Szolnok
‘This is the one he’s been working towards. This is the one where the violin sound flows from the speakers like thickened cream; where the programmatic ideas and the purely musical ones are in complete accord. Daniel Weltlinger’s profound fascination with the love, peregrinations, tribulations and grief of his family is here realised via tracing the history of the violin he plays, which previously belonged to his grandfather.
Weltlinger and his German quartet (pianist Uri Gincel, bassist Paul Kleber and drummer Mathias Ruppnig) skip so lightly between idioms that, whether landing on a waltz rooted in the European tradition or a swing jazz tune, they achieve a miraculous weightlessness. This quality has always been implicit in Weltlinger’s playing, but now he has a band that doesn’t crowd around the violin too much, and the recording is so exquisite that his sumptuous sound will carry you off into the story’s many evocative melodies and swelling improvisations.’
John Shand – Sydney Morning Herald, 26. July 2019
Samoreau
‘This album is often so swollen with beauty it is like time-lapse photography of tulips blooming. The final instalment of Daniel Weltlinger’s trilogy paying homage to Django Reinhardt, it consists of Weltlinger’s own compositions – from lilting waltzes to surging swing – played with a band including his long-term collaborator Lulo Reinhardt on guitar. Several tracks have no fewer than five acoustic rhythm guitars (played by Lulo and his nephews, underpinned by Harald Becher’s bass) creating the sort of thrust usually associated with jet engines, and if that wasn’t going to get Weltlinger’s violin airborne, nothing would. Not that becoming airborne is a challenge for the violinist, whose plush tone has a built-in soaring quality, whether he plays with scything velocity or leaves notes hanging in the air with such poignancy that time itself seems to stand still. Among the thick undergrowth of guitars, Lulo’s solos always have a particular sparkle that separates him from the plethora of Gypsy swing guitarists beholden to his great-uncle.’
John Shand – Sydney Morning Herald, March 24. 2017.
Zol Zayn – Yiddish Songs
Forgotten Yiddish songs and Jewish/Hebrew Cabaret performed by Karsten Troyke, Daniel Weltlinger and Götz Lindenberg. Guest featuring Andrej Sur on violin and Chawa Lilith on vocals.
Ich Kann Tanzen – Lieder
Forgotten German Cabaret and Jewish songs performed by Karsten Troyke, Daniel Weltlinger and Götz Lindenberg. Guest featuring by Andrej Sur on violin.
Koblenz
‘Koblenz (43:20, 5 stars) makes a thoughtful case for Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz as a kissing cousin to Klezmer. Weltlinger goes deep into the guitarist’s Sinti and Roma roots while touching on his own family history. The songs are an irresistible grouping…’
Kirk Silsbee – Downbeat, August 2015.
‘The music of Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli has spawned countless imitators and revivalists the world over, but where others have used the Gypsy swing idiom as a vehicle for virtuosity Weltlinger brings a refreshing sense of innocence to bear. The violinist imbues the melodies and his sound with a lightness and joyousness that can coexist with any sadness or pensiveness implicit in a given piece.’
John Shand – Sydney Morning Herald, January 4. 2015.
Souvenirs
‘Sydney based violinist Daniel Weltlinger has played with numerous Australian world music acts, and is a key member of German-Gypsy guitarist Lulo Reinhardt’s excellent band. It’s no surprise, then, that his own debut album is a tribute to the compositions of Lulo’s famous great-uncle, the great Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Weltlinger admirably recreates the sweet nostalgic mood of the 1930s/‘40s “hot” jazz style, while thanks to input from some swinging sidemen, classics like Nuages and Djangology are born anew. Flawless playing.’
Seth Jordan – Limelight, November 2011