Nina Feldgrill Nina Feldgrill

• 1 Turn Left 05:55
• 2 Nobody Wins for Long 06:29
• 3 Four Views 06:02
• 4 Young and Old 04:39
• 5 Shadows 04:02
• 6 Blue 03:48
• 7 Hope in Despair 05:28
• 8 Dear Master 06:09
• 9 One Day 05:22
• Total Runtime 47:54

Info for Nina Feldgrill

Quinton Records presents the third album of JAZZ CATS OF TOMORROW: NINA FELDGRILL. This album edition is a cooperation between ORF Ö1 and the JAM MUSIC LAB PRIVATE UNIVERSITY with Quinton Records and presents the winners of the Ö1 Jazz Scholarship.

Bassist Nina Feldgrill cuts a commanding figure: diminutive woman, six string electric, big sound. She makes an impression: ADVENTUROUS AND ELEMENTAL.

On Jazz Cats of Tomorrow Vol 3, the latest entry in Quinton Records’s series of ORF Ö1 scholarship alumni, Nina presents a pastiche of her talents as player, composer, bandleader. She showcases three separate groups, each with a nuanced approach to music making - different configurations, steadied by her foundational presence.

Though steeped in the jazz tradition, one hears her special affinity for stylistic strains prominently heard in Weather Report - electric keys, vamps, grooves, meter shifts, assertive blowing. She owes much to Jaco Pastorius, seamlessly transitioning between front and back, artfully improvising, stamping her personality with interpretive flair. Jaco’s compositional know-how is not lost on her. Five band members contribute here as writers.

It’s a take-charge presentation, evincing that Nina is mature beyond her years. This comes as no surprise, really, given the surround-sound of her youth. Her father is noted Austrian bassist WERNER FELDGRILL, who also appears on the record. Their choreography as bass partners adds layers of richness, yet also reveals the presence of shared DNA. It’s a fabled tale of acorns, trees, mentors, protégés, bloodlines.

AS A CREATIVE THINKER, Nina is unbound by jazz category. She freely explores moods from dulcet to propulsive, playful to dextrous. She handles serpentine lines effortlessly, and loves navigating tricky rhythmic turns. Her sympathetic support behind vocals is a welcomed surprise.

Perhaps most impressive is Nina’s sure-handed authority. She is a clear example of the stellar talent populating the jazz soundscape, one that Ö1 and JAM routinely canvas while searching for talent deserving wider definition. Their goals, simply stated, are search, identify, nurture. To that end, mission accomplished.

She provides proof that talent, plus education, plus collegial support can enrich us all. Nina Feldgrill is a leading new voice. Her scholarship audition showed us. This record seals the deal. (Jeff Levenson, NYC, March 2025)

Robert Unterköfler, saxophones
Erik Asatrian, keyboards
Nina Feldgrill, bass
Simon Springer, drums

Nina Feldgrill
is an electric bass player, living in Vienna. She holds a bachelor degree from the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien (MUK). At the moment Nina is pursuing her masters at the JAM Music Lab Private University. Since 2022 she has been teaching at the Joe Zawinul Musikschule Gumpoldskirchen.

She is the leader / co-leader of projects like the fusion quartet river (with Erik Asatrian, Simon Springer, Robert Unterköfler) and the duo-project Unterköfler/Feldgrill. Furthermore, she is part of projects like Wind’s Whispers, Planet Yoni, 5×5, Raphael Krenn Quartet, etc. She has been honored to collaborate with musicians such as Thomas Kugi, Martin Wöss, Herwig Gradischnig, Oliver Gattringer, Werner Feldgrill, Christian Ziegelwanger, Matheus Jardim, Robin Gadermaier und Urs Hager.

For her work she has been honored with the Oe1 Jazz Scholarship (2024), as well as the 2nd place at the Austrian Jazz Award in the category „Best Newcomer“ (2024).

This album contains no booklet.