Safe Place Julian Wasserfuhr, Roman Wasserfuhr, Jörg Brinkmann

• 1 Vent Chaud 04:40
• 2 Dodo 04:08
• 3 Dancing Windmills 05:07
• 4 Movimiento 04:57
• 5 Fields of Gold 05:41
• 6 Solitude 03:20
• 7 El Caballo Valiente 04:32
• 8 Luzifer 04:49
• 9 Safe Place 05:22
• 10 Perfect Tiny Moment 04:01
• Total Runtime 46:37

Info for Safe Place

In their latest album, Safe Place, German jazz duo Roman and Julian Wasserfuhr craft an intimate refuge through music. This is not about a physical destination—it’s a state of mind, a sanctuary for reflection and focus amidst the noise of modern life. Joined by cellist Jörg Brinkmann and saxophonist Paul Heller, the brothers craft an intimate, heartfelt soundscape that celebrates genuine connection and invite the listener on a musical journey away from distractions, offering clarity and tranquility. It’s a celebration of friendships, authenticity, and the power of music to ground us in what truly matters.

‘Safe Place’ was originally just one song, but Roman and I soon realised that it needed to be the title of the whole album. That was because it describes so well the feeling and the intention behind the music,’ says trumpeter Julian Wasserfuhr. The album “Safe Place” is a collection of music which gives you a feeling of being thoroughly at home. ‘Home’ here doesn’t mean so much a specific location, but rather an idea of familiarity, warmth, self-reflection. And the album – which also marks 20 years on the ACT label for the brothers Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr – offers an opportunity to reflect on what is essential: clear melodies, atmospheric musical images painted in warm colours, and an interplay between the players which has not just remarkable precision but also ineffable lightness.

For the Wasserfuhr brothers, the concept of ‘home’ also represents their connections with people who are significant to them. First and foremost, naturally, they have their own relationship, inseparable in life as in music. But there are also firm musical friendships such as the one with cellist Jörg Brink-mann, with whom they recorded their previous album ‘Relaxin’ in Ireland’. Brinkmann clicked immediately with the ‘smallest form of a band’, as Julian and Roman call their duo. It was the beginning of a long collaboration, and the experiences which they shared, such as a tour of Central America, brought them even closer together. It therefore made sense once again to add the rich colours of the cello, as a means to broaden the possibilities of their combined tonal palette. In addition to cellist Jörg Brinkmann, another guest is added to the trio for two tracks: saxophonist Paul Heller. ‘Paul just has a fascinating way of playing,’ says Roman. ‘Working with him was actually an experiment at first, since our music is more like chamber music and he tends to play in larger ensembles. But especially in combination with Jörg, it was something wonderful.’

Even if ‘Safe Place’ is intended to be understood as an abstract idea, this music has also clearly not been immune to events affecting the world in the past few years. ‘Of course that plays a role,’ says Julian Wasserfuhr. ‘The way people treat and communicate with each other has always been very important to us in the past. But it is precisely the current time, with its conflicts and contradictions, that makes us think – about the world, but also about ourselves.’ And so ‘Safe Place’ has become an extremely personal and emotional album. It seems as if the great tragedies and triumphs of the world are reflected for Julian and Roman Wasserfuhr on a small and intimate scale: in the gentle, warm breeze, ‘Vent Chaud’, with which the record begins, in the dreamlike ‘Dodo’, based on the French term ‘faire dodo’ – a lovingly child-like way of saying ‘going to sleep‘. ‘Luzifer’ describes Julian's concern for his ailing cat, while “El Caballo Valiente” tells of the will to live and the courage to face life of a fallen horse. “Solitude”, on the other hand, portrays the isolation and loneliness of the Corona pandemic. Roman says of the only cover on the album, Sting's “Fields of Gold”: ’We've covered Sting's music before. And ‘Fields of Gold’ in particular is just a wonderful song, describing such a beautiful place that it is also a ‘safe place’ for us‘.

