Dense sounds and fine ballads | Jazz trio RENNER

Unusual techniques for unusual effects

“There is incredible energy, creativity and communication in this music. So incredibly lively, exciting and at the same time incredibly beautiful. (…) Nothing was missing, it was put together in perfect beauty.”

– Bavarian Radio

Two brothers and a kindred spirit: Moritz Renner (trombone), Nils Kugelmann (bass) and Valentin Renner (drums) – that’s the RENNER trio. The ensemble without a harmony instrument is a rarity in jazz history.

A jazz combo without an instrument like a piano or at least a guitar, isn’t that too exhausting for the audience? Anyone who has experienced or heard the three musicians will answer the question in the negative without thinking. Moritz Renner, Nils Kugelmann and Valentin Renner make excellent use of the spaces that open up without a harmonizing instrument.

The interplay between the three musicians creates the perfect symbiosis between freedom and well-paced precision. You can always hear how close the instrumentalists are, they interact with each other with extraordinary ease and light-heartedness. The young musicians use unusual techniques for extraordinary effects in the always attentive slides and trios. The interplay between the three equal musicians is convincing from the first to the last note. Each has space, which they fill with breathtakingly exciting and emotionally intense solos and rhythmic complexity.

What is not usually a relief for the listener are original compositions, especially with such a line-up. But here, too, the three take a light-hearted approach. These are original compositions, not imitations of existing standards, which swing wonderfully despite their modern harmonies and structures. Moritz, who penned most of the pieces, deals quite naturally with the palette that is available today, from bebop to funk, rock and elements of the hip-hop era and other styles of the current music industry.

The winners of the “Förderpreis des Bayerischen Jazzverband 2023” and the “Biberacher Jazzpreis 2024” convince with intelligent compositions, emotional and virtuoso playing and a warm, transparent sound that can be musically categorized in the genre of modern jazz.

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