Outside of his home country and Austria Stiefel was only known as a sideman until now - because he had just too many jobs to concentrate on his own music.
Now at age 30 he has acquired the necessary experience for his solo career and decided to pursue it. For his own quartet he picked some of the best musicians around: 71-year old Charlie Mariano, one of the last true legends of the saxophone, was chosen for his lyrical warm sound as much as the personal friendship between him and Christoph. Then there are bassman Dieter Ilg and drummer Peter Erskine, a team that has played together for many years in several groups including Randy Brecker's acoustic band. They are a part of the compositions and get a lot of room to show off their own voices in the sensual context of Christoph Stiefel's melodic compositions.
Together the group experiments with influences from many cultures and expands on european and american traditions. On two tracks the group is expanded for a more orchestral sound by a very special guest: the trumpeter and fluegelhorn-man Matthieu Michel, a swiss musician and close friend of Christoph Stiefel.
Like many of the artists on Jazzline (and its sister label Lipstick) Christoph Stiefel will be touring live to support his new album. Click here on tourdates to find out about the exact dates and locations.
When he is not working, Christoph Stiefel likes to relax with his wife Nina and his daughter Monalisa, who is a strong inspiration for him.
The album became available in Europe in January 1995.