Nina Feldgrill - Nina Feldgrill (2025)

Quinton Records presents the third album of JAZZ CATS OF TOMORROW: NINA FELDGRILL. This album edition is a cooperation between ORF Ö1 and the JAM MUSIC LAB PRIVATE UNIVERSITY with Quinton Records and presents the winners of the Ö1 Jazz Scholarship.

Bassist Nina Feldgrill cuts a commanding figure: diminutive woman, six string electric, big sound. She makes an impression: ADVENTUROUS AND ELEMENTAL.

On Jazz Cats of Tomorrow Vol 3, the latest entry in Quinton Records’s series of ORF Ö1 scholarship alumni, Nina presents a pastiche of her talents as player, composer, bandleader. She showcases three separate groups, each with a nuanced approach to music making - different configurations, steadied by her foundational presence.

Though steeped in the jazz tradition, one hears her special affinity for stylistic strains prominently heard in Weather Report - electric keys, vamps, grooves, meter shifts, assertive blowing. She owes much to Jaco Pastorius, seamlessly transitioning between front and back, artfully improvising, stamping her personality with interpretive flair. Jaco’s compositional know-how is not lost on her. Five band members contribute here as writers.

It’s a take-charge presentation, evincing that Nina is mature beyond her years. This comes as no surprise, really, given the surround-sound of her youth. Her father is noted Austrian bassist WERNER FELDGRILL, who also appears on the record. Their choreography as bass partners adds layers of richness, yet also reveals the presence of shared DNA. It’s a fabled tale of acorns, trees, mentors, protégés, bloodlines.

AS A CREATIVE THINKER, Nina is unbound by jazz category. She freely explores moods from dulcet to propulsive, playful to dextrous. She handles serpentine lines effortlessly, and loves navigating tricky rhythmic turns. Her sympathetic support behind vocals is a welcomed surprise.

Perhaps most impressive is Nina’s sure-handed authority. She is a clear example of the stellar talent populating the jazz soundscape, one that Ö1 and JAM routinely canvas while searching for talent deserving wider definition. Their goals, simply stated, are search, identify, nurture. To that end, mission accomplished.

She provides proof that talent, plus education, plus collegial support can enrich us all. Nina Feldgrill is a leading new voice. Her scholarship audition showed us. This record seals the deal. (Jeff Levenson, NYC, March 2025)

Robert Unterköfler, saxophones
Erik Asatrian, keyboards
Nina Feldgrill, bass
Simon Springer, drums

TRACKLIST

1. Nina Feldgrill - Turn Left
2. Nina Feldgrill - Nobody Wins for Long
3. Nina Feldgrill - Four Views
4. Nina Feldgrill - Young and Old
5. Nina Feldgrill - Shadows
6. Nina Feldgrill - Blue
7. Nina Feldgrill - Hope in Despair
8. Nina Feldgrill - Dear Master
9. Nina Feldgrill - One Day