Sam und Samuel - at the Technikmuseum Magdeburg

T&T Wollner are breaking new ground again - this time with saxophonist Frank Schöpke.

Gospel, blues, jazz and Yiddish songs could hardly seem more different, but that contrast is precisely what draws the trio together. Connections emerge between these musical worlds, bridges where the three musicians keep finding each other.

A gospel like "Go down, Moses" or the blues of African American slaves like "Wade in de water" carry clear traces of a bond with the Jewish people. From the Yiddish folk song "Tief in Wäldele", a lyrical jazz waltz takes shape. Yet T&T Wollner and Frank Schöpke also let the songs simply be what they are - full of melancholy beauty, rough rhythms, or joyful stomping.

Sam und Samuel give these songs a frame and a story. Sam's ancestors were enslaved in the American South, originally from West Africa. Samuel's family has lived in Bessarabia since the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. Both find themselves on the same ship. Samuel is heading for the land of freedom and unlimited possibility; for Sam, the voyage is a journey toward roots he has only ever heard about - Africa. Each carries nothing but their stories, music and songs. The other passengers barely notice them - except for one, who keeps interfering.