Daniel Stelter is a guitarist who is unrivalled in his artistic diversity, brilliance and activity. With his inimitable, unagitated yet memorable style, Daniel Stelter has long since made a name for himself on the German jazz scene.
His new album ‘Wooden Songs’ tunes up sounds that feel very close to nature. Fifteen tracks, all one-takes, inspired by sound, scent, feel and the almost infinite nuances of colour, Stelter dedicates his seventh album to the organic material “wood”. An atmospheric reflection that takes us through forests and vineyards across the Alps to the Bosporus. Stelter’s classically-influenced, almost vocal playing on the nylon string guitar, Tommy Baldu‘s characteristic drums and percussion sound and Michael Paucker‘s acoustic bass communicate with each other – like the trees of the forest – and form a natural language of their own, combining to create a timeless sound. The vocalists Menna Mulugeta and Fola Dada, add a new narrative full of confidence and bridge-building statements to the previously heard instrumental tracks ‘Common Ground’ and ‘Palatina Dawn’with their soulful voices and powerful thoughts.
Daniel Stelter:
On his musical path as a solo artist and composer, Stelter has already released five albums under his own name. He is also a sought-after sideman for numerous studio and live productions. He has worked with greats such as Wolfgang Haffner, Lulo Reinhardt, Till Brönner, Annette Louisan, Laith Al-Deen, Seven, Jan Delay, Ringsgwandl and many others from a wide variety of genres. He has been touring in a trio with David Orlowsky and Tommy Baldu since the release of the album ‘Petrichor’. His artistic career was characterised by a European tour with jazz legend Al Jarreau in 2016 and tours in the USA as a duo with Lulo Reinhardt in 2018 and 2019. They released three albums together. In 2017, he recorded the album ‘Wolfgang Haffner – Kind of Spain’ (ACT) together with Jan Lundgren, Lars Danielsson, Sebastian Studnitzky and Christopher Dell. In 2019, he organised the first international guitar festival in his home town of Ingelheim, which took place for the sixth time in 2024 and has since hosted a large number of renowned guitarists. From 2014 to 2018, Stelter also played guitar on the popular TV programme ‘Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert’ and increasingly established himself as a sought-after studio guitarist. During this time, he recorded albums for numerous artists. Since 2020, Stelter has been a coach and band member in the TV programme ‘Dein Song’ on Kika. In 2021, he joined the band Heavytones, with whom he regularly appeared in the new edition of ‘TV Total’. He is currently performing with the Heavytones in Stefan Raab‘s new show ‘DGHNDM’.
To the current album “Pocket Full of Tales”:
WDR3 Album of the Week (March 06 – 10, 2023)
“Pocket Full of Tales manages (…) a balancing act between different sound worlds.” – Jazzthetik
“Above all, Daniel Stelter shows us with his versatile, partly acoustic partly electric playing, why he is such a sought-after guitarist between the worlds of jazz and pop.” – hr2
About the album “Begegnung”:
“Vielsaitig” SWR2
“Daniel Stelter is a jack-of-all-trades on the guitar” Jazzthing
“the guitaristic dominates and the accompaniment [is] with few exceptions very restrained, tasteful, but calculatedly serving the music” Jazzthetik
“The Wiesbaden guitarist starts the year with a brilliant album” Concerto Magazin
“Sovereign in all saddles […] one of Germany’s most versatile and best guitarists” – Akustik Gitarre
“Daniel Stelter […] shows himself to be a man of quiet, restrained sounds with a wide stylistic range. Stelter’s music avoids everything loud, shouty, vehement. […] On the twelve titles of the disc he prefers small instrumentations. In twos, threes, fours or fives the musical exchange takes place – and it is so intense that you only notice the small instrumentation when you look in the booklet for the people involved in each track.” Rondo Magazine
“Virtuosic across stylistic boundaries” Mannheimer Morgen
“Daniel Stelter moves confidently between jazz, pop and classical music with his inimitable, unagitated and yet memorable style.” Badische Neuste Nachrichten
“Music giants such as Al Jarreau, Till Brönner, Wolfgang Haffner, Lulo Reinhardt and Jan Delay have left their mark on Daniel Stelter with his unmistakable style.” Music Tip of the Week in Pinneberger Tageblatt
Older reviews:
“This has as much groove as charm, and especially the tracks on which Stelter or singer Fola Dada use their voices soon can’t get out of your ear.” Star
“His music is handmade and free of any gimmickry.” NDR Kultur Jazz, Album of the Week
“Already his last album “Krikel Krakel” was an experience. And three years later Daniel Stelter, the guitarist and songwriter from Ingelheim, has grown once again (…) A fantastic album.” Guitar and Bass
“(…) every song is different and has the potential to become a favorite.” Grand Guitars
“How he makes his guitar sing, however, already comes close to the art of an Eric Clapton. In any case, hardly any other guitarist in this country tells his stories so soulfully and relaxed.” Darmstädter Echo
“With song pearls like ‘Split Heart’, Stelter should increase his fan base within a short time. He has long to be warmly recommended outside the jazz scene as well!” Kieler Nachrichten
Daniel Stelter is a guitarist who is unrivalled in his artistic diversity, brilliance and activity. With his inimitable, unagitated yet memorable style, Daniel Stelter has long since made a name for himself on the German jazz scene. His new album ‘Wooden Songs’ tunes up sounds that feel very close to nature. Fifteen tracks, all one-takes, inspired by sound, scent, feel and the almost infinite nuances of colour, Stelter dedicates his seventh album to the organic material wood. An atmospheric reflection that takes us through forests and vineyards across the Alps to the Bosporus. Stelter’s classically-influenced, almost vocal playing on the nylon string guitar, Tommy Baldu‘s characteristic drums and percussion sound and Michael Paucker‘s acoustic bass communicate with each other – like the trees of the forest – and form a natural language of their own, combining to create a timeless sound. The vocalists Menna Mulugeta and Fola Dada, add a new narrative full of confidence and bridge-building statements to the previously heard instrumental tracks ‘Palatina Dawn’ and ‘Common Ground’ with their soulful voices and powerful thoughts.
