Barbara Dennerlein - Change of Pace (2005)

This live CD of the concert on June 1, 2005 in the Philharmonic of Essen treasures the wideranging musical adventure of the collaboration between the Barbara Dennerlein Jazz Trio and the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate under the direction of Bernd Ruf.

"German organist Barbara Dennerlein has had a distinguished career successfully taking her B3 to places where it was previously unwelcome. Her compositions and style have braved a path for her instrument that doesn’t follow the norm. As such, Change of Pace is much more than its title implies and is as much kin to Gershwin as it is to organist Keith Emerson’s more adventurous works with The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. That said, Dennerlein’s awesome technique and compositional skills do break new musical ground as she exquisitely blends her B3 trio, which includes saxophonist Peter Lehel and drummer/percussionist Daniel Messina, into the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate conducted by Bernd Ruf. The resultant sound, due in some part to her expert use of synthesizers, thrills as only a musical aggregation of this magnitude could. The strings are glorious, the brass voicings superb and the winds are joyous as Dennerlein’s organ meets the philharmonic as equal partner. Recorded live, five extended compositions artfully combine classical, jazz and rock using intricate tempos, quick changes, mood shifts and more than a hint of exoticism to present rhapsodic stylistic wholes. This is a major release by one of the B3’s foremost proponents."(Elliott Simon, allaboutjazz.com)