Petter Udland Johansen has been known for years as an exceptional interpreter of early music. With his distinctive voice and keen sense of style and text interpretation, he has made a name for himself as a specialist in repertoire from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. Now he is opening a new chapter: on his album Where Is Love, the versatile singer turns his attention for the first time to the great songs of the American Songbook – timeless classics by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and other masters.

Johansen is joined by Christian Gutfleisch, his ideal musical partner at the piano. Gutfleisch performs on a Blüthner grand piano from 1910, whose warm, velvety tone forms a poetic bridge between past and present. The instrument seems to carry within it the sound world of the very era in which many of these songs were written – while offering an abundance of colour and intimacy that perfectly suits the duo’s chamber-like approach.