Jung Stratmann Quartet – Confluence (self-released, 2025)
The Jung Stratmann Quartet has release Confluence, a five-track contemporary jazz album recorded in New York City with guests Steve Cardenas on guitar and Marko Djordjevic on drums. The project expands the long-running duo of Korean pianist Sujae Jung and German double bassist Wolf Robert Stratmann into a quartet setting. The result is nature-inspired writing and focus on inventive, lyrical, interactive improvisation.
Jung and Stratmann draw on experience across genres and collaborations in both Europe and the United States. They do this by building compositions that reference personal influences as much as landscapes and journeys. The new album features both reimagined material and first-time recordings. In essence, it is a meeting point of international, cross-generational, and stylistically open-minded players.
Confluence was captured in an exclusive live performance at Second Take Sound Studio in Manhattan, a recently opened space owned by singer, songwriter, and poet Reed Turchi. Engineer Jason Rostowski recorded the session in front of a small invited audience. Ken Rich of Grand Street Studios in Brooklyn handled recording, mixing, and mastering, giving the release a warm, high-fidelity sound with the immediacy of a live set.
The album opens with a quartet version of Jung’s “Tree Huggers,” originally the title track of the duo’s EP Tree Huggers. Stratmann describes hearing the playback as “emotional” and highlights how each musician’s personality “whirls together in such a graceful way.” The program continues with “Summer Whale,” a 5/4 piece that first emerged as a simple vamp and evolved into a narrative about a blue whale’s migration across the Atlantic, crafted further by lyrics from Icelandic singer Björg Blöndal (not included on this recording).
Stratmann’s ballad “This Wine Tastes Very Dry” appears in an expressive performance that underlines the duo’s affinity for flexible time feel, with Cardenas and Djordjevic contributing roomy, delicate interplay.
“The Pull” follows as a more upbeat homage to Stratmann’s early electric bass heroes and to New York City’s nightlife, introduced by a Jaco-influenced bass line that gestures to the magnetic draw of the city’s scene.
The album closes with a trio version of Jung’s ballad “After Sunset,” a reflective piece inspired by the atmosphere of a South Korean coastline at dusk, a final, tasty dessert-like course to the program.