BLAIR / HUBER - ECLIPSE (Album)

Picture Credit: Việt Goy Lê

Frankfurt jazz duo BLAIR / HUBER are set to release their much anticipated debut album ECLIPSE on October 16 via LEITER. Bringing together award winning saxophonist Darius Blair and guitarist Niko Huber, the nine track record builds on last year’s IN A NEW ORDER EP, further refining the pair’s beautifully restrained approach to contemporary jazz.

Recorded at Berlin’s Funkhaus Saal 3 with two time Grammy winning engineer Antonio Pulli, ECLIPSE thrives on the chemistry Blair and Huber have developed over more than a decade of friendship. Across tracks including the delicate title cut, the graceful ‘CHASING DOWN LESSING STREET’, intricate fusion workout ‘GAMBLIN’’ and deeply funky ‘PRISM BREAK’, featuring Moses Yoofee Trio drummer Noah Fürbringer, the duo balance technical precision with space, spontaneity and feeling. Percussionist Khadim Seck also contributes to the mellow ‘TITAN’ and closing ’01/01/25’.

Drawing inspiration from jazz alongside hip hop, soul and contemporary players including Immanuel Wilkins, Julian Lage and Venna, BLAIR / HUBER describe their search as one for “a common language between hip hop and jazz, something modern and cutting edge that also hits the same spiritual space as the cats in the 60s.”

That philosophy sits at the heart of ECLIPSE, an album less concerned with showing off than capturing those elusive moments when two musicians completely lock into one another. “I really believe in the magic of music,” Blair explains. “When you create that special atmosphere, when you can hear a pin drop, that’s as rewarding as it gets.”

ECLIPSE arrives October 16, 2026 on vinyl and digital platforms via LEITER.