The last couple of weeks I spent some time practicing a beautiful solo by Stan Getz on the Jazzstandard 'Out of nowhere'. It's an absolutely amazing solo! Stan is on the left, myself on the right channel:
Solotranscription: Stan Getz - Out of Nowhere - live 1960
left channel: Original
right channel: Stefan Karl Schmid
I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming ICELAND TOUR with Örn Ingi Unnsteinsson's new Quartet BRIM. For the first time I'll visit Iceland as touring musician - very exciting!
Here's a little impression of our 'YOU NAME IT, WE PLAY IT! VOL II' concert with the Subway Jazz Orchestra from last April. At the beginning of this year we asked the audience to tell us their favorite tunes. Eight fantastic composers from Cologne picked one tune each and arranged it for the band. In the video you hear Martin Gasser's version of the Björk title 'Black Lake' (with a long tenor solo of mine in the middle :-)
New CD out now by the REZA ASKARI TRIO - ROAR (klaeng records). Great music and beautiful artwork, feat. Reza Askari on bass, Fabian Arends on drums, Sebastian Müller on guitar and myself on tenor, soprano and clarinet. Get your copy HERE.
Shannon and I have been invited to play a concert in Mannheim with the fantastic KICKS'n'STICKS Bigband. After only one (very long) rehearsal we played a great concert at "Alte Feuerwache" Mannheim. Here's what the press thought about it:
The Subway Jazz Orchestra finally got its own Youtube channel. It was about time since recently a lot of great videos from the band have been added. Some of my arrangements can be found, too. Here are the latest three: No. 1 is my original composition "Snakes Don't Walk" (released on 'Primal Scream') from a fantastic concert at the 'Jazzschmiede' in Düsseldorf. The Hendrix composition 'Freedom' (No. 2) is from the same gig. And the last clip is from our March concert at 'Club Subway', my arrangement of the composition 'Trio#20' by the great keyboarder Christian Lorenzen.
New video from the latest SCHMID BRÄMSWIG QUARTET concert in Mainz featuring David Helm on bass and Fabian Arends on drums.
For the last two concerts this year with the Subway Jazz Orchestra we managed to invite the Norwegian composer and trombonist Helge Sunde. We had a great time playing his fabulous arrangements and enjoyed his great sense of humor and absolute musical mastery!
Here's what Olaf Weiden from 'Kölner Rundschau' thought about our concert:
Right after two weeks in China with the WDR Big Band I played eight wonderful concerts in Australia with the Shannon Barnett Quartet. We traveled to Melbourne, Wangaratta, Adelaide, Brisbane, Wollongong and Sydney and had an amazing time on and also off the stage. Thanks to Shannon and also to the 'Goethe Institute' and the 'Australian Council of the Arts' for making this happen.
