Live In Leverkusen 2023 – Nighthawks

A fantastic live recording from November 12, 2023, at the Leverkusen Jazz Days – Festival, influential German artists in the nu-jazz scene (Rainer Winterschladen, Dal Martino, Jörg Lenhardt, Jürgen Dahmen, and Thomas Alkier) – Nighthawks’ first studio album, “Metro Bar,” immediately reached No 3 on the German jazz charts – in 2005, 2011, and 2013, the band received the German Jazz Award in Gold – all members of the band play or have played with other artists such as Klaus Lage, Helge Schneider, Manfred Schoof, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Pee Wee Ellis, and Carla Bley – Nighthawks promises an audiophile listening experience.

The Nighthawks’ music combines elements of jazz, dancefloor, and chill-out, spiced with a dash of progressive rock. The band is known for cool grooves and atmospheric arrangements.

The band takes its name from the painting of the same name by American artist Edward Hopper, who is considered the most famous representative of American Realism. The painting is regarded as the epitome of urban loneliness and emotional alienation. This is exactly what the Nighthawks’ music conveys when the band members give voice to their own stories from the big city: harmonious, sometimes wistful, laid-back, jazzy, and above all, always stylish.

You can experience this for yourself at their concert during the Leverkusen Jazz Days on November 12, 2023. The Nighthawks’ concert is an exceptional moment—though with this band, that’s anything but an exception. We watch and listen as the five musicians—trumpeter Rainer Winterschladen, bassist Dal Martino, guitarist Jörg Lenhardt, keyboardist Jürgen Dahmen, and drummer Thomas Alkier—play, and every note springs from their very own intentions and life stories. And yet they allow us to let go, to immerse ourselves, and—in the special magic of the moment—to forget who is actually playing. There are five musicians on stage, bound together by a long shared history. This deep intimacy is audible and palpable in every note, every chord, and every melodic progression. Through an almost mystical connection, they succeed in evoking a sense of closeness and empathy—both on stage and on a recording in both image and sound.