Press | Interviews | Concert Reviews | Bio PDF | Hi-Res JPG 1 | 2
Cleveland Magazine, Jim Vickers
"This German-born singer-songwriter launched his music career here a decade ago (after first being exposed to Cleveland as a 16-year-old exchange student) and has spent the years since the 2003 release of his well-received “Black Box EP” writing and refining these 12 songs. Everything about “Reverie” showcases the current New Yorker’s wide-ranging voice. His lyrics are elementally human, measured and sincere. He’s the sort of musician who can build a song around the lyric “I don’t want to wake up this beautiful dream” without sounding trite. And while the songs are at times colored with accordion, violin or horns, Klose’s wise restraint makes each composition feel wonderfully fragile." Read full article
Blogcritics.org, Jon Sobel:
"Jann Klose makes complex but accessible chamber pop with intelligent lyrics and contagious rhythms. Songs like "Doing Time" and "Clouds" have a European and sometimes Beatlesque sensibility. (It doesn't hurt that Klose's voice sounds a bit like Paul McCartney's.) The German-born, South African-raised singer-songwriter, now based in the Bronx, has been a theatrical performer, and he has a fine feel for how to arrange his songs with "stageworthy" effectiveness, easily slipping in horns, strings, reeds, and more unusual instruments. The touch is light; a song like "All These Rivers" may remind you of some of Sting's solo work, while the gentle "Remember Your Name" could have come out of southern California in the 1970s. Overall, a sweet salve for troubled times." Read full article
Bay Area Reporter, Gregg Shapiro:
"Reverie is a suitable name for the new full-length Jann Klose disc. From the photo of Klose in repose on the cover to the languorous mood of songs such as "Give In To This Life," "Beautiful Dream," "Hold Me Down," and "Ithaca." But if you keep your eyes (and ears) open, you will also be rewarded by the splendor of the brassy "Clouds," the pure pop of the string-laden "Watching You Go," and the album's most wondrous track, "Mother Said, Father Said." Read full article
TheCelebrityCafe.com, Mindy Munizaga:
"If it’s at all possible, this album is both spiritual, tender and funky at the same time. It may seem like an odd combination, but the pairing of things that don’t seem like they’d work, but do – is a big part of what sets this album apart from others." Read full article
The Sun Herald, Ricky Flake:
"Klose's vocals are at times reminiscent of Paul McCartney's. This is a thoroughly listenable album that reflects Jann's experience as a recording artist and theater performer/composer (he performed in an off-Broadway movement theater project in 2005 as well as releasing a well-received 2003 EP entitled "Black Box") . . . my favorite songs, like the piano-based "All These Rivers" with its lovely orchestration and the plaintive "Remember Your Name," show that the "worldly" Jann Klose has a bright future in this increasingly digital music age." Read full article
Aced Magazine, John Casquarelli:
"Jann Klose’s new album, Reverie, is a musical masterpiece with an ensemble of easy-listening sounds that invites the listener to explore their own imagination. The instrumental collaboration for Reverie includes everything from an upright bass, an accordion, drums, violin, oboe, trumpet, and a Portuguese guitar, making Jann’s music truly unique. Integrating Jann’s hypnotic voice with lush easy-listening sounds makes Reverie a harmonious success. Songs such as “Beautiful Dream”, “Hold Me Down”, “All These Rivers” and “Remember Your Name” will resonate in the deepest recesses of the listener’s mind, thus creating a mystical experience of melodious pleasure. Reverie is one beautiful dream you may not want to wake up from." Read full article
Syracuse New Times, Matt Mumau:
"Songs like the disc’s opener, "Beautiful Dream," ramble like a lazy river and draw listeners to listless, romantic imagery. Surprisingly, the feel of that tune and others lack any of the plastic, showy technique that other ex-Broadwayers express through solo albums. Instead, the carefree, dreamy instrumentation of bassist Chris Marolf, keyboardist Lars Potteiger, percussionist Patrick Carmichael and violinist Leah Potteiger create an earthy, alive musical world." Read full article
Fairfield Weekly, Connecticut:
"Klose has the emotions of a sensitive folkie but catapults them with a voice and tone that evoke a libido-driven soul singer. On the single "Beautiful Dream", he performs comfortably with rich orchestration. Today at Thataway Cafe's weekly Songwriters' Den, he'll be accompanied only by bassist Chris Marolf and, for a voice of Klose's caliber, nothing more is needed."
