By Dick Metcalf, Contemporary Fusion Reviews

Highly creative timely and timeless Richie Beirach Gregor Huebner Duo – CROSSING BORDERS:  This beautiful big-band-oriented release features Richie Beirach’s high-energy piano, with violin from Gregor Huebner (the full player list can be found on the Zoho Records page)… though the clip below is from a couple years back, it will give you clear insight for the totally high-power performances on the song “Snow Leopard”, which is on the new release…

…you’ll want to make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Gregor Huebner’s YouTube channel, so you can witness many more performances.

The 6:04 opener alone, “Rectilinear Paradox” (samples aren’t up yet, as this doesn’t release until 10 May, 2019), makes the purchase of the album well worth it… in fact, this is my favorite “big-band” tune (yet) in 2019… the recording is flawless, to the point that you’ll be able to hear every nuance for every note, especially if you listen to it with headphones, as did I!

The third movement of Piano Concerto No 3, “The Code III Born in Brooklyn”, is certainly among the most exciting high-energy piano pieces I’ve ever listened to… if I were on the voting boards for awards, this tune would WIN, no doubt.

Clocking in at 10:46, the simply titled “Elm” was (hands-down) my favorite performance on the album… beautiful gentle intro leads into a wonderful bass solo, then a highly emotional violin solo from Gregor that will remain with you for months (if not years) to come… at about the 7:21 mark, the song starts to SOAR… wonderful, absolutely wonderful music!

I give this duo a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.99… this is an album that all big-band fans must have in their collections.  Get more information on the Zoho page for the release.        Rotcod Zzaj