“Dance Mañana”: The Forthcoming CD by jazz pianist Uli Lenz!
When Uli Lenz saw the specially characterized, mighty Bösendorfer Grand Imperial piano it was love at first sight! Almost ten feet in length and over a half a ton in weight, the 1970 Austrian manufactured grand piano was impressively massive, and known for its orchestral sounds as well as its tender, brilliant capabilities. However, although one of the finest of its kind in the world, experts know it is the pianist who must draw the rich spectrum of nuance and emotional possibility from such an instrument, this year Uli Lenz was offered the opportunity at MPS Studios.
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In childhood, Uli Lenz realized his love of the piano, and through the years has shown himself to be an expressive pianist in his performances around the world. One such event was in Tula, home of the great Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy, where Lenz’s emotionally charged performance captivated an almost spellbound audience, which erupted with vigorous applause. Two titles on the new CD are dedicated to that unforgettable experience, and a lifetime of such memories have influenced this solo album “Dance Mañana.”
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Throughout “Dance Mañana” and in life, Lenz pursues new musical challenges as well as the study of performers such as Art Tatum, the unique piano virtuoso of quick-fingered imaginativeness, to which Lenz’s own expressive style might be compared. Utilizing the range and depth of the mighty Bösendorfer piano, Uli Lenz proves he is a jazz pianist of great enthusiasm and vitality worthy of description, “The Man who dances on the Keys.”
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In September 2014, after a day of extensive preparation, before a group of selected guests and friends, all 13 titles of “Dance Mañana” were recorded live, without cuts and overdubs. Releasing the end of November 2014, we welcome you to listen and decide Lenz’s passionate jazz piano proficiency for yourselves.
More about the MPS Studios and Bösendorfer Grand Imperial piano: During the seventies, exceptional pianist Friedrich Gulda recorded many beautiful Classic and Jazz albums on the grand piano while under exclusive MPS contract, and Cecil Taylor, Wolfgang Dauner, Joachim Kühn, George Shearing and others have also been privileged to perform on the instrument.
Uli Lenz 