Jazzthetik – November 2020 – Hans-Jürgen Schaal on “Late Night Kitchen

Jazz sometimes bores me – that`s why the Insomnia Brass Band excites me all the more. (…) a fun line-up, nothing is harmonically padded, nothing is prettified. The two wind players and the one drummer romp in earthy grooves, there is polyphonic improvisation, boppishly torn themes are blown, it swings and stomps as if unleashed, the saxophone plays buzzing riffs, the trombone makes funny vocal sounds – who would have thought that such a reduced line-up can produce such a variety of forms and rhythms! Hands-on, unaffected, it’s a lot of fun, you want to dance pogo to it. More of this please!

Bad Alchemy – September 2020 – Rigobert Dittmann on “Late Night Kitchen”

If you suffer from sleeplessness, sometimes it helps to eat something. But what is served after midnight as spaghetti al nero die seppia is tape salad which could make you grit your teeth. However, only visually. Acoustically, Anke Lucks, Almut Schlichting and Christian Marien with trombone, baritone sax and drums offer something quite appetizing. (…) Trombone and baritone instigate with big cheeks to dancing, buxom babes push their sugar daddies around amidst driving staccato, resistance is futile, Marien baby-dodding, tapping hm-tata beats and letting them melt for smooth swing. No? It’s enough to make a cat laugh, every “No” is countered by a melodious “Yes!” on the horns that weighs heavier. In whose name? In the name of a loudly crowing, calypsomanic vitality in XXL. Everything OK? Everything’s fine, my seam just burst.

Salt Peanuts Blog – November 2020 – Eyal Hareuveni on “Late Night Kitchen”

The Insomnia Brass Band is a powerful trio, always in constant motion and always juggling with quicksilver harmonies, spontaneous accents, melodic conceits, and infectious grooves, delivered with unstoppable joy and with a sharp sense of humor that brings to mind the American quartet Sex Mob led by trumpeter Steven Bernstein.

Jazzpodium – November 2020 – Stephan Richter on “Late Night Kitchen”

(The musicians) actually manage to get the maximum out of a minimal line-up and remind one of the great New Orleans brass bands. It is amazing with how much variety and speed they switch from accompanying to soloist function, sometimes making you forget how intelligent and precisely crafted the music is.

JazzThing – November 2020 – Martin Laurentius on “Late Night Kitchen”

(…) a sprawling energetic interplay of thematic motifs and rhythmic patterns with silvery resounding intervals, crystalline themes and meandering solo choruses of the two brass and woodwind players.

FAZ – October 2020 – Concert review by Norbert Krampf

All three get down to business with verve and energy!

Concerto – November 2020 – Review “Late Night Kitchen”

The two wind players interlock in melodious cooperation, the drummer sets accents, on a par, or moves the playing forward in a jazzy way. This is jazz of the freer kind, something worth listening to.

Sonic – November 2020 – Ulrich Steinmetzger on “Late Night Kitchen”

The music of the Insomnia Brass Band is enigmatic, voluminous, raw and like a promise of something greater. It appeals to the legs and to the head, taking a few steps back as a miniature version in order to move forward. And above all, it leaves you wanting more.

Hifi&Records – January 2021 – Hans-Dieter Grünefeld on “Late Night Kitchen”

New Orleans polyphony (..) hardbop and free elements (..) Even a fierce two-beat dispute “Nein-Doch” is possible. Nevertheless, there is agreement on the nostalgic unison motif to the “Gingerbread Resistance Song” (…) optimal communication, dense interactions (…)

Jazzhalo Online Magazine – December 2020 – Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther on “Late Night Kitchen”

Come in to the “Beach Bar” for breakfast – that is the musical invitation at the beginning of the album, which is dominated by a strong dialogue between the two wind players. The baritone saxophonist purrs in the depths of her instrument, forming a recurring bass line for the trombonist to spread moving waves of sound. Before “Beach Bar Before Breakfast” segues seamlessly into “Lullaby” a brilliant percussion solo can be heard (…).
“African Birdsong” does without recorded bird calls and shines with a rhythm that is otherwise only known from street marching bands. Dull drum rolls – think of an African drumming workshop – accompany the purring saxophone voice, which doesn’t just linger in the low tones. And off it goes with tropical sound fever in the spirit of Fela Kuti. (…)