Luminosity

...already now you can feel the strong and intimate bond that unites these musicians...A rare find and unique, their interplay follows and draws Pindaresque emotional rooms: passion, pain, joy and suffused meditative moments.
Suono (Italy)

For his third recording on Origin Records, pianist Florian Hoefner uses the highly evolved musical relationship he's forged over the last several years touring with bassist Sam Anning and drummer Peter Kronreif as a springboard for nine new compositions. Adding the singular voice of the eminent saxophonist Seamus Blake, a more recent addition to the band, Hoefner's well-calibrated touch, bedrock time feel and contrapuntal ingenuity animate the performances, while Blake's lyric declamations soar throughout. "...he crafts strong melodies and develops them with an enviable focus that makes his songs memorable and so damn enjoyable to hear." - emusic.

Production Info:

Produced by Florian Hoefner
Recorded by Michael Brorby at Acoustic Recordings, New York City, June 8-9, 2015
Mixed & mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studios, New York City
Edited by Tyler McDiarmid
Photography: Krysta Brayer
Cover design and layout by John Bishop

Reviews of Luminosity

Ottawa Citizen (Chris Maskell)
Pianist Florian Hoefner's latest release Luminosity, which was released last week, is partly an ode to St. John's, Newfoundland. Although the native of Germany says that he was only "subconsciously" inspired by his new place of residence, the album's dramatic melodies and rolling grooves bring images of the area's stunning landscapes to mind right ...

The Big City Blog (George Grella)
Luminosity is the third album from German jazz pianist Hoefner. This is finely made jazz that sits right in the pocket of the mainstream of contemporary style - a prevalent minor key feel, driving rhythms with more than a little rock feel - that is the long tail of Keith Jarrett's European Quartet. The sound is familiar, but this is not a criticism ...

Midwest Review (Chris Spector)
Furthering his dominance in the sitting down piano jazz field, Hoefner and his long time pals add a vet new kid to the mix on sax as the newly expanded four piece crew seem to assert ownership over cinematic playing that commands your full attention. Practically playing as one, weaving things so seamlessly that they get past you as you get lost in ...

Something Else! (S. Victor Aaron)
About a year and a half ago, German-born pianist/composer Florian Hoefner did what few up-and-coming jazz musicians would dare to do, and that was to pull out of the bustling scene of New Your City to relocate to a far-away place that shared an ocean but little else with his former home. But from the relative solitude of St. John's, Newfoundland, H ...

New York Jazz Record (Ken Micallef)
On what basis do we judge and review jazz records? Is it on performance, skill, composition and production? Or should our criteria be more emotional? Does it elicit sadness, excitement? Do I get lost in the music and simply float along on its rhythm, pace, melody and movement? Florian Hoefner's Luminosity made me ask myself these questions, as it a ...

Classicalite Magazine (Mike Greenblatt)
Luminosity is when acrylic colors retain their freshness. Luminosity by the Florian Hoefner Group on Origin Records does just that as well, for it is here that the German-born pianist Hoefner, on his third all-original quartet CD, puts the Masters Degree he earned at the Manhattan School of Music to good use. Hoefner, 33, must be as intense as h ...

JAZZiT (Italy) (Eugenio Mirti)
"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul." (Wassily Kandinsky) German pianist that has long lived in New York before moving to Canada, Florian Hofner has published three records with his group, t ...

Audiophile Audition (Doug Simpson)
Musical storytelling which mixes compositional originality with instrumental brilliance. Stepping outside one's comfort zone is a time-honored tradition in jazz. Pianist Florian Hoefner - born and raised in Germany and who finished his jazz education in Manhattan - took that journey a bit further than most. In 2014, he relocated from NYC to the is ...

All About Jazz Italia (VINCENZO ROGGERO )
Il quartetto di Florian Hoefner -origini tedesche, residenza da anni a New York - è con Luminosity alla terza uscita discografica e si sente. L'intesa fra i musicisti è perfetta -Seamus Blake è subentrato a Mike Ruby ma sembra membro del gruppo da sempre -la musica ha la precisione di un orologio svizzero, fluisce senza scossoni e senza impedim ...

The Australian (John McBeath)
Although German pianist - now Canada-based - Florian Hoefner has played at festivals throughout Europe, appeared on 10 previous recordings and toured extensively in the US and Canada, he's not as well known in Australia. This new album by his quartet, recorded in New York, features Australian bassist Sam Anning, with drummer Peter Kronreif and saxo ...

Jazz Weekly (George W. Harris)
Pianist Florian Hoefner terams up with a free flowing team of Seamus Blake/ts-ss, Sam Anning/b and Peter Kronreif/dr on a graceful collection of originals. Blake, one of the strong yet unheralded tenor players around, sounds warm and glowing as he teams up with Anning on "The Bottom Line" and glides like wind surfer on" The Narrows." The rhythm tea ...

Jazztimes (Michael J. West)
"Typical" and "generic" aren't synonyms. Pianist Florian Hoefner works to create music that " doesn't sound like generic jazz." To be sure, Luminosity, Hoefner's third album with his quartet, is not generic, with its oblong structures and meters that require listeners to search for the 1. But its use of those elements to distinguish it doe ...

The Whole Note (Ken Waxman)
Musically, Luminosity may be the most straight ahead of the sessions reviewed here, but it's also the one with the most varied cast. The program is eight compositions by German-born-and-raised pianist Florian Hoefner, who after a long period in New York, now teaches at Memorial University in St. John's. The quartet is completed by American bassist ...

CD Hotlist (Rick Anderson)
Here is another very fine example of modern straight-ahead jazz from the young pianist and composer Florian Hoefner, now recording for the first time with acclaimed saxophonist Seamus Blake. This all-original program finds Hoefner doing what he does best: writing tunes that contain small surprises within familiar structures, that challenge the ear ...

Downbeat (Brian Zimmerman)
Florian Hoefner is a cerebral and harmonically daring pianist whose style crystallizes around jazz and blues fundamentals, but whose adventurous spirit finds him reaching toward new sonic territory. Luminosity, his starkly picturesque new album, makes profound statements from quiet moments. Tranquility and calmness are the operative moods here, ...