Guitarist-composer Sebastian Noelle has spent much of his life traveling the elusive path between two worlds. In life, he travels back and forth between his native Germany and his adopted home of New York City; in his art, he navigates the more fluid boundaries between the abstract and the emotional. On Shelter, which has been called ‘rewarding’ by the New York Times and hailed for its ‘embrace of both lyrical intricacies and rockish swagger’ (Nate Chinen), Noelle leads a stellar quintet that brings together some of the most forward-thinking and limitless musicians in modern jazz. The album’s ten compositions also manage the tricky feat of melding ambitious complexity with emotional communication. Noelle’s own impressive credentials since arriving in New York in 2002 include more than a decade with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society (appearing on two Grammy-nominated recordings), the Chris Potter Big Band, the Aaron Irwin Quintet, Joe Phillip’s Numinous, and performances at 55 Bar, Blue Note, Jazz Gallery, Iridium, and the Jazz Standard, and jazz festivals such as Newport, North Sea, and Montreux. He has toured extensively in the US, Europe, Canada, and Japan. He has released three CDs on the FreshSound-NewTalent label: “Across The River”, “Koan” and “Shelter”. “Noelle is part of a growing group of musicians who stretch the boundaries of jazz rhythm” -Owen Cordle, News & Observer “Highly original and brimming with inventiveness” -Budd Kopman (AllAboutJazz)