(Contemporary Jazz) Trio Elf - Collection 5 Albums - 2006 - 2013, MP3, 192 - 320 kbps

01 - Four (Richard D. James) 05:14
02 - Take Five (Paul Desmond) 05:31
03 - Vera Cruz (Milton Nascimento) 03:37
04 - Elfantz (Sven Faller) 03:33
05 - We Are 12 (Gerwin Eisenhauer) 03:14
06 - Bang Ma Gang (Korean Trad. arr. by Walter Lang jun.) 07:05
07 - Off Minor (Thelonious Monk)04:28
08 - Why Because (Walter Lang jun.) 04:33
09 - No Goodbyes (Walter Lang jun.) 07:04
10 - Flim (Richard D. James) 03:46
11 - S Elf (Walter Lang jun./Sven Faller) 01:45
12 - Sunshoer (Kenny Barron) 06:05
13 - Fruta Boa (Milton Nasciment) 06:47
Walter Lang - Piano
Sven Faller - Bass
Gerwin Eisenhauer - Drums

01 - Intro (01:26)
02 - 746 (06:11)
03 - The Man Machine (07:23)
04 - Evet (02:00)
05 - Slam Stew (04:41)
06 - Arearea (04:31)
07 - Maydance (07:41)
08 - Azzurro (06:11)
09 - Adria (07:39)
10 - Intermezzo Op. 116 (Brahms) (06:23)
Walter Lang - Piano, Electronics
Sven Faller - Bass
Gerwin Eisenhauer - Drums

01 - Ponta De Areia (Featuring – Milton Nascimento) 05:40
02 - Interlude 01:24
03 - The Ave 06:27
04 - Ocean 11 (Featuring – Marco Lobo) 08:13
05 - Casa Do Tom 05:04
06 - Sounds In My Garden 05:03
07 - Down 08:53
08 - Pagode De Oceano 05:05
09 - Hammer Baby Hammer 05:03
10 - Anima (Featuring – Milton Nascimento) 05:33
11 - Elfland 04:10
Walter Lang - Piano
Sven Faller - Bass
Gerwin Eisenhauer - Drums, Percussion
Sven Faller - Edited, Mixed
Recorded 2010 at Pirouet Studios (Munich) / Downhill Studios (Munich)

01(A1) - 746 (Kelpe Remix)(Walter Lang jun.- Additional remix production by Kel McKeown) 05:23
02(A2) - Hammer Baby Hammer (Coleco Remix)(Walter Lang jun.- Additional remix production by Alex Shailer) 05:48
03(A3)* - Ponta Di Areia feat. Milton Nascimento (Milton Nascimento - Fernando Brant) 05:42
04(A4)** - Arearea (Gerwin Eisenhauer - Sven Faller) 04:34
05(B1) - The Ave (Ital Tek Remix)(Sven Faller - Additional remix production by Alan Myson) 05:54
06(B2) - Pagode De Oceano (Falty DL Remix)(Walter Lang jun.- Additional remix production by Drew Lustman)04:07
07(B3) - Sounds In My Garden (Bustla Remix)(Sven Faller - Additional remix production by Lukas Roth) 05:00
08(B4)** - 746 (Walter Lang jun.) 06:19
* - Taken from "Elfland" ENJ-9562 2
** - Taken from "746" ENJ-9519 2

01 - Casa Do Tom 06:12
02 - Arearea 05:16
03 - Evet 03:08
04 - Sounds In My Garden 06:10
05 - Hammer Baby Hammer 06:00
06 - Why? Because! 07:45
07 - 746 05:49
08 - The Dark Sea 04:53
09 - Down 09:41
10 - Adria 07:37
11 - The Man-Machine 07:50
12 - No Goodbye 07:42
Walter Lang - Piano & sfx
Sven Faller - Bass & sfx
Gerwin Eisnehauer - Drums
Mario Sütel - Realtime Sonic Manipulation
Recording in Bimhuis, Amsterdam (02/20/2013)

Trio Elf drummer Gerwin Eisenhauer remembers it vividly:
" When the kids realized they were actually dancing to a live band, they freaked out!" Eisenhauer had been asked to play along with DJs at drum'n'bass raves in Germany. He had developed a way, as he noted, "to translate programmed and sampled rhythms to the drumset."
At one point, he brought along his musical cohorts, pianist Walter Lang and bassist Sven Fallen. And that was the beginning of Trio Elf. With a name derived by combining the first letter of the surname of each member, the group extends and expands the notion of the traditional jazz piano trio.
The players have made their way in the jazz world and honed their chops by working in a variety of settings. Lang has studied at Berklee College of Music, collaborated with Lee Konitz and James Moody and made six albums as a leader. Faller graduated from Mannes College in New York and has worked with Jane Monheit, Charlie Mariano, Bobby Watson and the New York Philharmonic. Eisenhauer graduated from the Drummers' Collective, has published a drum'n'bass workbook and was part of a Frank Sinatra tribute band.
Based in Germany's Bavaria region. Trio Elf combines melodic lyricism, deft rhythmic expression and electronic technology. "Jazz musicians have always used known melodies to improvise on," said Lang. "In that respect we are in the tradition. To get our individual sound, we modify the material greatly without sacrificing the essence of the music."
Another vital part of the group's dynamic comes from their sound engineer, Mario Siitel. "Mario surprises us with a different drum sound for every piece, which makes Gerwin alter his beats all the time," said Faller. "We have these three layers: Gerwin's virtuoso beats with a lot of turns and stops, Walter's wide melodic and lyrical phrases, which open a lot of space, and my melodic counterpoint to his melodies and connection to Gerwin's beats on the bottom." Siitel also often spontaneously cuts loops out of the flow of improvisation, thus offering the band what they think of as a "sampled doppelganger."
The group came to the attention of Enja Records' Matthias Winckelmann in 2006. "I thought this was something truly new," said Winckelmann. "I've always loved the piano trio as a format, and I thought these guys really changed it around and managed to sound both old and new at the same time."
Elf's first album for the label was simply called "Elf" and was released in 2006. What a mix of source material it was — Richard James (or his pseudonym Aphex Twin), Thelonious Monk's "Off Minor", Paul Desmond's iconic "Take Five" (done here in 10), two by Milton Nascimento (a favorite of all three members) and originals by Lang and Faller. Additionally, the album included Lang's arrangement of a traditional Korean song.
Trio Elf uses the repertoire of jazz history but also finds bases for inspired improvisa¬ tion in varied popular material. All the instruments are altered in their sounds at times but never for wacky effects. Their second Enja album, 746, has a hypnotic and engaging version of a tune by the band that Faller calls "our favorite German cultural export." That would be Kraftwerk, and the tune is "The Man - Machine." Everyone wins here the original tune is recognizable and powerfully revealed, the drumming is deft and enthralling, yet the trio functions like an experienced, well-oiled jazz combo.
Trio Elf tours regularly, and their sonic colors work just as well on stage as in the record- ing studio. They played at New York's Zinc Bar in May to promote their latest Enja release, "Elfland", which features their old friend Nascimento on two of his classics, "Ponta de Areia" and "Anima." At the Zinc Bar, the band's compadre Beat Kaestli took the Portuguese lyric vocal on "Ponta" and offered a shimmering complement to the textured arrangement. The CD also features an impressionistic tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim and a guest performance from Brazilian percussionist Marco Lobo. Trio Elf continues its signature exploration of the best
of what's out there in the world of sound.
— Donald Elfman „DownBeat“