The "FPS Bigband", founded by alumni of the Weilheim high school, presents an impressive debut CD.
Weilheim
- The great work the music teacher Arthur Lehmann has been doing with the big bands of the Weilheim grammar school for over 30 years can be heard and seen regularly in the district town - if a pandemic is not raging - thank God.
The persistent enthusiasm of the amazing number of up-and-coming musicians is proof enough of this.
And for those who like it official: Weilheim's big bands are practically subscribed to first places in the state competition “Jugend jazzt”.
So even if no further proof is needed - here's another one: a brand new big band CD that doesn't come directly from Weilheim, on which there is nothing from Weilheim, but in which there is a lot of Weilheim.
It is the debut CD of the “FPS Bigband”, in which ambitious young musicians from all over Germany, Austria and Switzerland play together.
And you can imagine: Of course there are also some “old” Weilheimers among them.
Read here who will receive the Weilheim Culture Prize 2020.
The formation was founded five years ago under the name “WM Bigband Collective”.
The initiators were drummer Felix Wolf from Weilheim and bassist Leopold Helgert from Peißenberg, they had brought together other alumni of the local high school big band as well as members of the state youth jazz orchestra.
The premiere concert was also in Weilheim, in February 2016 in the Oberlandschulen hall.
In the meantime, the “after-school big band” has become a professional formation with a permanent line-up, which has been renamed “FPS Bigband” and “has grown together musically and personally over the years”, as Felix Wolf explains.
In addition to him and Helgert, there are other Weilheimers with Max Arsava (piano) and Max Hirth (saxophone).
Because the members, including many music students, live all over the German-speaking area, they usually meet twice a year to rehearse and implement projects.
One of them was a feature program with Markus Harm as saxophone soloist and Alexander Bühl as conductor and arranger - and this has now also resulted in the CD.
In spring and autumn 2019 the “FPS Bigband” was on tour with Harm and Bühl, giving twelve concerts all over Germany, from Stuttgart to Weilheim to Berlin.
The performances were recorded, the CD “First Summit” is a “best of” of them.
There are six pieces on it, none shorter than seven minutes, and they are all a celebration for friends of energetic and at the same time crystal-clear big band sounds: They are all standards - from Kenny Wheeler's ballad "Everbody's song but my own" to Cole Porter's classics “All of you” through to Kenny Barron's driving “Voyage” - which Bühl arranged especially for the “FPS Bigband”.
The recordings come from concerts in Herrsching, Berlin and Heilbronn.
Felix Wolf is not only responsible for the percussion, but also for the recording, mixing, mastering of the CD.
"First Summit" is literally the "first summit" - and it really makes you want more.
One can only hope that these young musicians - for whom the corona pandemic ruined so many plans and continued to ruin - will soon be able to play together again live and give concerts.
Because there are a few more peaks to climb.
The CD
the “FPS Bigband” is available in the Lesbar bookstore in Weilheim - for 15 euros.
More information at www.fps-bigband.com.
This Weilheim musician also released a new CD in 2020.