Jazzfest Berlin Radio Edition
Shannon Barnett Quartett
Pre-recorded in Cologne (WDR 3)
Shannon Barnett’s compositional skills convince with the same self-confidence as her sonorous playing, whether she taps into blues traditions or sketches painfully beautiful ballads.
Shannon Barnett
© Julia Goldsby
Past Dates
Australian trombonist Shannon Barnett, a former member of the WDR Big Band who currently serves as jazz trombone professor at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, settled in Germany in 2014 following several years in New York where she worked with Darcy James Argueʼs Secret Society and the Jon Faddis Orchestra. She was a recipient of the 2020 WDR Jazz Prize, the first woman to earn the honour. As heard on her superb 2017 album “Hype”, she purveys an energetic strain of post-bop, marked by an ebullient polyphony with saxophonist Stefan Karl Schmid that indicates an inherent grasp of early jazz history, as the frontline frequently delivers sleek multi-linear improvisations over the driving rhythms of bassist David Helm and drummer Fabian Arends. Her writing is as assured as her full-toned playing, whether tapping into the blues or sketching out achingly beautiful balladry, and over her career she’s demonstrated a nonchalant range that’s found her equally at home with orchestral swing and wide-open settings.
This concert is part of the Jazzfest Berlin Radio Edition
Shannon Barnett trombone
Stefan Karl Schmid tenor saxophone
David Helm bass
Fabian Arends drums