When the twelve “guys” (Latin: salaputia) of the brass ensemble Salaputia Brass set out to reinvent Christmas, you can look forward to the successful group’s new album at Berlin Classics. It is titled “Let it swing – Christmas with Salaputia Brass” and is already the ensemble’s fifth album. It features Christmas classics, reimagined in sophisticated arrangements and staged with jazzy lightness. Anyone who thinks they’ve heard everything there is to hear in “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “Driving Home for Christmas,” or “Let it Snow” will be surprised here. Familiar melodies in a fresh guise!
The musicians of Salaputia Brass come from renowned orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). They are distinguished not only by their technical virtuosity, but above all by their willingness to experiment. They enthusiastically cross genre boundaries: after excursions into the Renaissance and the world of French chansons, they are now devoting themselves to jazz – not just as a style, but as an attitude. “We didn’t want to play jazz stiffly, but really feel and shape it,” says trumpeter Markus Czieharz. To this end, the musicians attended special workshops on phrasing and articulation in jazz. The result is an album that oscillates between swing, film music, and gentle sparkle—always with respect for the original and great attention to detail.
