On November 1st, German drummer Mareike Wiening, who earned her masters from New York University under the tutelage of veteran drummer Tony Moreno and vibraphonist Stefon Harris in addition to taking private lessons with Argentinian composer Guillermo Klein, will be releasing her debut album, Metropolis Paradise, on Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music imprint. The record features the quintet of bassist Johannes Felscher, guitarist Alex Goodman, winner of the prestigious 2014 Montreux Jazz Festival Guitar Competition, saxophonist Rich Perry, and pianist Dan Tepfer, a last minute replacement for Wiening’s regular pianist Glenn Zaleki who broke his elbow seven days before the recording date.
“I wanted to reschedule,” said Wiening, “but a day later I learned that we were going to be the very last session to be recorded at Systems Two. It was a big dream for me to record at the legendary Systems Two Studio in Brooklyn, so rescheduling wasn’t an option anymore. A friend of mine recommended Dan and said he would fit my music perfectly. Thankfully, he was free and we had a day to rehearse. My music isn’t easy but he prepared it the best way he could and I think he played incredibly well. And Systems Two literally closed after our last take.”
“I would describe my music as very intuitive and emotional,” continues Wiening, “but because I’m classically trained on the piano, it’s also technically very demanding, especially for the pianist. Melodies are extremely important for me as well as interesting rhythms. I look for surprises when I compose, and for an emotional engagement.”
For a taste of Metropolis Paradise, watch the official live performance video for the title track below (this time with Zaleski on keys), and be on the lookout for the album, which you can pre-order now. You can also find the quintet’s tour dates of Germany, the United States and Canada at the bottom of the post.
In Wiening’s own words: “This piece was influenced by Guillermo Klein. I admire composers who make the music sound ‘easy’ and floating but if you look at it closer you realize it’s super hard! Guillermo definitely has that quality in his writing. I was hearing that odd-metered melody in the piano/bass, and first when I wrote it down I realized it’s uneven. That is also influenced by that feeling you get when you’re traveling a lot between the continents. With jetlag, it’s often hard to keep track of time/day/time zone so I wanted to express this drifting, unsettled state of mind in this composition.”
Metropolis Paradise, the debut album by German drummer Mareike Wiening comes November 1st to Greenleaf Music.
Mareike Wiening Tour Dates:
10.4 Hemingway Lounge, Karlsruhe
10.5 Jazzclub Unterfahrt, Munich
10.6 Le Pirate, Rosenheim
10.7 Tafelhalle The Art of Jazz, Nuremberg
10.8 Ella&Louis, Mannheim
10.9 Die Fabrik, Frankfurt
10.10 Cave’61, Heilbronn
10.11 Birdland 59, Ettlingen
10.12 PENG Festival, Essen
10.13 Tonhalle, Hannover
10.31 The Rex Hotel, Toronto
11.1 Pausa Art House, Buffalo, NY
11.2 The Jazz Room Waterloo, ON
11.3 Gig Space, Ottawa, ON
11.4 Resonance Café, Montreal, QC
11.5 The Jazz Gallery, New York, NY
Photo by Lukas Diller.