Jan Prax Quartet Ascending

You are so young and play so great. I hate you! It does not do the journey of the artist justice to reduce classically trained pianist Jan Prax to this best known of quotes, uttered by saxophone player David Sanborn after a concert at the Leverkusener Jazztage. Prax has received numerous prizes, and after his debut album with a renowned German jazz label, his second album is now released on Challenge Records. This new release is the largest artistic vision of the artist to date in its entire spectrum, with influences from the Straight Ahead Jazz of the 1950s and 1960s, the avant-garde movement of the 1960s, Hip Hop, as well as Rhythm and Blues. As with the previous production Keepin a Style Alive, this recording focuses on the acoustic jazz quartet with outstanding partners such as Martin Soros, Tilman Oberbeck, and Michael Mischl, this time with a lineup extended by high profile guests Bodek Janke and Soweto Kinch. Ascending- like the ascendant in astrology revealing a persons true potential like a developing improvisation, fuelled by passion and driven by the collective, a quest for ways of expression without neglecting the roots.