 He is not a “greenhorn“ anymore and not a new face in the jazz scene either or a beginner who started late. Christian Scheuber, who lives near Ludwigshafen in Germany, has already been a live and studio musician much in demand for years. But - as it is fitting for a respectable sideman - he has always been hidden in the background without sticking his nose into every picture or making a lot of fuss about his name. He is just someone who simply wants to play good music and has set this as his most important goal. This is the reason that it took a bit longer until one of the few CDs by and with Christian Scheuber as a bandleader has been presented to an international audience. Doubts about the reputation of this excellent musician? He is a trained flutist with experience in Big Bands and symphony orchestras. He switched to drums when he was 16, winning prizes early on the state level as a young drummer. At the beginning of the 80s, his own work for drum and string orchestra was performed for the first time. This was followed by studies at the renowned Swiss Jazz School in Bern and stints as an instructor at various music schools. He played with various projects on the jazz scene internationally, from Los Angeles and New York to Moscow and St. Petersburg. He gathered a noteworthy group of musicians for “Clara’s Smile”, a sure sign of his qualities as a performer and composer. Paul Bollenback plays guitar, the “master of the soft tones, virtuoso and sensitive, and known to a wide audience from his own CDs. James Genus on bass plays a similar sound; his runs sound soft and melodic on the double-bass, which is strongly influenced by vocals. Pianist Andrej Kondakov from Russia has played with Scheuber for many years and is integrated firmly into the compositions and interpretations. Two songs feature the French harmonica player Olivier Ker-Ourio, strong in the tradition of Toots Thielemans and concentrated on the melodies without the addition of complicated passages, which could interfere with the pleasure of listening to the music. Reiner Witzel plays the alto saxophone, and he is also one of the top jazz players in Germany. His solos and guided melodies strongly set the character of the two pieces in which he plays. “On The Road” is the name of the opener of “Clara’s Smile”, a fantastic upbeat number with lots of drive and groove, a rhythmic start into a CD with nine musical highlights, a Paul Bollenback at his best on the acoustic guitar and a tone-setting Reiner Witzel on the alto saxophone. Scheuber’s composition “Don’t Let Me Go” is a bluesy, dreamy and slightly melancholic piece, tender, swinging and with a wonderful solo. In addition to its attractive flair, the sharp “Joyeses Farces” fires the listener with enthusiasm thanks especially to the excellent piano solo by Andrej Kondakov. The title piece “Clara’s Smile” is an expressive ballad with a lot of heart and feeling. “I Hear A Rhapsody” then follows with a rendition of a standard, interpreted very personally with its own stamp and a remarkable bass solo by James Genus. “Song For Claudia” is another dreamy piece, a declaration of love, which could not be expressed better in words. Two more piece follow with “When I Loose My Memory” and “Questions Without Answers” written by the pianist, before the album ends with a worthy and virtuoso closing with the Monk composition “Think Of One”. Christian Scheuber has created a great work with “Clara’s Smile”, and with it he is knocking at the door of the elite of German jazz loudly and clearly.
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