Motema

German Jazz Prize winners Shuteen Erdenebaatar (a Motéma artist and a Downbeat 2025 Critics Poll Rising Star Artist of the Year) and Nils Kugelmann (a celebrated ACT Music artist) converge on Under the Same Stars, a captivating duo album blending jazz, classical, and cinematic music into a poetic and thrilling musical adventure. This exquisite follow-up to Erdenebaatar’s breakout debut, Rising Sun, pairs her evocative piano with Kugelmann’s rare contra alto clarinet, creating an intimate and unexpected sonic palette. As partners in both life and sound, their natural chemistry has been honed through over 300 performances since they first met in 2020, including more than 100 concerts across Europe and Asia in the past year alone. The album features original compositions by both artists. Highlights include the luminous “Mirror Under Water,” the joyous “Tiny Wonders,” and “What Will Remain,” a Kugelmann ballad that features the haunting sound of the Morin Khuur (Mongolia’s iconic horsehead fiddle), as well as Erdenebaatar’s gorgeous “Whispers Beyond Time”, featuring special guest Jakob Manz on alto recorder. Drawing inspiration from celestial mythology of Erdenebaatar’s Mongolian homeland, Under the Same Stars is the second volume in a trilogy Erdenbaatar is releasing via the Grammy-winning Motéma Music label. It showcases two remarkable young artists whose musical connection is both intuitive and profound.

Django Festival Allstars: EVOLUTION is a dazzling, high-octane audiophile studio album of striking new gypsy jazz compositions. Celebrating 25 years of the historic Django Reinhardt NY Festival—where the Allstars first united in 2002—the album captures one of jazz’s most exhilarating ensembles at full power. The group both honors and expands the legacy of Reinhardt and Grappelli’s “Gypsy Swing,” the sound that electrified Paris in the 1930’s and ’40’s and is now enjoying a global resurgence. Core members Samson Schmitt (guitar), Ludovic Beier (accordion/accordina), and Pierre Blanchard (violin) shine not only as from within this astonishingly cohesive quintet, but also as virtuosic jazz soloists and composers of the highest order. EVOLUTION is more than a celebration—it’s a statement of artistic growth, a testament to enduring legacy, and a thrilling glimpse into the future of gypsy jazz.

A Lovesome Thing is the one-and-only recorded collaboration between jazz greats Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel, which took place live at the famed Philharmonie de Paris on September 5, 2012. The two play as if with one mind. Geri spoke often of her desire to do a studio recording to document the ‘flow and freedom” she experienced playing with Kurt that night in Paris. Unfortunately, we lost her before that date ever materialized, but fortunately, that concert was recorded. Produced by Kurt Rosenwinkel and Motema’s Jana Herzen, A Lovesome Thing is warmly dedicated to Geri’s memory. This album is truly a ‘lovesome thing’ for fans of Geri, of Kurt, and of piano and guitar jazz fans at large.