...a cerebral and harmonically daring pianist...whose adventurous spirit finds him reaching toward new sonic territory.
Following three critically-acclaimed studio recordings with his touring quartet, pianist Florian Hoefner presents a live solo set of new works, recorded at the acoustically sublime Sendesaal in Bremen, Germany. Inspired by the maritime landscape around the island of Newfoundland, his recently adapted home, Coldwater Stories explores the intersection between composition and improvisation, allowing Hoefner the freedom to improvise entire harmonic progressions or to reinvent the form of a piece during performances. Many of the works consist of one or more composed "islands," surrounded by a sea of open space that is left to be filled with improvisation. Ultimately the two become indistinguishable, blending together to tell a unified story.
1. The Great Auk 5:18
2. Migration 6:35
3. The Send 7:34
4. The Way of Water 5:51
5. Never Lost 4:44
6. Iceberg 1 2:56
7. Green Gardens 4:24
8. Sunrise Bay 7:43
9. Iceberg 2 5:25
10. With the North Atlantic 3:46
Florian Hoefner - solo piano
Produced by Christine Carter & Florian Hoefner
Recorded by Frank Jacobsen
at Sendesaal Bremen, Germany
(2-5) Recorded live
May 7th and 8th 2016
Mixed & mastered by Dave Darlington
at Bass Hit Recording, NYC
Photography by Tom Cochrane
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
WholeNote (Raul da Gama)
The songs of Coldwater Stories by pianist Florian Hoefner seem to run one into the other, and despite the sometimes pronounced silences which form part of the music, the sound is continuous. This is just like the icy waters of the Atlantic Sea off the coast of Newfoundland, "tumbling in harness," as Dylan Thomas once said singing from the Welsh coa ...
Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
A solo piano set of cerebral, impressionistic jazz recorded in Germany by a native. Does it get anymore ECM than that? Miss those old days when Manny was making magic out of thin air? If this set isn't a return to those times that left leaners had a sonic aerie they could let their ears hide out in, then nothing is. Right on that money througho ...
JazzMa (Hungary) (GÁSPÁR KÁROLY)
"The cold shower that warms the heart"
In a "modest" way, I quote from a recent report: the universe of jazz is unknowable! We can meet again and again with the recordings of unknown artists, and we can run into music that we immediately fall in love with. I feel like I'm in such a galaxy now, in connection with the new piano album by the pianis ...
Bird is the Worm (Dave Sumner)
Florian Hoefner knows how to work a melody. His 2012 release Songs Without Words was one of the very best things to get released that year, and it was in no small part a result of the pianist's vibrant display of melodicism. Two releases since then did nothing to diminish that reputation.
This 2016 performance at the Bremen, Germany venue Send ...
Jazz Weekly (George W. Harris)
Florian Hoffner takes the piano in solo form on this collection of originals performed both in concert and studio. His touch is calm, assured and assuring on sublime pieces such as "The Send" and "Sunset Bay." He creates reflective moments of gentle foamy currents during "Never Lost" and "The Great Auk" as the whole album feels like a stroll throu ...
KUCI - Irvine, CA (Hobart Taylor)
Some artists set off on their own journeys returning every so often to share with us what they have found both in the world and within themselves. Pianist Hoefner is such an artist. Currently based in St. John's Newfoundland Canada, his newest release describes the world around him in a place that is fog drenched, chilly, and quiet. Like Keith Jarr ...
Musically Speaking (Mel Mintner)
German-born pianist Florian Hoefner enjoys challenging himself, and the evidence indicates that he is up to a good challenge. On Luminosity, his excellent quartet recording, for example, he required one composition to operate within the space of an octave. On Coldwater (Origin Records) - his latest and first solo release - he has set himself quite ...
Diskoryxeion (Greece) (Fountas Troussas )
A German pianist with a good career, for which we reviewed last year's "Luminosity" (also on Origin), Florian Hoefner has a new album, solo this time, inspired by Newfoundland, Canada, in the Atlantic (a bit less than Greece!) and who obviously visited it while staying amazed by its natural beauty. The result is included in "Coldwater Stories" [Ori ...
Maxazine (Netherlands) (SERGE JULIEN)
Three years ago, the German jazz pianist and composer Florian Hoefner exchanged the vibrant city life of New York for the Canadian fishing town of St. John's in Newfoundland. The impact of that step, Hoefner, was splendidly translated into his new album 'Coldwater Stories'.
Although this is Hoefner's fourth CD, he debuts as soloist. In order to ...
Downbeat (Bill Milkowski)
***1/2
For his fourth recording overall and first solo outing, the German-born pianist sets a reflective tone with generous use of space, glistening ostinatos and a tender touch. Inspired by the maritime landscape of his new home base of Newfoundland, the large Canadian island off the east coast of the North American mainland where he moved three ...