Harry Sokal GROOVE
Harry Sokal: Ten - Soprano Saxophone
Raphael Wressing: Hammond B3 Organ
Lukas Knöfler: Schlagzeug
Harry Sokal has been making tracks in the musical landscape for years already, with his own innovative projects, such as Depart, Full Circle, Roots Ahead, Voices of Time, Stories and freeTenors, and also as a first class sideman for Art Farmer, Carla Bley and Joe Zawinul. But perhaps Harry is most noted for his virtuoso playing with the Vienna Art Orchestra and he stayed on with Mathias Rüegg for the whole life of the VAO. With his current trio Groove and their new CD bearing the promising title "Where sparks start to fly", Harry Sokal once again lives up to the highest of expectations.This is mainly because he knows better than almost anyone else how to apply individual technical perfection to the art of making music. Harry Sokal is a musician's musician par excellence whose primary concern is the content and who only goes for the applause afterwards.
In Harry Sokal's Groove, the master saxophonist makes maximum use of the rhythmicpower field created by top talents Raphael Wressnig on the Hammond B-3 organ and Lukas Knöfler on drums: a dynamic pair who have worked together over the years in a variety of ensembles.In the course of his career, Wressnig has found his own unique voice that lies somewhere in the spectrum between Jimmy Smith and Billy Preston yet with undeniably strong R&B roots. Lukas Knöfler comes from a jazz background and has accumulated valuable experience in the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band and alongside Karl Ratzer.
TOGETHER THEY FORM GROOVE AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DO, GROOVE ... AND SPARKS START TO FLY!

Harry Sokal numbers amongst the most important post-Coltrane saxophonists in Europe. He has worked together with an A-Z of leading jazz artists in Europe and the States, from Art Blakey to Joe Zawinul. His major roles as a founding member of the Vienna Art Orchestra as well as a member of the legendary Art Farmer Quintet make him one of the most important ambassadors of jazz from Austria. He has initiated and led a host of projects around the globe with the jazz elite, in particular his own projects Depart, Full Circle, Roots Ahead, Voice of Time, Stories and freeTenors. His remarkable sound on the saxophone can been heard on more than 500 albums worldwide.
In 2005 Harry Sokal was honored as Musician of the Year with the Hans Koller Prize, and in 2011 with the Prize for Attainment in Music of the Lower Austrian State.
Harry Sokal’s masterful playing is distinguished not just by its virtuosity, but by its lyrical tone and stylistically clear lines, which relate  to the character of each number he plays. Theses are the qualities that make him his country's outstanding soloist.

Raphael Wressnig is not your ordinary B-3 organ player. He¹s actually one of a kind: a young master of the imposing, large instrument who is expansive in his breadth of expertise. He¹s technically fluent in the blues, in jazz, in soul, and in funk, and he concocts exciting mixed-genre music from his fervid imagination. Wressnig has taken his music throughout Europe and all over the world, from North Africa and Asia to the Middle East to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This self-effacing musician is a fine composer and has recorded at least 16 feature albums and appeared as a guest on about 30 others. In Spring 2013, he was honored with a nomination for best organ player of the year in Downbeat Magazine. Wressnig confidently brings out the inherent pyrotechnic power and mightiness of the large B-3 console and possesses special knowledge about conjuring groove.
Lukas Knöfler in his unmistakable style unites the traditional and the modern, delicate sounds with hard-driving rhythms and intuitive accompaniment with improvisational flair. His broad spectrum of musicality ranging from contemporary music through to jazz and “so-called“ easy-listening music is exemplified in his current projects with the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, Craig Handy, Erika Pluhar and Blechhaufn as well as on recordings with Max Nagl, Karl Ratzer and Willi Resetarits. His work in melding these varied and contrasting styles seemingly effortlessly and with a touch of humour, highlights his reputation as an exceptional drummer without losing sight of the essential – the “Groove“.
REVIEWS:
”His latest Project „Groove“ with Raphael Wressnig Hammond B3 Organ, and Lukas Knöfler on Drums projects pure sparkling Energy”  (Jazz Podium)
...It sparks and dashes, it has Soul and Blues and it is well grounded and funky (ims)
...And he lets his key wonder machine whizz and groan - rejoice and moan ...(concerto)
A thrilling journey centered around the spectrum of world of Harry Sokal and therefor recommended..  (Planet)
Three musicians – one groove: Harry Sokal ,a stylistic chameleon in music, Raphael Wressnig wonderchild on the Hammond B3 Organ and Lukas Knöfler fireworks on  Drums, are not makeing any  pretence of unrestrainedly, high flying, adventures.....( OÖ Nachrichten)
Harry Sokal is unquestionable the leading Top Saxofone legend from Austria ...And certainly a mega Event! .....(HS concerto)