SHAKE STEW
"What I heard blew me away. Captivating rhythms, melting brass, hypnotic funk-beat-swing-afro-jazz-rock-rhythm-and-something. I was glued to my seat and could barely get up. […] Meanwhile I know that other listeners had similar initiation experiences; something comes from this band that is new and special - and very attractive." Die Zeit, September 2018
Since their debut The Golden Fang their high energy mixture of hypnotic afrobeat and jazz grooves has made SHAKE STEW enormously successful not only on home turf but across Europe. Led by rising star bassist Lukas Kranzelbinder they quickly became one of the hottest live acts on the circuit, while the impact of their second album Rise and Rise again (featuring Shabaka Hutchings) enabled them to spread their unique sound further afield, including an extensive tour of Canada, Mexico, Morocco and stand out shows at prestigious festivals like Montreal, Rochester and North Sea Jazz Festival. Shake Stew released their third studio album Gris Gris in November 2019. Not content to do anything by halves (their first single was 19 minutes long), Gris Gris is a double album of what they do best: A high-octane mix of fiery jazz and trance-like groove injections combined with mysterious soundscapes and spiritual free jazz eruptions.
The album was soon awarded with the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik" for the first quarter of 2020 and was ranked as #1 album of 2019 by Jazzthing Magazine in their annual "Best of" - beating the likes of Brad Mehldau, Michael Kiwanuka and Terri Lyne Carrington! Further reactions included a front page Coverstory in Jazzthetik Magazine as well as praise from The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Jazzwise, Concerto, AllaboutJazz, and many more.
