| 1 LP 12inch |
€ 25.95
|
Preorder |
| Label Challenge Records |
UPC 0608917363821 |
Catalogue number CRLP 73638 |
Release date 11 September 2026 |
With Rain, Flowers and New Beginnings, trumpeter, composer and bandleader Maik Krahl presents a deeply personal and beautifully balanced album about growth, change and resilience. Inspired by the idea that no flower blooms without rain, the music reflects the quiet strength that can emerge from difficult seasons, transforming experience into sound with warmth, clarity and lyrical depth.
Krahl’s trumpet playing is marked by a rich, flexible tone, elegant phrasing and a calm emotional intensity. Across the album, he moves through spacious, melodic landscapes, playful rhythmic passages and moments of reflective stillness, always maintaining a sense of openness and natural flow. His compositions are adventurous yet grounded, shaped by contrast, silence and release.
The album features an exceptional ensemble: Constantin Krahmer on piano, Jakob Kühnemann on bass, Fabian Rösch on drums and glockenspiel, and Tamara Lukasheva on vocals. Together, they bring Krahl’s music to life with sensitivity, imagination and a strong collective voice.
From the opening “Blue Dots Descending” to the closing “The Journey of Serenity,” Rain, Flowers and New Beginnings unfolds like a musical meditation on renewal. It is an album about what is endured, what is absorbed, and what eventually blossoms.
Mit Rain, Flowers and New Beginnings präsentiert der Trompeter, Komponist und Bandleader Maik Krahl ein sehr persönliches und fein ausbalanciertes Album über Wachstum, Veränderung und Widerstandskraft. Inspiriert von dem Gedanken, dass keine Blume ohne Regen erblüht, spiegelt die Musik jene stille Stärke wider, die aus schwierigen Zeiten entstehen kann und verwandelt Erfahrung in Klang: warm, klar und von großer lyrischer Tiefe.
Krahls Trompetenspiel zeichnet sich durch einen vollen, wandlungsfähigen Ton, elegante Phrasierung und eine ruhige emotionale Intensität aus. Das Album führt durch weite melodische Räume, spielerische rhythmische Passagen und Momente nachdenklicher Stille, ohne dabei seine Offenheit und seinen natürlichen Fluss zu verlieren. Seine Kompositionen sind abenteuerlustig und zugleich geerdet, geprägt von Kontrasten, Pausen und Auflösung.
Begleitet wird Krahl von einem herausragenden Ensemble: Constantin Krahmer am Klavier, Jakob Kühnemann am Bass, Fabian Rösch am Schlagzeug und Glockenspiel sowie Tamara Lukasheva mit Gesang. Gemeinsam erwecken sie Krahls Musik mit Sensibilität, Fantasie und einer starken kollektiven Stimme zum Leben.
Vom eröffnenden „Blue Dots Descending“ bis zum abschließenden „The Journey of Serenity“ entfaltet sich Rain, Flowers and New Beginnings wie eine musikalische Meditation über Erneuerung. Es ist ein Album über das, was wir durchleben, was wir in uns aufnehmen — und was schließlich daraus erblüht.
Maik Krahl completed his jazz studies at Carl Maria von Weber Hochschule für Musik Dresden and also studied the Master of Music Jazz Improvising Artist at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. His most influencing teachers were Till Brönner, Malte Burba and the American jazz trumpet player Ryan Carniaux.
His first album Decidophobia was released in 2018 with Double Moon / Challenge Records International. His second album Fraction featuring Seamus Blake was released two years later in May 2020 with Challenge Records International. With his own quartet, Krahl plays numerous concerts in all important jazz clubs all over Germany as well as at festivals such as International Jazz Week Burghausen, JazzBaltica, Hildener Jazztage, Trave-Jazz Festival, Jazzfest Bingen or Birdland Radio Jazz Festival. His third album In-Between Flow was released in September 2022 and features world famous guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Maik Krahls new album The Magic of Consistency was released in November 2024 and features Seamus Blake on Saxophone. Besides working as a band leader Krahl is a steady part of the Cologne based Subway Jazz Orchestra. With this big band he recorded five albums: Primal Scream (2015), State of Mind (2016), Richbeck Suite (2018), Still Screaming (2020) and You are the Universe (2023). Krahl joined the WDR Big Band as a guest musician in productions and concerts. Furthermore, he won the HI Five Music Award in 2023 and is a three-time scholarship winner of the Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung – most recently with his quartet.
Concerts brought him to Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Canada, Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia, Senegal, and the US. Traveling the world allowed him to work with musicians like John Clayton, Kurt Elling, Maria Schneider, Benny Green, Jeff Hamilton, Ingrid Jensen, John Ruocco, and Peter Evans.
Since 2026, Maik Krahl has been a professor of jazz trumpet at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg.
Maik Krahl completed his jazz studies at Carl Maria von Weber Hochschule für Musik Dresden and also studied the Master of Music Jazz Improvising Artist at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. His most influencing teachers were Till Brönner, Malte Burba and the American jazz trumpet player Ryan Carniaux.
His first album Decidophobia was released in 2018 with Double Moon / Challenge Records International. His second album Fraction featuring Seamus Blake was released two years later in May 2020 with Challenge Records International. With his own quartet, Krahl plays numerous concerts in all important jazz clubs all over Germany as well as at festivals such as International Jazz Week Burghausen, JazzBaltica, Hildener Jazztage, Trave-Jazz Festival, Jazzfest Bingen or Birdland Radio Jazz Festival. His third album In-Between Flow was released in September 2022 and features world famous guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Maik Krahls new album The Magic of Consistency was released in November 2024 and features Seamus Blake on Saxophone. Besides working as a band leader Krahl is a steady part of the Cologne based Subway Jazz Orchestra. With this big band he recorded five albums: Primal Scream (2015), State of Mind (2016), Richbeck Suite (2018), Still Screaming (2020) and You are the Universe (2023). Krahl joined the WDR Big Band as a guest musician in productions and concerts. Furthermore, he won the HI Five Music Award in 2023 and is a three-time scholarship winner of the Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung – most recently with his quartet.
Concerts brought him to Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Canada, Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia, Senegal, and the US. Traveling the world allowed him to work with musicians like John Clayton, Kurt Elling, Maria Schneider, Benny Green, Jeff Hamilton, Ingrid Jensen, John Ruocco, and Peter Evans.
Since 2026, Maik Krahl has been a professor of jazz trumpet at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg.