Bam & Craig Handy - Bam Meets Craig Handy: First Encounter

BAM stands for keyboard wizard Matthias Bublath, sousaphone master Freddy Andrej and, of course, Guido May. The young guitarist Maxi Nachtmann, who plays incredibly well for his age and gives rise to high hopes, was added at short notice. Matthias Bublath has recorded some very fine trio albums and shines as a modern jazz pianist in a league with musicians such as Sullivan Fortner, Lawrence Fields, Christian Sands and Aaron Diehl. We experience him here as a Hammond organ expert, but if you listen to his own funk-oriented CDs, which also feature trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, you are amazed at how confidently he can switch between genres. First Encounter is the first successful project of a new German-American friendship which, with its universal musical vision, should be a model for creative transatlantic teamwork.