On her stunning new CD The German Projekt, which features jazz
-imbued arrangements of classic songs by Brecht-Weill and Friedrich
Hollaender and which was released on May 12, 2009, singer Andrea
Fultz sounds as if she’d been born to interpret this rich, complex body
of music.

But in fact the album concept came to fruition a mere three or four
years ago, while she was living and studying in San Francisco and
performing with musical colleagues who were interested in exploring
Kurt Weill’s songs with her. “The material was really completely new to
me,” says the Munich-born Fultz, 34, who has worked with a variety of
bands ranging from American Songbook to electronica to bossa nova.
“I knew the melodies, but not all the words. The dark Weill stuff was
very exciting.”

Joined by violinist Dina Maccabee, accordionist Rob Reich,
percussionist Micha Patri, bassist Eugene Warren, and pianist Adam
Shulman, whose credits include work with Stefon Harris, Paula West,
and Bobby Hutcherson, Fultz began to delve into the songs and
arrangements that evolved into The German Projekt.

“The music has to support the lyrics and follow the stories of the
songs,” says Rob Reich, in speaking of the challenges of arranging
The German Projekt. “And these are often heavy, dramatic stories, full of
changes in tempo and harmony, and full of intense emotions. We were
fortunate to be working with some very talented jazz musicians. We
wanted them to have some room for interpretation and improvisation,
so it was important to strike a balance between staying true to the
original musical conception and allowing the songs to breathe and grow.”

Although several Weill compositions, such as “Mack the Knife” (aka
“Moritat”), “My Ship,” and “September Song,” have become jazz
standards, most of his oeuvre remains in the cabaret or art song
realm. “Alabama Song,” which opens The German Projekt and is sung
in English, was previously recorded by the Doors and David Bowie
(whom Fultz calls “my absolute hero!”); Marianne Faithfull and Dee
Dee Bridgewater are among the vocalists who’ve recorded more
extensive Weill collections.

Sonny Rollins, who counts Friedrich Hollaender among his favorite
composers, has recorded “Falling in Love Again” (“Ich bin von Kopf
bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt”), the theme from The Blue Angel, and
frequently performs the song in concert. (Early in his career, Rollins
was fond of Hollaender’s “This Is the Moment,” and was playing it the
night that Miles Davis first hired him.)

“It is a big thing for me to represent German culture in America,” says
Fultz, the daughter of a German mother and American father. “I really
think this music is brilliant. Brecht and Weill and Hollaender are so
timeless.”

In addition to “Alabama Song,” the CD contains six other Brecht-Weill
compositions: “Bilbao Song,” “Denn wie man sich bettet so liegt man,”
“Barbara Song,” “Seeräuber Jenny,” “Surabaya Johnny,” and “Mäckie
Messer” (“Mack the Knife”). Hollaender is represented by two songs
from The Blue Angel (“Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt,”
“Kinder, heut Abend da such ich mir was aus”), “Johnny,” and the
ballad “Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte.” Fultz sings Hanns Eisler
and Bertolt Brecht’s “Song of a German Mother” with Eric Bentley’s
English lyrics.

Andrea Fultz is looking to take the German Projekt music to clubs and
festivals in the U.S. and abroad. “This music is about the context, it’s
not about singing flawlessly or bebopping,” she says. “It’s so different
for me to sing in German. It’s given me more freedom than any other
music before.”

The German Projekt have performed at venues such as Yoshi’s
Oakland, The Jazzschool in Berkeley, The German Embassy in San
Francisco, The Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco and more.