LEITER is proud to announce the debut release by Blair / Huber, a duo formed by award-winning saxophonist, Darius Blair (23), and distinguished guitarist Niko Huber (25). Nodding astutely to illustrious elders as well as the likes of Charlie Hunter, Julian Lage and Snarky Puppy’s Michael League and Bill Lawrence, they’re part of an increasingly flourishing German jazz scene, not least in their home city, Frankfurt. Discreetly inventive, with an admirably spartan setup nonetheless suffused with warmth, their combination of instruments is both uncanny and captivating. Recorded with Nicolas Butka at Soultize Studios, Offenbach, their four track EP, ‘IN A NEW ORDER’, will be available via all digital platforms from March 20, 2026. It’s preceded by the first two singles, ‘NOTHING PERSONAL’ and ‘NO GROUND’, out now.

Friends for well over a decade, Blair’s and Huber’s decision to write and perform together – without anyone else – was taken early on in the pandemic. Though in a sense it had been a long time coming, they swiftly realised they’d made a bold, ambitious choice. Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman’s ‘Nearness’ provided useful guidance in “how to blend two lines of melodies together,” but Huber still remembers his concerns about the limitations the pair had inadvertently imposed. “At the beginning it was pretty hard,” he admits. “But we started to relax and enjoy all the space without needing to fill it up.” Blair, too, recalls having to adapt. “As a player, it was a unfamiliar situation sonically. None of the typical jazz tricks of playing this or that lick worked. I started to look for other people playing in this formation, and I really didn’t find a lot. That alone made it an interesting challenge.”