The Heinz Sauer 75th anniversary album 

On December 25, 2007 saxophone legend Heinz Sauer, one of the cornerstones of German jazz, will turn 75. Sauer is not only one of the most influential players of the German post-war period; he is one of the great individualistic stylists on the world scene and a master of the tenor saxophone. Out of great respect for his work ACT is releasing a 75th anniversary album, The Journey. The CD contains a cross-section of his works, with 15 of the most important recordings from 1964 through today. Many of these are musical gems that have been stored deep within various archives and now brought to the light of day. At the same time the album offers a view of more than 40 years of German musical history – lived through by one of the greats of German jazz. 

Sauer combines the warmth and lyricism of Ben Webster with the experimental eccentricities of Archie Shepp and the rhythmic variety of Sonny Rollins, but in the end, the tone is his own. And yet perhaps it’s not just his tone that distinguishes Heinz Sauer from all the others. It is his stance, his continual struggle with this tone. Expressive is the magic word that best defines Heinz Sauer’s music. He is uncompromising in his search for the essential, the connection between standards and new sounds, between form and function. The intensive improvisation process involved resembles a conversation: Heinz Sauer is the great story teller of German jazz. This is not a secret, as Sauer received the German jazz prize in 1999, and two years ago the critic Konrad Heidkamp surmised that, “had Heinz Sauer lived in New York, he would be standing on the jazz saxophone immortals”. However, such praise has been late in coming. 

“This 75th-birthday retrospective for German tenor saxophonist Sauer is a revelation. Feel your jaw hit the floor, for this is as deep and noir as jazz gets.”

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY (UK)