The last two tracks “Safe Place” and “Perfect Tiny Moment”, once again reflect the album’s essence: ‘Safe Place’ was initially created on the guitar, even though I can't play the guitar at all,’ says Julian. ‘I went to Roman with this initial idea, and he then developed it.‘ The two of them then played the song last year with the WDR Big Band, and then also gave it a try out with Jörg Brinkmann in a small line-up. “To this day, it remains the song from the record that we love to play on stage the most. In other words it's the absolute ”safe place’ for all three of us.’ The minimalist ‘Perfect Tiny Moment’ also expresses exactly that: the one small moment when all seems perfect, when everything simply is – and absolutely feels – just right.

Julian Wasserfuhr, trumpet & flugelhorn
Roman Wasserfuhr, piano, bass & drums (track 10)
Jörg Brinkmann, cello
Paul Heller, saxophone (tracks 6 & 7)

Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr
growing up in public’ - a famous Lou Reed album title - has become second nature to Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr. The brothers recorded their debut album ‘Remember Chet’ (2006) at the age of 17 and 20 respectively - a tribute to Julian's early role model, trumpeter Chet Baker - and were met with an enthusiastic response.

Die Zeit found the brothers' music “astonishingly unusual”, the Süddeutsche Zeitung attested to Julian Wasserfuhr's “magical sound”, but above all the general public embraced the brothers from the dreamy little town of Hückeswagen.

After six successful albums, they are now among the most renowned jazz musicians in Germany. Their musical travels have taken them to places such as Gothenburg in Sweden (2009), urban New York (2017) and the picturesque west coast of Ireland.

‘Mosaic‘ is the name of the Wasserfuhr brothers’ new album and describes their musical processing of the last two years. As different as the individual tracks and the emotions associated with them as well as the selection of musicians and friends on this album are, the result is a coherent picture. A mosaic created from the experiences, conversations and encounters with people during this time.

Another chapter in their impressive career.

Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr have received several awards and prizes. Among other things, they received the German Jazz Award in Gold from the German Music Industry Association for the album Relax Jazzed.

Jörg Brinkmann
The German cellist has made a name for himself through his cross-genre work in jazz. Known for his extraordinary virtuosity and sound design, he combines classical cello techniques with improvisational jazz. He has already worked with many well-known musicians such as Anouar Brahem, Michael Wollny and Ernie Watts and is active in numerous projects both as a soloist and in ensembles. Brinkmann's playing is characterised by innovative sound experiments, whereby he often amplifies the cello electronically and leads it into unconventional worlds of sound. With his musical diversity, he is regarded as one of the most outstanding jazz cellists in Europe.

Paul Heller
The Cologne tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Paul Heller (*21 April 1971, Jülich) has been a member of the internationally renowned WDR Big Band Cologne, which has won two Grammys, since 2005.

Growing up in a musical family, Paul Heller won three first prizes at “Jugend jazzt NRW” as a teenager: in 1983 and '85 as a drummer, and in 1986 with the tenor saxophone. Heller was twice awarded first prize at the “International Composition Competition of Monaco” and the “Culture Promotion Prize of the State of North Rhine Westphalia”.

The list of musicians with whom Paul Heller has worked in his career reads like a "Who's Who" of jazz: Heller has played in quartet, quintet and sextet formations with Johnny Griffin, Dusko Goykovich, Jimmy Cobb, Jasper van't Hof, Volker Kriegel, Eddie Gomez, Vinnie Colaiuta, Biréli Lagène, Bill Evans, Al Foster, Adam Nussbaum, Franco Ambrosetti, Steve Swallow and with his wife, the multi-award-winning Dutch jazz singer Fay Claassen (including the "Golden Record" and the "German Record Critics' Prize").

Since 2013, in addition to his work at Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Heller has been the artistic and musical director of the successful jazz concert series "Next Level Jazz" in Cologne's "Stadtgarten".

Paul Heller has now produced ten CDs under his own name with Al Foster, Ack van Rooyen, Franco Ambrosetti, Adam Nussbaum and Wolfgang Haffner, among others, and has appeared on over 70 CDs as a soloist and sideman.

Since 1994 he has led the joint "Ack van Rooyen-Paul Heller Quintet" with Ack van Rooyen.

Paul Heller has been a permanent member of the WDR Big Band since 2005, has led the joint Paul Heller-Ack van Rooyen Quintet with Ack van Rooyen for 15 years, and is also one of the most sought-after musicians of the younger generation as a sideman.

Booklet for Safe Place