Paul Peuker hat das Kunststück vollbracht, seine Oktett-Großformation nun über zehn Jahre konstant zu halten und weiterzuentwickeln. Gitarrist ist er dabei nur unter anderem. Als Komponist, Arrangeur und Ideengeber integriert er in die kurzweiligen Ereignisse eines Jazzquintetts ein Streichertrio nicht als Geschmacksverstärker, sondern als gleichberechtigen Mitspieler. Damit schafft er in Grenzbereichen von Jazz, Rock und Klassik einen erweiterten Zugriff. Hohes Lob erntete er dafür national wie international. Immer noch und immer mehr ist sein Konzept frisch und unverbraucht. Seine elastischen und fintenreichen Stücke ergeben in kluger Dramaturgie Bühnen für Überraschendes. Enorm beweglich und frisch ergibt das eine Musik, die weithin ohne Vergleich ist. Hier wird neues Terrain erobert und ausgeschritten.

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Reviews

Peukers Oktettmusik ist eigenständig und merkwürdig. Sie ist sperrig, sie ist ambitioniert, sie ist großartig.

Certainly one of the things that recommends Peuker's band is that no other sounds quite like it.

[...] ein Unikat in der zeitgenössischen deutschen Jazzszene.

[Die 8 Musiker*Innen von Peuker8] wissen schon, worauf es ankommt. Nämlich die Entfaltung einer Strahlkraft, die den Zeitgeist kupierter Aufmerksamkeitsspannen, des Schnellen, nur vermeintlich Hellen, mit ganz anderen Spannungsverhältnissen überwölbt.
Einem Wunsch nach Nachhaltigkeit, der [...] nach dem Kern der Sache fragt.

Throughout Radiance, Peuker and company manage to push the boundaries of chamber rock by achieving a level of unpredictability and rawness that goes beyond that moniker.

A consciously balanced work, in which one can perceive a tasteful interaction of the individual sub-disciplines.

The strong, individual voices of Peuker8, its work throughout the years (with only two changes in its personnel, but not in the octet instrumentation), the generous degrees of individual freedom and Peuker own personal voice as a guitarist deny Peuker’s intricate and well-structured compositions from becoming academic exercises. Still, these multifaceted compositions are complex, demanding and often cerebral, never break through into unknown territories or surrender to a burst reckless energy. The careful balance between the jazz-y rhythm section, the string trio, and the main soloists – Peuker himself, sax player Mark Weschenfelder and pianist Clemens Christian Pötzsch, takes its toll.

Once again [Paul Peuker] confirms the suspicion that he is not a "normal" jazz guitarist, but a rather ingenious individualist, who composes the stylistic genres together with his octet like no other. [...] Yes, these are syntheses, and they actually and very convincingly, work as assimilation of genre parts in which the genre-typical is still preserved and recognizable. [...] That's a masterpiece. And Paul Peuker in the best way up into the Olympus of true innovators.

The record is a compelling statement of constant inspiration filled with brilliant moments and blissful improvisations as well as beautiful compositions.

The music immediately strikes the listener with its originality and immense intensity, which are entirely unprecedented. It is a variety of Jazz-Classical Fusion, but no other music of that category has previously reached such level of natural symbiosis as this music, which amalgamates Jazz tradition with contemporary European chamber music, expanding the idiom´s boundaries tremendously. [...] It will take a while for this music to reverberate and achieve the recognition it truly deserves, but it definitely marks a milestone in European contemporary music, including the Jazz idiom but also way beyond. The aesthetic and intellectual ingenuity, talent and effort this album offers to the listener are all extraordinary and deserve the highest praise, which will be hopefully followed by acknowledgment as well.

There are the different timbres from which Paul Peuker can creatively select to work out the best possible sound for his compositions. [...] It pays off if you do not always play everything that is possible when arranging. The result is a transparency in which you can also discover many small details without being lost in a sonic mush. [...] Influx is a demanding CD without to submit to the claim. Peuker8 manages to be interesting for a larger audience without having to congratulate themselves.

The instrumentation gives Peuker the opportunity to show his compositional skills and at the same time his fine feeling for improvised music. [...] Handsome compositions, musical adventure, complex rhythm, melodic ingenuity, glowing solos: Influx has it all. The music has energy, knows subdued moments and sounds playful. In addition, the fun is splashing off. A rich and varied album.

The special feature of this record is the use of a string trio in the jazz context. This swallow alone does not make a summer, but there is also Paul Peuker's fabulous electric guitar work, the open-minded view of the possibilities of the instrument and, of course, his compositions, which interweave jazz and European, contemporary classical music on an equal basis with each other in an exciting and judgmental way. What may seem a bit cumbersome at first develops an inexorable pull in the course of the album, especially as composition and improvisation also have equal proportions. At the same time, "Influx" does not shrink from rocking hardiness.

His compositions are modern, structured but leave plenty of room for real improvisation. [...] This is music for the advanced jazz lover, who does not shy away from some dissonance and likes to challenge himself.

A very solid set of brilliant musicians who knows how to beat the pitfalls of complex and sometimes a little wobbly rhythms and highlight the colors imagined by a composer who merges into the collective as an instrumentalist.