Rebecca Trescher

  “Cascading clarinet improvisations with a cinematic touch!”

Downbeat Magazine

German composer, clarinettist and bandleader Rebecca Trescher made a substantial impact on the German jazz scene with her Tentet album “Paris Zyklus – The Spirit of the Streets”, released on Enja in November 2021. It had two nominations and one win at the 2022 German Jazz Prize as “Composition of the year.” 

The work, a 4- part cycle, draws its inspiration from Trescher’s 6- month residency at the renowned Cité internationale des Arts in Paris. She took many walks through the streets of Paris, getting inspired by the vibe of the city and feeling its energy. 

With the unique, complex instrumentation of her 10- piece large ensemble, Rebecca Trescher creates a fresh and modern sound, exploring the boundaries of jazz and classical music. Under her direction, the ensemble weaves a fascinating musical texture based on Trescher’s contemporary style of composing as well as on the joint experience, congenial interplay and mutual trust of the musicians. The composer creates subtle and multifaceted works, well-structured and elaborated in terms of melody, rhythm and sound. With her compositions, Trescher creates something like a safe space for the creativity of the great improvisers who all band members are. The listener is invited to witness the process how this music is created between plan and freedom which leads to fascinating musical soundscapes and a symphonic soundtrack, personal and universal at the same time.

There’s a young generation in German jazz stepping ahead, stepping back, dreaming away, unleashed and relaxed. Between composition, improvisation and interpretation, delicate musical insights open up. Rebecca Trescher’s compositions resemble symphony-like textures while giving room for an intimate flexibility, expressed in the interplay with drummer Jan Brill, bassist Lukas Keller and guitarist Riaz Khabirpour.

The composer creates subtle and multifaceted works, well-structured and elaborated in terms of melody, rhythm and sound. Just like the group itself, the scores and individual parts of Trescher’s tunes capture an evolving process, allowing space for the association of ideas and musical soundscapes. The quartet makes the most of it, skilfully taking hold of this space and transforming it at the same time. Individual strength and collective understanding serve to reflect an exciting musical itinerary that illustrates the effort and intensity of the creative process. Nothing is concealed. all is vivid and dissolved in fluid interaction – powerful and present, melancholic and fragile. NEW SHAPES is music that comes through. Four biographies, four points of view, four musical approaches. New shapes of jazz, united in one group.