Siggi Loch's immaculately curated jazz concert series, Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic, continues on record with an ‘A’ list of European instrumentalists, plus Americans Ernie Watts on tenor and vocalist Charenée Wade. The concert was dedicated to Nica de Koenigswarter, the jazz baroness primarily associated with Thelonious Monk, revisiting ‘'Round Midnight’, ‘Boliviar Blues’, ‘Little Butterfly (Pannonica)’ and ‘Get It Straight’, but also acknowledging how the good lady was also a friend and confident to many musicians including Horace Silver, Bud Powell and Sonny Rollins, each represented by a song they wrote and dedicated to her. Ernie Watts, whose big reputation – he once shared the stage with Monk, featured in the Buddy Rich Big Band and Charlie Haden's Quartet West – preceded him, was placed alongside (a brilliant and inspired move this) the German saxophonist Angelika Niescier. One of the finest young saxophonists in Europe today, she should be far better known. Her performance here should direct attention to her talent, providing a perfect balance and robust contrast to the better known American sax master. Listen to her on ‘Bolivar Blues’, for example. It's only when she takes the microphone things come alive. The music goes up several gears and she really gets inside Monk's compositional intent. Dan Berglund's tone on bass is a thing of wonder and post EST he has worked many times with the gifted pianist and master of ceremonies for the concert, Iiro Rantala – fab piano trio feature on ‘Celia’ – who, with rising star Anton Eger on drums, provide Rolls Royce accompaniment throughout, especially to Ella-influenced vocalist Charenée Wade. The latter did well to negotiate the musical obstacle course that Monk's compositions seem to present the singer, ‘Get It Straight’, for example. And hey, listen to how sophisticated Niescier's four-bar exchanges are with Wade on the coda….