Caris Hermes, by Caris Hermes

Caris Hermes

by Caris Hermes

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
limited signed vinyl - (band + guests)

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Package contains:
1 of 2 super rare signed test pressings 180g vinyl
1 original copy 180g vinyl

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1.	Caris Bounce 04:52	info
2.	As 06:32	info
3.	Extraordinary People 06:04	info
4.	Abeyance 06:54	info
5.	A Special Living Soul 06:33	info
6.	Two Souls 05:58	info
7.	Rising 05:39	info
8.	Delighted 07:04	info
9.	Twelve for J. 02:46	info

about

It was long overdue: Caris Hermes presents her first album under her own name! In recent years, she has proven herself many times as a reliable virtuoso sidewoman, appreciated by fellow musicians, but also by the audience, which she impressed again and again with the rhythmic and melodic diversity of her playing. Indeed, her double bass has a voice of its own - and a lot to tell. Whether singing sensitively or humming, whether soulfully grooving or exuberantly walking: Caris Hermes celebrates the entire range of her instrument with refinement and elegance.

Now the time has come: After her short debut EP "Human" four years ago, "Caris Hermes" now follows as CD and LP. The simple album title is as sincere as it is self-confident, hiding far more than just another thumbprint in their own portfolio: The album is a sonic journey as seductive as it is complex, a beguiling, sometimes sonically sparking, sometimes ballad-intimate masterpiece.

Caris Hermes places her trio, which also includes pianist Billy Test and drummer Niklas Walter, at the center. With Andy Haderer, Paul Heller, Stefan Pfeifer-Galilea and Martin Sasse, accomplished guests and long-time companions drop in. Whether in trio, quartet or quintet, Caris Hermes always ignites her luminous world of sound full of references, ramifications and sensitive moods. Everything seems possible for her in the tension between swing, groove, straight ahead and subtle modern jazz.

Beyond the demanding accompaniment form, Caris Hermes presents herself above all as a virtuoso solo instrumentalist. At the beginning, Paul Heller dedicates to her - completely in the spirit and style of Charlie Parker's classic "Billie's Bounce" - his composition "Caris Bounce", a rhythm-emphasized arabesque with a fine dialogue of saxophone and double bass, a wonderfully "spicy" trumpet solo as well as short discords of piano, drums and bass. Already here it is striking how intensively Caris Hermes formulates the melody lines, lets the tones reverberate for a long time, virtually breathing in and out.

This also characterizes her interpretation of Stevie's classic song "As": piano and bass share the elegant melodic arcs, Billy Test gracefully caresses the theme, while the "singing" double bass plumbs its thoughts between buzzing depth and hymn-like brightness, penetrating far into the melodic core of the complex song. As if it was time for a moment of rest after the elegant par force ride "Extraordinary People", Caris Hermes dives into a lake of pure beauty for almost seven minutes with "Abeyance". Only a few notes establish the melody, which in its pearly elegance does not have to hide behind classics like Ellington's "Mount Harissa", Brubeck's "Koto Song" or Yusuf Lateef's "Love Theme from Spartacus". At the end, the eventful, perfectly balanced album culminates in "Twelve for J.", a song with which Caris Hermes bows deeply to her mentor John Goldsby and at the same time once again brings her own mature creative art to the point.

Thus, the new album is far more than "just" a beautiful snapshot, namely a listening experience that lingers for a long time. How did Stevie Wonder sing in "As"? "Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky / Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream..."

credits

released September 2, 2022

Caris Hermes — Bass
Billy Test — Piano
Niklas Walter — Drums

Special Guests
Paul Heller — Tenor Saxophone
Stefan Pfeifer-Galilea — Alto Saxophone
Andy Haderer — Trumpet
Martin Sasse — Piano

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about

Caris Hermes Cologne, Germany

Caris Hermes is a multi-award jazz bassist graduated from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Cologne. Her debut EP “Human“ was released in 2018 where she claimed a new role as a quartet bandleader at the sold out PENG-Festival in Essen. As a sidewoman, she currently performs 150 domestic and international shows per year. ... more