By Michael Reckord , Contributor 
Decebal Badilla (left), Peter Weniger and Heinz Lichius on drums, perform in concert at the Hilton Kingston hotel on Saturday night. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
WHEN PETER Weniger came to my table at the Hilton Kingston poolside Saturday night, he was perspiring profusely and clearly exhilarated. He had just done the equivalent of an hour-and-a-quarter cross-country race, which he had won.
Actually, he had spent the time not running, but playing his soprano saxophone, but using the equivalent of a distance runner's energy and lung power. Two other musicians, Decebal Badilla (bass guitar) and Heinz Lichius (drums) had accompanied him, the trio being the featured artists in a 'Jazz from Germany' presentation at the hotel.
ORIGINAL WENIGER COMPOSITIONS
The programme comprised nine or 10 pieces, all original Weniger compositions. Their mood ranged from the slow and mellow to the frenetic and funky but their tone was nearly always smooth, never brassy or jarring.
This mellow tone was in harmony with the soft ambience of the venue, with the pool gently shimmering beside the audience and band and reflecting the Christmas lights strung up on the trees around.
Both the dining guests, at tables to the right of the band, and the patrons who had come to listen only, who were on chairs to the band's left, enjoyed the music. There was frequent applause and cries of "bravo" and 'encore' as the musical evening progressed.
EVOCATIVE NAMES
Some of the tunes played had evocative names such as Jamming Up, Speed World, and Just Scuffling. Others would have meant something only to the musicians, like Legal Paradizer and Castro Pope. The last named, Weniger explained, was suggested by the meeting last year between the Pope and President Castro when the former visited Cuba.
The musicians' consistently skilful, assured playing suggested great experience, a feeling which was confirmed by Weniger in his post-performance interview. Weniger, 40, the band's leader, has been playing the saxophone since age 13.
MUSICAL STUDIES
He started musical studies on the piano, at four, and took up the clarinet for a while before settling on the saxophone. He now uses the piano only to write, he said, never to perform in public. He is a professor of music at the University of Arts in Berlin, where he teaches the saxophone.
Like the bassist and drummer, he has played in many other bands. The three met while doing so and because "there was a vibe," they decided to form the touring trio two years ago. The trio came to Jamaica brought by the Goethe Institute, a German cultural agency based in Mexico after performances in India. From here, the group goes on to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and then Cuba, to a jazz festival.
