Emotional, charming, sensitive: Amid the turbulent 1920s, the “crooner” emerged as a new ideal of urban masculinity, a figure who, over time, was propelled to enormous popularity by singers such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Nearly 100 years later, however, he seems to have had his day.

At least that is what the “Fallen Crooner” project by Leipzig-based double bassist Rober Lucaciu suggests; with his album of the same name, he recently launched a critical discourse on established images of masculinity. He is joined by a top-notch sextet featuring musicians such as singer Laura Totenhagen and trombonist Shannon Barnett. The diverse timbres of jazz prove to be an apt medium for expressing the complexity and contradictions of lived gender.

Throughout the 13 tracks, the band’s sound ranges from smooth, more classically oriented jazz tunes like the opener “Imposter” to virtuosic pieces such as “Streams” or “Lonely Woman.” It is particularly in the latter that Lucaciu demonstrates why he was recently—and not entirely by chance—nominated for this year’s German Jazz Award in the “String Instruments” category.