Q104.3 FM, New York City, Ken Dashow, On-Air Personality:
"Black Box EP is one of the best demos anyone has ever sent me! He totally has the sound, the playing and writing skills - wow! I am a total fan!"
Sirius Satellite Radio, Kid Kelly, Director of Pop Programming:
"This [Black Box EP] is by far the best unsigned record I have heard in a long time!"
Music Morsels, Mark E. Waterbury:
Review of BLACK BOX EP: "The four song taste from this New York resident is an excellent precursor for a full length CD. With acoustic driven pop that is also quit edgy, Jann proves to be an excellent songwriter with pure talents on the six string. Add to this his robust but sweetly emotive voice with lyrics that emanate from his soul and the result is some very good music. The touching but intense ballad Fever In My Heart and snappy alt folk rock of Walk Through the River leave you hungry for more."
Cleveland Magazine, Jim Vickers:
"Jann Klose spent a year in Cleveland at age 16 as a foreign exchange student. During his stay, he taught himself to play guitar and piano while immersing himself in the sounds of America's great songwriters. The German-born musician launched his career here when he moved to the U.S. a few years later. His success eventually led him to New York City, where he recorded this four-song disc - a startlingly fresh blend of pop, blues, rock and jazz that provides the perfect showcase for Kloses's powerful, emotive voice. The title track carves a catchy, jazz-tinged composition out of a whirring electric organ and galloping acoustic guitar line, while "Fever In My Heart" is a melodic acoustic and piano-driven track that shows Klose's deft ability to merge his powerful voice with veteran songwriter sensibilities."
Splendid Magazine, Matt Pierce:
"Jann Klose has studied voice with Emmy winner David Gooding, appeared on Broadway and performed with the Cleveland Opera Chorus, and as you might expect, Black Box EP showcases Klose's alarmingly effortless croon as much as it can. Luckily, the disc's short length, the simplicity of at least three of its four songs, and Klose's expert and heartfelt management of his voice and his songwriting pen make Black Box EP an approachable and satisfying listen. "Black Box" opens with a jazzy burst of Hammond B3 chords, then settles into a simple but swinging groove, brushed into shape by Klose's nimble, soul-influenced guitar licks and surreal lyrics about... well, I'm not exactly sure, but lines like "you're only just a shot away / it's only just a Saturday" don't distract from Klose's breezy delivery enough to make me care a whole lot. "It's Not the Way" sustains "Black Box"'s jazz-cool feel, slowing things down a bit and deepening the sound with touches of electric piano. Unfortunately, Klose breaks his casual winning streak with "Fever In My Heart", a ballad that sounds promising until a string orchestra enters the mix, bringing the song to an overwrought key change. "Walk Through the River" does some adequate damage control, ending the EP on an understated, folksy beat that again shows Klose at his unassuming best. Klose has talent to spare, but he's not dull enough to think that technical gymnastics alone make a worthwhile record. For the most part, Black Box EP shows that classical training and direct but off-handed songwriting can match up quite well in the right hands."
The Plain Dealer, Jane Scott:
"Klose has a quietly astonishing voice - clear, resonant, clean, able to swing from high to low notes."
Scene Magazine, Jason Bracelin:
"Jann Klose's vocal range covers almost as much ground as Klose has himself. A native of Hamburg who has also lived in Kenya, Klose whetted his appetite for music at age 16, when he came to Cleveland as a foreign-exchange student. After finishing his studies in Germany, he returned to Ohio to launch his music career, eventually relocating to New York City in 2000. Klose is back in town this week, pushing a superb new EP of lush orchestral pop and jazz-inflected acoustic ballads. Sounding like a cross between a young Sting and a less histrionic Jeff Buckley, Klose's voice is pliant and powerful, and it's buffered nicely by the Hammond B3, cello, viola, and violin that brighten these impassioned numbers. From the blithe bebop of the title cut to the Art Garfunkel-sounding "It's Not the Way", this disc is a real find, meaning you'd do well to come to the Grog on Thursday; Klose is one of Germany's finest exports since Warsteiner."
|
