Mo' Blow - Gimme The Boots (2013)

Germany is not exactly known as the home of soul and funk, but after you’ve heard Mo’Blow from Berlin you will think differently. The quartet, which is described by the press as one of the hottest club bands in Europe, has the groove in their blood. With 'For those about to Funk', their debut album on ACT, Mo’ Blow is released in the Young German Jazz series because they are refreshingly new, exciting and unconventional, with that certain something and of an international calibre.

It was a stay abroad that gave birth to the band – Mo’ Blow’s mastermind and saxophonist Felix F. Falk studied in Liverpool in 2002. Not only did he get to know the spirit of the ‘Fab Four’ but was also infected by funk music, and while there he founded the original line-up of a band called ‘Sahnefunk’. After returning to Berlin in 2003 he recruited new members and together they renamed the band Mo’ Blow. With bass player Tobias Fleischer, who had also studied in Liverpool, drummer André Seidel and pianist Matti Klein, the regular line-up was complete. Their musical spectrum was expanding more and more into jazz and soul. They have worked hard to earn their reputation as a first-class live act through tours of Germany, England, Latvia, Belgium, Russia, Norway, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Slovakia and France. They have appeared at festivals like the Jazz Festival Kaliningrad (Russia), Jazz Festival Liburnia (Croatia) or Jazzopen Hamburg (Germany). Their first CD was released in 2008 on the Neuklang / Bauer Studios label.

Their performance at the Berliner Jazz & Blues Award in the same year was so convincing that they were elected winners by both the jury and the audience. On this basis it is no wonder that Nils Landgren, who together with his Funk Unit has been the benchmark artist for big grooves in Europe for decades, became interested when an old friend drew his attention to Mo’ Blow. After meeting the band, he soon decided not only to do a guest appearance on their next album, but also to produce it. In November 2010 the recording was done at the P1 studio in East Berlin together with guests like Torsten Goods (git), Magnus Lindgren (flute) or Magnum Coltrane Price (vocals). Also live Mo' Blow has worked with special guests like Gunter Hampel (vibes), Anthony Ormesher (git) or David Friedman (vibes).

If you listen to Mo' Blow it becomes clear that these young German jazz musicians can keep up with the funk elite in their own exciting way. Falk’s original saxophone hooks are outstanding, and together with Klein’s vibrant performance on the Rhodes piano, Fleischer’s full bass and Seidel’s precise drumming, the quartet simply burst with energy. With a clear eye for detail and love of authenticity, Mo’ Blow spices up its unique sound of jazz, funk and groove. In 2011 they won the Future Sound Award. Mo’ Blow puts jazz into motion and shows how energetic Young German Jazz can be. (ACT)