Debut album from innovative jazz duo formed by Frankfurt’s award-winning saxophonist, Darius Blair, and distinguished guitarist Niko Huber LEITER have confirmed details of the much-anticipated debut album by BLAIR / HUBER, the innovative jazz duo formed by Frankfurt’s award-winning saxophonist, Darius Blair, and distinguished guitarist Niko Huber. Due for release on October 16, 2026, ECLIPSE was co-produced by the band with their long-time partner, Nicolas Butka, and recorded earlier this year with engineer Antonio Pulli, a two-time Grammy winner, at Berlin’s famed Funkhaus Saal 3. Available on limited edition vinyl and via digital platforms, the album follows the release of a digital single in June, the whimsically titled, deeply funky ‘PRISM BREAK’, featuring drummer Noah Fürbringer of labelmates Moses Yoofee Trio.Friends for well over a decade, Blair and Huber began playing as a duo at the pandemic’s start. Since then, they’ve built an enviable reputation, live and on record, for conjuring a brand of discreetly inventive, captivating tunes from an unusually spartan setup, becoming one of the most promising acts in their homeland’s flourishing jazz scene.ECLIPSE confirms their immaculate instincts, its intriguing appeal encapsulated in nine succinct, bewitching tunes. Reflecting their bond, both musical and personal, ECLIPSE’s title represents the alignment of two forces and the subsequent transformative energy. They were searching, Blair says, “for a common language between hip hop and jazz, something modern and cutting edge that also hits the same spiritual space as the cats in the 60s.” With Blair’s flair for an indelible tune interwoven with Huber’s singular style, BLAIR / HUBER always sound different, like nothing or no one else. On ECLIPSE, they outshine themselves altogether.
