This collection of vintage performances (with Chet Baker, Gary Burton, Herb Geller, Johnny Griffin, Joe Pass and others) by the Nord Deutscher Rundfunk Bigband is a powerful testimonial to the extremely high standard of German musicianship and is also a tribute to the enlightened policy of German public service radio stations of supporting permanent staff big bands.
The NDR Bigband began life as a dance band in 1945 - one of the first of several German regional radio stations to establish a staff orchestra. The band started to play jazz regularly at the end of the Sixties, and when Wolfgang Kunert took over as producer in 1971, he determined to concentrate more and more on jazz repertoire…

One of the most admired Lieder and concert singers of his generation, Bass-Baritone Thomas Quasthoff returns to the studio with his first solo album since 2010. Thomas Quasthoff is approaching standards such as Nice and Easy or Cry Me A River with new arrangements by Jörg Achim Keller. The results: exciting new versions of familiar jazz-classics. This release finds the singer partnering again with German trumpeter Till Brönner - featuring a solo and his Trio Partners Frank Chastenier, Dieter Ilg and Wolfgang Haffner as well as the unique NDR Bigband.