The BMW Welt Jazz Award celebrates its fifth anniversary following the motto “Leading Drums”. The first two of six ensembles will perform at the BMW Welt Double Cone on 20th and 27th January.

Munich. When the doors of the Double Cone open for the fifth BMW Welt Jazz Award on Sunday, the main focus will be on drummers who have developed from rhythmical accompanists to instrumentalists, bandleaders and composers with their own style. On two Sundays each month from January until March, outstanding representatives of the international jazz scene will perform for the Munich public following the motto “Leading Drums”. The two finalists selected by a high-class jury of experts will then compete against each other at the final taking place at the BMW Welt Auditorium on April 20, 2013.

Next Sunday,January 20, 2013 at 11 a.m., the first of the admission-free matinees will commence at the BMW Welt Double Cone with a concert given by the Jim Black Trio feat. Elias Stemeseder & Chris Tordini. Jim Black is one of the world’s leading experimental jazz drummers. The 45-year old American refuses to be categorised neither into a musical context nor as a sheer accompanist. Following his music studies, Jim Black became a member of various ensembles in Seattle and New York, later also in Europe. Influenced by creative fellow musicians who included among others Charlie Haden, Uri Caine and Chris Speed, he developed an incomparable style characterised both by a percussive, complex but laid-back rhythm as well as genre diversity. The trio “Somatic” performing at the BMW Welt is Black’s own project in which the bassist Chris Tordini and Elias Stemeseder, a very promising young pianist from Austria, are involved.

At the second Sunday matinee on January 27, 2013, the jazz artist Dejan Terzic will present his musical skills along with his quartet “MELANOIA”.

Dejan Terzic is one of the few internationally renowned drummers from the first generation of musicians who have completed the relatively recent academic jazz courses held at German music conservatories. After studying in Nuremberg, Würzburg and the USA, he performed at first with a number of big bands. Following a period of ten years during which he traced his South East Asia roots with his own quartet “Underground”, he founded the quartet “MELANOIA”, a modern jazz ensemble features saxophonist Hayden Chisholm, guitarist Ronny Graupe and pianist Achim Kaufmann.

BMW Welt Jazz Award 2013 - programme

Selected matinees from 11 a.m. to approx. 1.30 p.m. at the BMW Welt Double Cone:

January 20, 2013      Jim Black Trio feat. Elias Stemeseder & Chris Tordini

January 27, 2013      Dejan Terzic – MELANOIA

February 17, 2013     Samuel Rohrer – Daniel Erdmann w/ Frank Möbus & Vincent Courtois

February 24, 2013    Ari Hoenig Quartet

March 10, 2013         Alfred Vogel – Die Glorreichen Sieben

March 17, 2013         Antonio Sanchez Migration

Admission is free, but capacity limited. Therefore seats cannot be guaranteed. Admission begins at 10.30 a.m.

After the last matinee, a jury of experts will select two of the six ensembles for the grand finale concert at the Auditorium where they will choose the winner. The BMW Welt Jazz Award is endowed with a prize money of €15,000, of which €10,000 go to the winner along with a trophy designed exclusively for the event by BMW Design, whilst €5,000 are awarded to second place. In addition to the jury prize, an audience prize is also awarded. The ensemble with the best average mark after assessment of all concerts wins an exclusive stay and an appearance at Schloss Elmau.

Jury

The high-class jury chaired by Oliver Hochkeppel (music and culture journalist of the Süddeutsche Zeitung) comprises the following members:

Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the Jazzclub Unterfahrt, Munich.

Andreas Kolb, editor-in-chief of the “JazzZeitung” and the “neue musikzeitung”

Heike Lies, musicologist for music and musical theatre in the culture department of the state capital of Munich.

Roland Spiegel, music editor at the Bavarian Broadcasting Company, BR-KLASSIK, with the main focus on jazz.  

Finale at the BMW Welt Auditorium commences at 7 p.m.:

April 20, 2013                       Final concert with the two nominated finalists

Tickets for the finale on April 20, 2013 can be purchased from the BMW Welt and München Ticket commencing January 20, 2013.

Photographic material is available from the BMW PressClub (www.press.bmwgroup.com).

About BMW’s Cultural Commitment

For more than 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel Barenboim and Anna Netrebko have co-operated with BMW. The company has also commissioned famous architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design important corporate buildings and plants. In 2011, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a global initiative of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the Guggenheim Museum and the BMW Group celebrated its world premiere in New York. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all the cultural activities it is involved in for granted – as this is just as essential for groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview

BMW Welt. The heart of the brands, on the pulse of the city.

With around 2.5 million visitors each year, BMW Welt in Munich is Bavaria’s favourite place of interest and since opening in 2007, it has established itself as a true crowd puller. With its trendsetting architecture, BMW Welt is the heart of all brands produced by the BMW Group – BMW, the sub-brands BMW M and BMW i, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, BMW Motorrad und Husqvarna Motorcycles, which all present themselves impressively in their own worlds of experience. However, not only are the exhibitions and the collection of a new car highlights for automobile fans from all over the world. All year round visitors can expect a varied programme of events comprising culture, art and entertainment as well as culinary delights in several restaurants. Whether jazz concert, poetry slam, clubbing, improvisational theatre, family Sunday, film premiere, gala event or panel discussion, BMW Welt offers an ideal platform for events for up to 2,500 guests. At BMW Welt children and young people enjoy exciting guided tours and workshops dealing with mobility and sustainability issues.

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In the event of enquiries please contact:

Dr. Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-(0)89-382-24753, Fax: +49-(0)89-382-10881

Antonia Ruder

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Cultural Engagement

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E-mail: presse@bmw.de

Gabriele Weber

BMW Welt

Head of Brand Experience

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