Songs Without Words Frederic Belli, Johannes Fischer, Nicholas Rimmer

• 1 Jockey Full of Bourbon 02:12
• 2 Muriel 03:07
• 3 Der Abschiedsbrief 03:52
• 4 All the World Is Green 05:19
• 5 Diamonds & Gold 01:56
• 6 Nacht und Träume (D 827) 03:39
• 7 Lost in the Stars 04:01
• 8 Cemetery Polka 02:09
• 9 Youkali 04:44
• 10 Misery Is the River of the World / Auf dem Wasser zu singen (D 774) 08:26
• 11 Soldier's Things 03:34
• 12 Das Heidenröslein (D 257) 02:08
• 13 Trampled Rose 03:23
• 14 Nannas Lied 04:34
• 15 Swordfishtrombone 04:25
• 16 Ruby's Arms 03:49
• Total Runtime 01:01:18

Info for Songs Without Words

With “songs without words”, the Freiburg-based trio Belli Fischer Rimmer presents a remarkable jazz album that tells vivid stories without a single word being sung. The instrumental arrangements are based on songs by Kurt Weill, Tom Waits, and Franz Schubert, three composers who, in different eras and musical languages, gave voice to lives lived on the margins.

The album explores longing, loss, fragile hope, and quiet resilience. Weill, exiled from Nazi Germany, composed music that bridged Berlin cabaret and Broadway drama. Waits created raw ballads that gave dignity to the forgotten figures of the night. Schubert, deeply rooted in Romanticism, composed intimate songs of solitude, transience, and dreamlike yearning.

Belli Fischer Rimmer brings together these contrasting musical worlds in an acoustic jazz context that is both focused and stylistically open. Their interpretations maintain the essence of the originals while developing a unique and coherent musical narrative. “We play songs without words that still tell stories—of failure, of searching, of moments of grace,” the trio explains.

Waits’ pieces such as “Jockey full of Bourbon”, “Muriel”, and “Trampled Rose” gain new character in this setting. Schubert’s “Nacht und Träume” and “Auf dem Wasser zu singen” are interpreted with a sense of stillness and introspection. Weill’s “Youkali”, “Der Abschiedsbrief”, and “Lost in the Stars” evoke a bittersweet mood, hovering between melancholy, irony, and consolation.

“songs without words” is a reflection on the human condition through music. The absence of vocals creates space for instrumental storytelling that resonates across time and style. It is an invitation to listen closely and discover new emotional landscapes within familiar works.

Trio Belli-Fischer-Rimmer

The Belli-Fischer-Rimmer Trio
with Frederic Belli on trombone and Nicholas Rimmer on piano was originally founded as a prize-winning ensemble of the German Music Competition for the national selection "Concerts of Young Artists" and after a very successful season with concerts all over Germany, the trio decided to continue. Due to the very meagre starting position as far as the repertoire was concerned, the trio quickly knew how to help themselves and made a virtue of making repertoire that was initially quite remote usable for their instrumentation of trombone, piano and percussion. Works by Bach, Dvorak, Brahms, Debussy and Bernstein were given a new sound, while at the same time composers were commissioned to create new pieces.

The trio's programs sometimes seem like a rollercoaster ride through music history, genre pigeonholes do not apply here, the old influences the new and vice versa, creating astonishing relationships and interactions across the centuries. The three musicians prefer to surprise themselves on stage: Many arrangements leave room for improvisation and each concert remains unique. The arrangements are often the result of joint experimentation and continue to change over the years.

This album contains no booklet.