‘Beaches in Your Soul’ is an album that is both great fun and full of depth as it conveys an incredible, life-affirming energy. Rolf Zielke describes his music as “daydreams and visions of the future that become sounds.” There is no doubt that this album is an impressive demonstration of his outstanding abilities as a composer, arranger and pianist, as well as his important role in European jazz. (Matthias Wegner, music journalist, November 2020)
‘Handel himself would have done the same today – and would be enthusiastic about this interpretaion of his works’ (Göttinger Tageblatt, 2. June 2009)
‘The man from Berlin presents himself as a pianist who is able to surprise an overcrowded trio-genre with a fresh, new sound.’ (Jazz thing April / May 2002)
‘As long as there are musicians like Rolf Zielke and Herbie Hancock, who display such far-sightedness during their concerts, one needn’t fear the lack of innovation in the jazz scene.’ (Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung,, April 1996)
‘… The music played by the duo was particularly appealing to the audience. It was clean, free from useless gimmicks and artefacts, with impeccable timing and rhythm shifting that kept everyone focused, often integrating catchy oriental phrases …’
(The Jordan Times, October 09)
‘The listener experiences piano-trio-jazz of the highest order: Zielke, winner of many awards and a man who has worked with musicians from many cultures, presents four top-class compositions of his own (…) Because of these compositions and the musicians’ intuitive understanding this brilliant performance is an exciting masterpiece from beginning to end.’ (M. Weiler about the album “Rolf Zielke Trio feat. Mustafa Boztüy, April 2002)
‘Instead of following the footsteps of comparable piano trios, pianist Rolf Zielke takes a slightly different route by using oriental grooves and impressionistic tone colours in the context of contemporary compositions. The resulting blend undoubtedly has a certain charm (…) What makes this production so likable is that Zielke presents us almost exclusively with his own work. Besides his unquestionable talent as a piano player with verve, it shows his ability as a composer in the most favourable light.’ (Piano News about the album ‘Rolf Zielke Tio feat.. Mustafa Boztüy, March 2003)
‘… the infectious, rhythmically interlinked pieces sound like contra-jour shots. Again and again the outlines fall into scattered polyglot particles. Erratic and ablazed, Zielke stages his trenchant, artful chords without ever dominating his partners.’ (Kai Müller, Tagesspiegel, March 2002)
‘A hail of whistles of a different kind was offered by the latest jazz concert at the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof. (…) The bandleader whistled along to his deft piano solo – a delightful friction between keyboard and whistle. A similar confidence was shown by the rhythm group: Rolo Rodriguez from Uruguay is an excellent drummer from the Latin and Fusion faction. His playing on cymbals and drums was fantastic and had a clearly defined groove. Also impressive was the virtuoso elegance of his drum solo. Another brilliant member of the rhythm section is the Brazilian Guilherme Castro on E-bass. His funky accents got the music heated up. (…) Of course Rolf Zielke had more in store than just the art of whistling: namely, dexterity and a multi-cultural spirit. Besides Latin-Jazz he surprised with Arabic, Turkish and African sounds and celebrated the good old fusion era of the seventies with the help of his E-piano (…) An equally superb musical standard offers the brand-new album ‘Hot Impressions’. (Georg Pepl, Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine, 17.04.2004)