Photos: WATERBODIES' Charlotte Greve Releases New Single "Lighter Blue"
The track's rhythmic mantra explores themes of creative disconnection and renewal, Greve says.
New Amsterdam Records has released 'Lighter Blue,' the latest single from WATERBODIES, the debut solo album from German-born, Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer and singer Charlotte Greve.
'Lighter Blue,' with its rhythmic mantra allows Greve's vocals to twist and turn as she reflects on the healing forces of the creative process. Says Greve, 'The silent crater / volcano represents a period of disconnection from making art and feeling out of touch with it. Tiptoeing around , feeling lost and ungrounded because something essential is missing. In that state, doubt about all things arises, making space for insecurity to flourish. The moment music arrives again, suddenly everything makes sense, the path is lit and you can just walk on it. The forever torch, showing you the way to live your life, gifting you melodies that carry you through the day with purpose.'
Light blue is a color that a close friend assigned to Greve's character about 20 years ago and has since acted as a spirit color.
About WATERBODIES
Produced by Shahzad Ismaily, WATERBODIES features an expansive cast, including the New York-based vocal ensemble KHORIKOS and the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, moving between jazz and ambient styles to classical, power ballads and '80s-inspired dance pop. Unbridled and unapologetic, the album is a deliberate rejection of stylistic cohesion; a defiant journey through Greve's most cherished musical worlds, and her most personal work to date.
Praised by The New York Times as 'definitely her own artist,' and featured on two of the publication's 'best of' lists, Greve has drawn acclaim from Pitchfork, MOJO and The Wire for a sound that moves fluidly across jazz, classical and experimental traditions. A sought-after sidewoman for artists including Chris Morrissey, Laura Veirs, Cass McCombs and Matt Pavolka, she recently premiered Breathe for the award-winning vocal ensemble Lorelei, as well as Continuing, a saxophone-and-choir piece presented by Carnegie Hall that debuted at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
WATERBODIES & The Arch Joint Album Release Show
October 14, 2026 / Public Records (Brooklyn)
Join Charlotte Greve and Kaoru Watanabe to celebrate the release of their new albums, WATERBODIES (Greve) and The Arch (Watanabe), at Public Records. Released by New Amsterdam Records as part of their 2026 selections, these works will be performed live on October 14, 2026.
WATERBODIES spans styles from jazz and ambient to classical, power ballads and '80s-inspired dance pop. Unbridled and unapologetic, the album is a deliberate rejection of stylistic cohesion, a defiant journey through Greve's most cherished musical worlds, and her most personal work to date. On The Arch, Watanabe places the vibrant timbres of traditional Japanese instruments (shinobue and ryuteki flutes, taiko drums, narimono percussion instruments, and koto, a 13-string zither) in compositions and jazz improvisations.
About Charlotte Greve
Charlotte Greve is a Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist, composer, and singer originally from Germany. She has released nine albums as a leader, two of which received the ECHO Jazz Prize. In 2022 she was awarded 'Artist of the year' at the German Jazz Prize.
Charlotte's Brooklyn-based indie-pop influenced band Wood River released their Debut LP in 2015 and released their second full length album 'More Than I Can See' on Yellowbird Records in 2020. Her large scale multi genre piece 'Sediments We Move' was released on New Amsterdam and Figureight Records in October 2021 and received significant attention. Further projects in New York include the trio 'The Choir Invisible' and the ambient duo 'Sooner'. As a side-woman, Charlotte continues to collaborate with different artists such as Chris Morrissey, Matt Pavolka, Cassandra Jenkins and Laura Veirs.
Charlotte has been granted several awards for her work, including the 2012 and 2018 Echo Jazz, the 2010 JazzBaltica Award and the 2008 Praetorius-Musikpreis. Charlotte has received several composition commissions over the past years and recently premiered Breathe, a co-composed piece for the award-winning vocal ensemble Lorelei.
Since 2010 Charlotte has been touring with her own projects in the US, Europe, and South Asia and played at several major jazz and pop festivals such as Jazz Baltica, Jazzfest, Berlin, Haldern Pop, and Jazzfest Kolkata.
About New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit artist's service organization dedicated to supporting new music by composers and performers whose work transcends traditional and outdated genre distinctions. The label's artists have won numerous awards and accolades, including two Grammy Awards, seventeen Grammy nominations, and a Pulitzer Prize. New Amsterdam has also curated and presented more than 500 live concerts of groundbreaking new music. In recent years, the label embarked on a partnership with Nonesuch Records, seeing the release of approximately three albums per year to support contemporary American composers in realizing ambitious creative projects.
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