Christoph Spendel is one of the best-known German contemporary pianists and keyboardists in the field of tension between jazz, pop, Latin and prog rock and enjoys a far-reaching international reputation.
This year, Christoph Spendel is celebrating various anniversaries, such as 30 years as a Blue Flame artist, 50 years of stage presence, 30 years of endorsement with Kawai, 30 years as a professor at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and his 70th birthday! Two special releases will celebrate: on July 18th, 2025, the “Jubilee Remix EP” was released, which contains a small selection of the Spendel catalog in a new guise, arranged by artists from the Blue Flame family, including a remix by Bossasonic and a rework by Jazzamor. And “Piano Graffiti”, a brand new album, is out on October 24th, 2025.
Christoph Spendel about “Piano Graffiti”:
„Playing solo piano has always been a challenge for all pianist regardless of any style. I´ve been doing solo performances since my early days of music discovery. But lately I wasn’t happy with the description “Solo Piano” since it became a meaningless term over the years. I was looking for something more descriptive regarding my musical intentions and my global lifestyle. Since I´ve been a fan of Graffity Art all my life I came up with the title “Piano Graffiti”, which says it all.
Being fed up with the poor quality of most instruments in clubs and concert places I decided a few years ago to perform exclusively on the Kawai MP11SE Stage Piano, which is my instrument, that I am practicing on and that is located in my studio and my living room that I am also traveling with to concerts and recording session. A privilege that other instrumentalists had all their lives, something I´ve been always jealous of. This CD demonstrates my efforts as a player as well as a composer and reflects my musical interests, that I have been following since the early Sixties: Classical, Prog Rock, Jazz, Latin, Minimal etc.“
„Piano Graffiti“ is filled with the best of Spendel’s skills as a piano player. An album that can be listened to many times and still surprises the listener each time. A time-less record so to say. The Spendel year will be rounded off with numerous live dates.
Listen here: https://app.schubertmusic.com/playlists/pbqwqjwb
