DEBUT | Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 112 by Alexander Rueß

Alexander Rueß

DEBUT | Jazz Thing Next Generation Vol. 112

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917147629
Catnr: DMCHR 71476
Release date: 27 March 2026
Preorder

1 CD	€ 14.95	Preorder

Label
Double Moon Records

UPC
0608917147629

Catalogue number
DMCHR 71476

Release date
27 March 2026

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

This album is a collection of musical portraits — intimate sketches shaped by memory, place, and human connection. It reflects the soundscape of Alexander Rueß’ upbringing near the Baltic Sea, the people who accompanied him along the way, and the impressions gathered through travel and encounter.

At its core, the music is deeply personal. Für Opa is dedicated to Rueß’ grandfather, who never played an instrument yet supported his musical journey unconditionally, driving him to countless lessons and proudly claiming responsibility for his grandson’s talent. Sangen Fra Havet is an homage to the Baltic Sea and the Danish coastline, whose quiet vastness and shifting moods echo throughout the record. Cornflower draws inspiration from the vivid blue flower that grew at the edges of rural fields — a favorite of Rueß’ maternal grandfather — symbolizing memory, landscape, and rootedness.

The album balances composition and spontaneity. Interlude, the only fully improvised piece, captures the natural interplay between guitar, double bass, and drums, allowing the music’s energy to unfold organically in the moment. Throughout the record, lyrical melodies meet open forms, creating space for both narrative clarity and collective expression.

Recorded in Berlin with longtime collaborators Luca Curcio and Sebastian Merk, the trio’s sound is defined by trust, subtle interaction, and shared musical intuition. A special highlight is the appearance of trombonist Nils Landgren on Für Opa, whose music was a formative influence on Rueß’ childhood and whose presence adds a distinctive warmth and depth to the album.
Ultimately, this record is a dedication — to family, mentors, friends, and places that shape who we become. It is an expression of gratitude and belonging, rendered through sound

Artist(s)

Alexander Rueß (guitar)

Nils Landgren (trombone)

Tender-hearted yet tenacious, Nils Landgren is a world-class artist. His Funk Unit’s groove is irresistible, and The Man with the Red Horn himself has led the band through their highly successful run of CDs, and in rapturously received concerts everywhere from Stockholm to Beijing. 'Funk is my Religion' is the band’s eleventh album – the album title just says it all. Landgren and his Norsemen bring a passion, an intensity and a freshness to their craft which has remained undimmed since the start. For more than 25 years, jazz-funk has been the force driving Landgren. This veritable elixir of life produces the bubbling energy, groove and joy that can be heard and felt in every note of the music. The...

Tender-hearted yet tenacious, Nils Landgren is a world-class artist. His Funk Unit’s groove is irresistible, and The Man with the Red Horn himself has led the band through their highly successful run of CDs, and in rapturously received concerts everywhere from Stockholm to Beijing. "Funk is my Religion" is the band’s eleventh album – the album title just says it all. Landgren and his Norsemen bring a passion, an intensity and a freshness to their craft which has remained undimmed since the start. For more than 25 years, jazz-funk has been the force driving Landgren. This veritable elixir of life produces the bubbling energy, groove and joy that can be heard and felt in every note of the music. The band’s deliciously easy and laid-back vibe gets straight through to audiences. With the crispness of their funk rhythms, blazing brass, cool vocals and persuasive melodies, a new chapter for the Nils Landgren Funk Unit is only just beginning.

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Sebastian Merk (drums)

Luca Curcio (double bass)

Composer(s)

Alexander Rueß

Alexander Rueß, based in Berlin and Copenhagen, is a freelance guitarist, composer and producer. He played in the 2018/19 concert band of the BundesJazzOrchester (BuJazzO) and completed studies at the Jazz-Institute Berlin and the Rytmisk Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. Rueß’s playing is characterized by a lyrical lightness and is often contrasted by a nordic melancholy. Concert tours have taken him throughout Western Europe as well as to Japan, Canada and the United States. As the bandleader of the Alexander Rueß Trio – with Luca Curcio on double bass and Sebastian Merk on drums – Rueß is working on his debut album, which is being produced by Frank Möbus. Rueß is also the permanent guitarist in the band of jazz singer Atrin...

As the bandleader of the Alexander Rueß Trio – with Luca Curcio on double bass and Sebastian Merk on drums – Rueß is working on his debut album, which is being produced by Frank Möbus. Rueß is also the permanent guitarist in the band of jazz singer Atrin Madani, with whom he regularly performs in a quintet. He is also featured on Atrin’s debut album Where Are We Now, which was nominated for the German Jazz Award in 2024.

In addition, Rueß leads the project MANKO, which was founded in 2018 and blends electro-urban beats with the authenticity of acoustic instruments. The international quintet consists of Philipp Gropper (tenor saxophone), Otis Sandsjö (tenor saxophone), Robert Lucaciu (bass), Florian Lauer (drums), and Asger Uttrup Nissen (alto saxophone), and is produced by Swedish bassist Petter Eldh.

In 2019, Alexander Rueß was awarded the Lübeck Jazz Prize. In 2018, he won the ensemble competition of the HfM Dresden with the „Alexander Rueß Trio“ and the Frankfurter Musikpreis as a member of the BuJazzO. He was also nominated for the German Jazz Award in 2024 with Atrin Madani.

Born in 1998, Alexander Rueß grew up in Ostholstein and began his studies as a young student at the Lübeck University of Music with Patrick Farrant during his school years. After graduating from high school, he initially studied at the University of Music in Dresden and later transferred to the Jazz-Institut Berlin two years later. He was a member of the LJJO Hamburg and LJJO Schleswig-Holstein. His teachers included jazz greats such as Peter Bernstein, Sandra Hempel, Lage Lund, Paulo Morello, Håvard Wiik, and Finn Wiesner.

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