Tom Gaebel and His Trio

A Swinging Affair! The American Songbook and Beyond

Tom Gaebel has always been considered a man for the big stage. He sings the great songs of jazz and swing and he sings them with the great instrumentations: Big Band or orchestra.

This is how Tom Gaebel has been known and loved ever since he was catapulted into the German music landscape in one fell swoop by Stefan Raab's "TV Total" in 2005. Back then, as a young crooner, he followed in the footsteps of his great idol and sang his way into the hearts of his audience, who have now accompanied him for 16 years, eight albums and countless concerts at home and abroad.

His repertoire has grown steadily since then: Tom Gaebel has dedicated himself to many other classics besides Sinatra, has sung the praises of James Bond and recorded two Christmas albums - and last but not least, he has written his very own songs. Songs that reflect his musical passion for the past, for a time when music was as elegant as the musicians who played it: The era of the "Great American Songbook"!

This refers to the heyday of American popular music from the 1930s to the 1950s, when famous songwriters such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer created all the famous classics that made Frank Sinatra and his predecessors such as Bing Crosby stars. Songs that were adapted by jazz greats like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, songs that were and are still being reinterpreted by the greatest singers from Ella Fitzgerald to Nat King Cole to Tony Bennett. And around these songs Tom Gaebel now presents his brand new project:

Unusually intimate - accompanied only by a trio consisting of piano, bass and drums - Tom Gaebel sings and swings his way through this large and great repertoire, that you immediately notice, here is a heart's desire come true! "For me, these songs are the starting point of everything I have to say as a singer. Whether "Night And Day", "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" or "My Funny Valentine", these are the songs that my idols sang and with which I became a singer. And I'm finally allowing myself the great fun of dedicating an entire evening to this music!"

No small challenge, because where the best of the best have been serving themselves for decades, the bar is naturally very high. And also the deliberately sought minimal lineup with no place to hide - all this can already seem intimidating.

But Tom Gaebel knows what matters: "The smaller the band, the better the individual musicians have to be. And I have the great fortune to know three young gentlemen behind me who can play this music authentically like very few musicians - even internationally. Who not only understand it, but who breathe it and bring it to life!". Jerry Lu on piano, Stefan Rey on double bass and Niklas Walter on drums are each absolutely exceptional talents in their own right, and yet at the same time they can stand behind a sound idea together and take a step back when necessary.

"Accompanying a singer perfectly, supporting him and not overplaying him, putting the music in the foreground, not your own ego - that's not so easy with so much talent. And the guys do it with a naturalness that is simply amazing," enthuses Tom Gaebel.

And indeed: The trio swings and grooves with such a joy of playing that one can only cheer: This is exactly how this music has to sound! The sound carpet is thus perfectly rolled out for the exceptional singer from Cologne, and he also immediately gets into top form. It is simply the incredible ease with which Tom Gaebel sings these songs. Which results from the skill and which distinguishes him from so many others, with whom the art seems heavy and exhausting.

And that's exactly what it must never be for "Dr. Swing": "After all, I don't sing for myself, but for my audience - and whoever gives me his time should have a nice evening and feel very well entertained!". Here, too, you can feel them again, the role models from America: because that art can be entertainment and that entertainment can be art, that's what they all demonstrated back then, in the era of the "Great American Songbook"!

Runtime: Sun, 28/04/2024 to Wed, 07/08/2024

Next date: Tom Gaebel & His Trio - A Swinging Affair

• Date Tuesday, 21/May/2024 20:00
• Venue Die Wühlmäuse
• Address Pommernallee 2-4, 14052 Berlin-Charlottenburg