Nominated for Best Jazz Album at the Latvian Music Recording Awards 2022 and New Jazz Name of the Year at Danish Jazz Awards 2022. Featured on the Europe Jazz Media Chart and Lufthansa and Qatar Airways in-flight entertainment. Premiered live in shows in Berlin, Aalborg and Riga.
SPACE BIG BAND is the debut album of Berlin-based contemporary jazz big band project by jazz musicians & composers Danish bassist KENNETH DAHL KNUDSEN and Latvian saxophonist TOMS RUDZINSKIS. Released on Double Moon/Challenge Records International.
“A futuristic playground for contemporary jazz big band, there’s a clear sense of joy, of adventure, of excitement.. ”
“[..] complex rhythms, unusual wind figures and very ambitious guitar work characterize the varied compositions of this ensemble consisting of 9 nations. Brilliant at tempo, remarkably beautiful when it gets lyrical.”
“[..] conceptually realized from start to finish, harnessing the full band’s potential with exceptional attention to detail. Each composition captivates with polished harmony, excellent direction, arrangements and great solos. A great idea for an album implemented with a really impressive result.”
– Magazin für Jazz Musik Jazz-Fun.de
Personell
Malte Schiller (cond), Shems Bendali, Dima Bondarev, Jakob Sørensen, Johannes Böhmer (tr), Dustin Drews, Toms Rudzinskis, Julius Gawlik, Ignaz Dinne, Leonie Freudenberger (sax); Nils Marquardt, Jonas Lindh, Andrej Ugoljew, Alistair Duncan (trb); Povel Widestrand (p), Sebastian Boehlen (guit), Kenneth Dahl Knudsen (bass), Mathias Ruppnig (dr).