Personnel:
Hans Luchs (g), Daniel Berkey (ts), Mike King (p), Simón Willson (b), Adam Arruda (d)
Reference: FSNT-695
Bar code: 8427328436953
Artur Moral, All About Jazz (January 24, 2025)
"The third record by NYC-based guitarist Hans Luchs arrives six years after his praiseworthy—but largely overlooked—sophomore release, Until Next Time (Self Produced, 2018). As with that album, the Chicagoan embraces the well-known motto of "less is more," distilling his guitar expertise and writing talent into less than forty minutes across eight new original compositions."
Continue reading, https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-spell-is-broken-hans-luchs-fresh-sound-records
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"Guitarist Hans Luchs was originally based in Chicago before relocating to New York. While his The Spell Is Broken has been released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label, Luchs has actually appeared on several recordings since 2014 including his 2015 release Time Never Pauses.
Hans Luchs has his own sound on guitar and, as he shows on his eight originals that comprise The Spell Is Broken, he writes harmonically advanced pieces that swing while avoiding being predictable. For this project he is joined by pianist Mike King, bassist Simon Willson, drummer Adam Arruda and, on four of the selections, tenor-saxophonist Daniel Berkey.
Among the performances are the melodic “Azizam,” a swinging and rather joyous “Rostam,” the moody and introspective “Incongruent Thoughts,” and a happily funky “Hang Hostage.” To their credit, Luchs and pianist King do not sound like any of their predecessors. The music overall is a good example of jazz’s modern mainstream, not fitting too tightly into any obvious categories. While none of the originals are probably destined to become standards in the future, they have their own chord changes, cover a variety of moods, and keep one guessing a bit.
The Spell Is Broken, which is available from www.freshsoundrecords.com, is a fine introduction to the playing and writing of Hans Luchs."
—Scott Yanow (March, 2025)
Los Angeles Jazz Scene
