Highly recommended—this is a great album and a trumpet & flugelhorn sound to die for!
—Kathy Parsons
Jazz Ballads is the fourth album by Gerhard Daum that I’ve reviewed since 2017, and each album has been a surprise—from solo piano to guitar to ensemble and now to trumpet. Daum’s trumpet is the lead instrument on all of the tracks along with an ensemble that includes piano, flugelhorn, guitars and MIDI bass—all played by Daum—and drums/percussion performed by Adam Nussbaum.
Daum composed and arranged all fourteen tracks and the album was recorded in Cologne and Berlin, Germany. Daum calls the style of this album “instrumental storytelling” which meshes well with his well-established career as an award-winning film music composer for US and European films and TV. The music is built around beautiful melodies and “the sonic identity of the lead instrument, the trumpet, reminiscent of legendary jazz standards and performers.”
By blending elements of jazz with neoclassical and cinematic music styles, Daum has effectively created a sound that is both classic and new. Most of the music is performed at a relaxed tempo and has the feeling of a well-seasoned ensemble of musicians who play together often. Well, I guess “they” do play together often, but “they” is mostly Gerhard Daum himself. This is a great album and a fascinating project and a trumpet & flugelhorn sound to die for!
Early in his life Gerhard learned to play the trumpet, performing in marching bands. In his teens he focused on the guitar and piano, subsequently studying classical music and Jazz at the universities of Karlsruhe, Germany and Graz, Austria, and later on teaching guitar and improvisation at the popular Jazz & Rock Schule Freiburg. Performing with internationally acclaimed musicians and touring with his own Jazz/Rock Quartet throughout Europe initialized his passion for composing and blending multicultural influences in his works.
Accepting an offer to work at the film music department of the Bavarian Broadcasting Station brought him to Munich. This was a great chance to work and communicate with directors and producers in finding the appropriate music for their films. The BR Radio/Film archive is an invaluable source of inspiration regarding film music. Gerhard spent a great amount of time analyzing and listening to scores from Rota, Waxman, Herrmann, Barry, Morricone and Williams among others. Multiple scores for TV films (Tatort), event movies and TV-series (Forsthaus Falkenau) followed due to his multifaceted background, additionally attracting offers to compose commercial and trailer music for well-known companies.
In order to further expand his knowledge and experience, Gerhard moved to Hollywood in the late nineties, taking classes in Music Ethnology at CSUN and the film music master class at UCLA. Working in Los Angeles over a decade, he composed scores for numerous independent movies as well as studio productions like Sony’s “Felon”, starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff. Films with his score won the New York Film Fest Silver Medal and the Los Angeles Indie Fest Film Award; for his score “Every Child Counts” he was rewarded with the NTVA Music Composition Gold Award.
Today, Gerhard lives and works in Berlin. The vibrant and diverse city fuels him in the newest chapter of his exciting quest to achieve musical integrity.
Gerhard Daum believes that the excellence of a film music score is based on craftsmanship and musical vision. Craftsmanship ensures that the score supports the structure and the function of the film, the vision touches “the subconscious”, enhancing the psychological and emotional spirit of the characters in the movie.
Daum composed and arranged all fourteen tracks and the album was recorded in Cologne and Berlin, Germany. Daum calls the style of this album “instrumental storytelling” which meshes well with his well-established career as an award-winning film music composer for US and European films and TV. The music is built around beautiful melodies and “the sonic identity of the lead instrument, the trumpet, reminiscent of legendary jazz standards and performers.”
By blending elements of jazz with neoclassical and cinematic music styles, Daum has effectively created a sound that is both classic and new. Most of the music is performed at a relaxed tempo and has the feeling of a well-seasoned ensemble of musicians who play together often. Well, I guess “they” do play together often, but “they” is mostly Gerhard Daum himself. This is a great album and a fascinating project and a trumpet & flugelhorn sound to die for!
About Gerhard Daum
The award winning film music composer Gerhard Daum writes music for US and European films and TV, successfully blending the musical spirit of the two continents to create a fresh and unique voice.Early in his life Gerhard learned to play the trumpet, performing in marching bands. In his teens he focused on the guitar and piano, subsequently studying classical music and Jazz at the universities of Karlsruhe, Germany and Graz, Austria, and later on teaching guitar and improvisation at the popular Jazz & Rock Schule Freiburg. Performing with internationally acclaimed musicians and touring with his own Jazz/Rock Quartet throughout Europe initialized his passion for composing and blending multicultural influences in his works.
Accepting an offer to work at the film music department of the Bavarian Broadcasting Station brought him to Munich. This was a great chance to work and communicate with directors and producers in finding the appropriate music for their films. The BR Radio/Film archive is an invaluable source of inspiration regarding film music. Gerhard spent a great amount of time analyzing and listening to scores from Rota, Waxman, Herrmann, Barry, Morricone and Williams among others. Multiple scores for TV films (Tatort), event movies and TV-series (Forsthaus Falkenau) followed due to his multifaceted background, additionally attracting offers to compose commercial and trailer music for well-known companies.
In order to further expand his knowledge and experience, Gerhard moved to Hollywood in the late nineties, taking classes in Music Ethnology at CSUN and the film music master class at UCLA. Working in Los Angeles over a decade, he composed scores for numerous independent movies as well as studio productions like Sony’s “Felon”, starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff. Films with his score won the New York Film Fest Silver Medal and the Los Angeles Indie Fest Film Award; for his score “Every Child Counts” he was rewarded with the NTVA Music Composition Gold Award.
Today, Gerhard lives and works in Berlin. The vibrant and diverse city fuels him in the newest chapter of his exciting quest to achieve musical integrity.
Gerhard Daum believes that the excellence of a film music score is based on craftsmanship and musical vision. Craftsmanship ensures that the score supports the structure and the function of the film, the vision touches “the subconscious”, enhancing the psychological and emotional spirit of the characters in the movie.
