SHUTEEN ERDENEBAATAR
COMPOSER | PIANIST | BANDLEADER | ARRANGER
Mongolian-born, Berlin-based pianist and composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar returns with Bright Folk, her third album for Motéma, due November 20, 2026.
Recorded with her new quartet, it features Nils Kugelmann on bass, Simon Comté on tenor and soprano saxophone, and Amir Bresler on drums, with guest Jakob Manz on recorder and alto saxophone.
The album draws on home, memory and the Gobi Desert, written from the perspective of a musician living between cultures.
Erdenebaatar’s 2023 debut, Rising Sun, earned a German Jazz Award for “Ensemble of the Year.” In 2025 she placed as Rising Star: Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll.
Bright Folk follows her 2025 duo album Under the Same Stars.
“In the end, Bright Folk carries the meaning of home, my life between cultures, and the invisible threads that connect us across time and space.” – Shuteen Erdenebaatar
Release Date: November 20, 2026 (Motéma Music)
AVAILABLE ON CD/VINYL/DIGITAL
Following the success of her award-winning 2023 debut Rising Sun, pianist Shuteen Erdenebaatar returns with Under the Same Stars — an exquisite duo album with acclaimed ACT Music artist Nils Kugelmann on contra-alto clarinet and upright bass.
Meditative, romantic, and daring, the duo paints poetic miniatures with strokes of jazz, classical, and cinematic music. Their rare instrumentation is enriched by guest features from Jakob Manz (alto recorder) and Dalaijargal Daansuren (morin khuur, Mongolia’s iconic horsehead fiddle), adding soulful mystery and cultural depth.
The album is the second in Erdenebaatar’s trilogy of projects
(Rising Sun (2023); Under the Same Stars (2025);
Beyond the Moon – coming 2027).
"Finesse, lyrisicm and quiet strength...a medicinal record!"
— Télérama (FR)
"A match made in heaven...unusually profound!"
— Jazzthing (DE)
"Deeply soothing"
— Jazzwise (UK)
Release Date: September 12, 2025 (Motéma Music)
AVAILABLE ON CD/VINYL/DIGITAL
A soulful, adventurous, melodic, virtuosic, and richly dynamic all-original debut album from Mongolian jazz pianist, composer and arranger, Shuteen Erdenebaatar.
At just 25, Shuteen is winning awards and selling out major venues with her three world-class ensembles: a unique 20-piece chamber ensemble, her exquisite duo with Nils Kugelmann, and the hard- swinging, highly sensitive young jazz quartet featured on this album. A great debut from a star on the rise.
"Creating a stir in the European jazz scene...Worth discovering."
— Downbeat Magazine (US)
"The best you can hear at the moment"
— SWR Kultur (DE)
"Passionate, stormy, adventurous and clever"
— Süddeutsche Zeitung (DE)
"A notable debut that exceeds expectations at every level"
— All About Jazz (US)
"Quite a revelation...Remarkably moving!"
— MARLBANK (UK)
Release Date: September 15, 2023 (Motéma Music)
AVAILABLE ON CD/VINYL/DIGITAL