Jeff Aug /
Murat Parlak Quintet

A long-awaited collaboration between members of the Anne Clark Band becomes a new instrumental quintet, debut album and European tour.

Some musical projects come together quickly. The Jeff Aug / Murat Parlak Quintet took nearly fifteen years.

Built around the long-standing musical partnership of guitarist Jeff Aug and pianist Murat Parlak, the quintet brings together five musicians whose backgrounds span jazz, rock, fusion, classical music and acoustic instrumental composition. Their debut album, For the Love of Nine, recorded at the renowned Stockfisch Studio in Northeim, Germany, will be released on 5 February 2027 by Stockfisch Records, followed by an extensive European tour.

The roots of the project stretch back to 2012. After returning from a tour with legendary fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth, Aug joined Parlak in the studio to begin work on what was originally intended to become Aug’s eighth acoustic instrumental album. They quickly realized, however, that some of the new compositions demanded something larger.

“I had plenty of new material for the solo album, but there was additional material that Murat and I both agreed would be better recorded with an ensemble,” Aug recalls.

Those compositions became the foundation of the Jeff Aug / Murat Parlak Quintet.

For Aug and Parlak, both known through their work with the Anne Clark Band, simply making an album together was never enough. The challenge was finding a musical language that felt natural to both musicians rather than forcing their very different influences into a conventional jazz, rock or crossover format.

“Murat and I had always wanted to record an album together, but the biggest challenge was finding a musical and, at the same time, authentic common ground,” Aug says. “It had to be music with which we had a deep connection — music we could both identify with on many levels.”

The resulting ensemble is unusual by design.

Aug’s fingerstyle steel-string guitar and Parlak’s piano are joined by Justin Ciuche on violin, Jann Michael Engel on cello, and Sven von Samson on drums and percussion. The combination gives the group the intimacy and detail of chamber music, the improvisational freedom of jazz and fusion, and the rhythmic and melodic immediacy of rock.

Aug, Parlak and cellist Jann Michael Engel have been at the heart of the Anne Clark Band since 2002; violinist Justin Ciuche and drummer Sven von Samson joined in 2021. A Guinness World Record holder, Aug has opened European tours for Scott Henderson, Allan Holdsworth and Greg Howe. Parlak’s concert, theatre and studio work includes Harald Schmidt, Vinnie Colaiuta and compositions for radio. Engel also tours with Mila Mar. Ciuche is a Stockfisch session musician, performs with In Extremo and produces music for film and television. Von Samson is a regular musician at the Deutsches Theater in Göttingen.

The music draws inspiration in part from the adventurous acoustic instrumental recordings released by Windham Hill Records during the 1970s and 1980s, alongside the progressive rock and fusion music of the same period. Rather than recreating those sounds, the quintet uses them as a point of departure for a contemporary instrumental language of its own.

Melodic, cinematic and rhythmically sophisticated, the music moves naturally between delicate acoustic passages, expansive ensemble arrangements and moments of considerable intensity. There is no vocalist and no need for one: guitar, piano, violin and cello carry the melodies and conversations while drums and percussion give the music momentum, tension and release.

The result occupies a space that is difficult to reduce to a single genre. It is acoustic instrumental music with elements of jazz, world music, chamber music, progressive rock and fusion, created to reward attentive listening while remaining immediate and accessible.

After years of writing, collaboration and development, the project finally reaches the stage in 2027 with its debut album, For the Love of Nine, and the “Listen Up, Jazzhole!” Tour.

“It took 15 years to make this happen,” Aug says, “but if it were easy, I guess everyone would do it.”

Lineup Jeff Aug — guitar Murat Parlak — piano Justin Ciuche — violin Jann Michael Engel — cello Sven von Samson — drums & percussion

Debut album: For the Love of Nine · 5 February 2027 Label: Stockfisch Records Tour: “Listen Up, Jazzhole!” Tour 2027 www.jeffaug.com