A rising star on the European jazz scene, German keyboardist-composer Simon Oslender plays with a maturity that belies his young age. After his auspicious debut on Leopard Records, 2020's 'About Time', the 24-year old wunderkind reveals more of himself on his sophomore release for the label, 'Peace of Mind'.
Backed by an all-world rhythm tandem of veteran American bassist Will Lee (a former mem-ber of the seminal fusion band Dreams, the popular funk-fusion band The Brecker Brothers and a ubiquitous session musicians who played on well over 2,000 pop, rock and jazz albums) and Germany's most acclaimed jazz drummer Wolfgang Haffner (whose credits include recordings with top American jazz musicians including saxophonist Al Cohn, guitarist Joe Pass, trumpeter Randy Brecker and the all-star fusion band Metro along with top European musicians like trombonist Nils Landgren, jazz trumpet-vocal sensation Till Brönner, fusion pioneer Klaus Doldinger's Passport), Oslender displays his prodigious talents on acoustic piano, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano and his signature Yamaha Montage Synthesizer while con-tributing wordless vocals to the compelling mix.
From the gentle opener "Healing" to the buoyant and breezy, Brazilian-flavored "When She Speaks" (dedicated to the late guitarist Chuck Loeb), to his tender and lyrical "First Dance," the shuffling, bluesy groover "Keep It" and the mournful "Blue Mike," a requiem for Michael Brecker that closes the collection, Peace of Mind resonates with deep feelings, soulful playing and an abundance of chops from the gifted keyboardist.
