Natalia Mateo

Commission

The Berlin-based Polish singer Natalia Mateo has explored an elegant intersection of pop, rock, Slavic traditions, and jazz in her recordings for the ACT label, so she’s the perfect candidate to organize this unique tribute to the great American soul singer and songwriter Bill Withers, who died in March. She’s enlisted some of Berlin’s finest vocalists – Christine Seraphin, Erik Leuthäuser, Laura Winkler, and Olga Tabitha – to join her in crafting new arrangements for ten of his most indelible songs including “Use Me” and “Let Me in Your Life”, spanning his entire career, all of which impart a rare degree of empathy, romance, and grace. Withers sang his material with a striking clarity and directness, which affords his interpreters the option to retain his subtle delivery or to reimagine his timeless melodies with something deeply personal. The performances will feature a superb, elastic trio with pianist Julia Kadel, bassist Carlos Bica, and drummer Lukas Akintaya – a group of musicians truly capable of bringing the required sensitivity and elasticity demanded by the songs of Withers.

This concert is part of the To Jazzfest erlin Radio Edition