On Air Reinmar Henschke

• 1 A New Day 04:34
• 2 Seagulls Dance 05:23
• 3 No Mercy 05:56
• 4 On Air 05:59
• 5 Bad News 04:47
• 6 In The Heat Of The Night 05:45
• 7 Drunken Piano 05:29
• 8 We Survived Koeckern 04:53
• 9 Max, Or Coming Home 04:31
• Total Runtime 47:17

Info for On Air

Take Off! Reinmar Henschke presents a brilliant piece of work with this album, true to label „Ozella Lounge“style. “On Air“ is a balmy breeze that whispers to its listeners to let everything run wild – the soul, the inspiration, the thoughts, everyday life. The cover already points in the right direction for taking off and letting go: Up, up through the air, towards a sunny blue sky – optimally with the new album „On Air“ in your headphones.

The pianist and composer has fulfilled a musical dream with this work, and created a counterbalance to the various jobs he does in his daily routine as a musician. „On Air“ gives the listeners the opportunity to lose themselves completely in perfectly balanced lounge-jazz music, to dream, and most of all, to listen in peace.

Henschke’s work otherwise consists of giving concerts with diverse bands and projects (among others: Henschkeschlott - Cafe Thiossane / Ozella Lounge) in China, Japan, West Africa, Russia, Scandinavia, and of course touring Germany or playing concerts with Ulla Meinecke, Helen Schneider or Katja Ebstein. He’s played gigs with Till Brönner, Bill Ramsay or Jocelyn B. Smith while composing film music or a radio play on the side.

On „On Air“, Reinmar Henschke gave himself the space and the time to put his collected song ideas and fragmented song sketches together to form a creative whole. As a result, a wonderful album has emerged that leads its listeners through brilliantly varied tracks. Lounge-grooves á la Café del Mar, atmospheric sounds like Morcheeba’s, and up-tempo numbers and subtle break-beats like Moloko’s are all presented in an extremely tasteful and jazzy manner, with the grand piano– Henschke’s actual work utensil –at the core, tying everything together.

Guest singer Pascal von Wroblewsky shines out beside well-tempered saxophone and vibraphone parts. The voice she lends to the balladesque „No Mercy“ sounds wonderfully soulful and at the same time delicately smoky. It’s exactly this contrary mixture that transports perfectly the moods Henschke has created on „On Air“. It’s remarkable how keenly he has understood studio technology to be a medium to shape his music with.

Henschke has also let something of the commonplace flow into his euphonic dream „On Air“, for example on the track, „We Survived Köckern“. Köckern is a rest stop on the A9 highway, and whatever happened here will undoubtedly remain Henschke’s best-kept secret. Vibrating beats and some weird harmonies mixed with strange samples of a car motor indicate that something truly “trippy” and pulsating must have happened. We can only wait in suspense and hope for the secret to eventually be disclosed. But this much can be revealed, the final conciliating chord implies that in the end, all turns out well. Good music, good artwork, good concept – all in all a brilliant piece of work!

„On Air“ presents the listener with wonderful grooves, atmospheric sounds, a helping of jazz, and laid-back beats..

Simply an excellent piece of work – for taking off!

Reinmar Henschke, piano, fender rhodes, keyb, perc, electronics
Volker Schlott, saxophone & flute
Jürgen Heckel, guitar
Andreas Ockert, clarinet
Harald Kündgen, vibraphone
Micha Joch, percussion
Pascal von Wroblewsky, vocals ( Track 3)

Produced by Reinmar Henschke and Dagobert Böhm

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Reinmar Henscke began playing piano aged 6 and was tutored in church organ by cathedral organist Hans-Gunter Wauer at the School of Church Music in Halle. Despite passing the entrance examination for organ at the Academy of Music in Leipzig, Henschke ultimately opted to study classical piano and composition studies, skills which would prove invaluable as his career developed. Henschke graduated in 1981 and immediately took up a career as a professional musician.

During the 1980s he lived in Weimar and worked extensively with the band, Prima Klima where he encountered jazz, funk and soul. By 1986 he found himself touring East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia at which time he performed at the Karlovy Vary Jazz Festival. In 1987 he was awarded first prize in the Kalisz Jazz Piano Competition in Poland.

During his involvement with the Berlin jazz scene, Henschke collaboration with the singer Pascal Wroblewsky and saxophonist Volker Schlott with whom he formed the Henschke-Schlott Duo. Henschke also developed a significant career as a solo musician and around this time began to realise his interest in film and theatre composition. Following this, he began to incorporate rock music into his already exceptionally diverse repertoire.

In addition to his work as a composer and performing musician, Henschke has also taught piano at the he Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Music School.

This album contains no booklet.