that an artist displays such moments of power and grace.”

That power and grace can be heard and felt throughout the entirety of Rainmaker’s Dance. After all, Uli Lenz has toured countless countries over the last 20 years and brings a unique take on jazz with an international perspective. Uli himself had some reservations about the disc: as one of the pitfalls of touring, musicians can fall into a rut by playing the same things every night, and was worried about material. “I’ve had very good engagements and have traveled around the world. But when you play very, very often for many audiences, you get a feel for what they like and don’t like. Some audiences expect you to play certain things, and sometimes musicians “play” their audiences. I told Bob about this, and he woke me up in a way. He said ‘Uli, play like you really feel music should be, intended by only you. Just play like you are.’ So in a way, he was the catalyst for the creation for the songs on Rainmaker’s Dance. He taught me to listen more to my inner voice.”

His inner voice told him to draw upon the rigors of the road, to reflect what he has experienced on tour. For example, “Traumatic Experiences with Bavarian Trapdoors” recalls a night that Uli spent trapped in a basement in Germany: “I fell through a door in the floor into an empty room below. There was no ladder, and I couldn’t get out. I was in a panic! The chords came to me, and it had to be in a fast tempo because of my fast heartbeat. I was not in a good condition when they found me the next day.” Other original syncopated, boppish songs include “1,2,3, Cuckoo”, “Brake for the Wild Boar Blues”, “Orange Coalition” and “Little Ostrich”. The rolling 6/8 “Subway to Vanilla City” is another example of Uli’s bizarre influences. “There is an e flat pedal with lots of chords, and it is influenced my some of the church organ playing I’ve done. The time signature also feels like a train’s motion, but on the other hand, I like vanilla ice cream! The chord structure and improvisation are very much locked to that organ influence.”

Other compositions like the soulful, swagger of “Rainmaker’s Dance”, the latinesque “Umbrella Indoors” and the blues shuffle “One Year After” show that Uli’s compositional style is well accommodating of all eras of jazz. In fact, “Rest In Peace” features a soulful tremolo that rages out of control. “I thought it would be colorful to play it” says Uli, “I put that red color in there, partly in tune, partly atonal. The contrasts are very important in my life, and colors are too, since I see music visually.” The feel of the song is very spiritual, and the swelling of the chords during Uli’s solo is a direct contrast to the mood of the song.

Ballads are another forte for Uli. “I listen to the lyrics of the song first” to get the feeling of the song, says Uli, “so ‘My Foolish Heart’ was clear. I like to play ballads in different tempos, and ‘A Perfect Couple’ was played double slow. I see pictures, sometimes abstract things that are in motion in my inner eye. These two ballads represent some of the visuals I see when I play.” The near stillness of “A Perfect Couple” is difficult to pull off, slow tempos are a notorious enemy of musicians. Bassist Ira Coleman commented immediately after the take, “Wow! That was as fragile as walking on eggshells.”

The addition of alto saxophonist and labelmate T.K. Blue is also of note, as T.K.’s bright, penetrating sound is a perfect complement to Lenz’s commanding use of the full tonal rage of the piano on “Rainmaker’s Dance”, “1,2,3, Cuckoo”, and “Brake for the Wild Boar.” “He inspired me,” says Uli. “He is a very captivating improviser and although he is pretty young, his style, sound and melodic phrasing possesses maturity. Working with him for the very first time was like working with him for years.” T.K. is also excited about the CD, as it reflects a different aspect of his own playing. “His playing reflects not only great technical ability, but also a profound sense of spirituality,” says TK, “it was an honor to record with him.”

With his debut CD on Arkadia, it is certain that Uli will break the one market that has eluded him. But for the United States to be last on his list, it says something about the state of jazz: We are no longer the center on the universe. The rest of the world has something valid and swinging to say, and Uli knows it. As the old adage goes, “it takes a least 15 years to become an overnight sensation”, and Uli is a very real candidate for becoming just as much of a force in the United States as he is around the globe. It’s just a matter of time.