Eva Kruse’s preceding albums In Water and On the Mo have both received loads of praise and recognition.In 2015 and 2017 she was honoured with Jazz-Echo awards (the German equivalent of a Grammy) for best national bassplayer. M. Heinzelmann described in NDR’s Jazz-Album of the week that: “The Oboe is very rarely heard in jazz: Its pure sound opens up the sonic landscape and together with the saxophone it takes the listener on a journey into unknown territories”. This spirit of breaking new ground characterizes the whole of the album On the Mo. Eva Kruse plays to her strengths, the poetry, the grooves and the freedom, and together with her band they explore across boundries.

New Legend is the name of her new album. Eva Kruse and her band recorded it at Svenska Grammofonstudion, Gothenburg in March of 2020. Over the years the quintet has grown together beautifully to produce an exciting and charismatic organism of sound. Vibrating with presence, close interactions and sharp nuances, the different instrumental personalities are clearer and more well balanced than ever. Tjadina Wake-Walker’s classically schooled toning in subtle improvisations and Uwe Steinmetz’s pirouettes on soprano and alto saxophones interact and intertwine to a degree where it becomes difficult to seperate the two. In other passages the sensitive saxophonist develops powerful climaxes that contrast the poetic surroundings. Like Steinmetz, pianist Christian Jormin also plays churches frequently but his sound is quite different from the others as it is often seasoned with moods from rootsy traditional Scandinavian folk spirituals. For those not already familiar with drummer Eric Schaefer here is a golden opportunity to make acquaintance with this master of rhythm and sound. Eva has played together with Schaefer for many years in the highly acknowledged pianotrio [em] that she founded in 2003.

The title of the album, New Legend can be interpreted as “new story”. Kruse’s written material reflects her private everyday surroundings and all that comes with it including political and social movements of life. “With my music I tell stories about different themes in my life that lie close at heart. For example, these last couple of years we’ve had two refugees in our home. Trying to create a platform from which one theoretically could build a future has been an inner journey of hope, fear, love and despair. Both musically and politically, I’ve got a lot to say nowadays.”