BMW Welt Jazz Award 2017

Munich. The BMW Welt Jazz Award will enter its ninth season in January 2017. Following the motto “Amazing Bass!”, a range of outstanding international ensembles will perform at the double-coned structure of BMW Welt in a total of six free Sunday matinees between January and March 2017. The featured musicians hail from Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, France, USA and Germany. The final concert of BMW Welt Jazz Award and the competition for its prize money totalling 15,000 Euro will take place on May 6, 2017 at the auditorium of BMW Welt.

This year, the bass will take centre stage – an instrument that plays an important and significant role in jazz. During their live performances, the artists will show just how versatile this instrument really is and they will electrify the audience with their creativity.

After the sixth and last matinee, a panel of expert jurors will nominate two of the participating ensembles to perform at the final concert at BMW Welt’s auditorium. In addition to a prize of 10,000 Euro, the winner will receive a trophy designed specially by BMW Design; the runner-up will receive 5,000 Euro. The ensemble with the best combined average of all concerts will receive the audience award, which includes an appearance at Jazz Classica Festival 2017 at resort Schloss Elmau.

Maximilian Schöberl, head of BMW Group Communication and Policy, said, “Year after year, the BMW Welt Jazz Award offers a unique experience. It is a platform for artists to present themselves and their artistic creativity to both amateur audiences and renowned jury members alike. I am convinced that our audience will once again be very excited. We would like to thank not only the musicians but also the city of Munich and our partners for the long-standing collaboration.”

“BMW Welt Jazz Award’s matinees are legendary and year after year, they uphold their outstanding reputation as presenters of internationally renowned musicians. I am pleased to see that the bass will take centre stage in this year’s edition – an instrument that because of its diverse expressions provides the musical foundation of many ensembles. Both the international BMW Welt Jazz Award and, since 2016, the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award for emerging talents from Munich are an audible as well as visible sign of the outstanding commitment of BMW Group to the cultural life of our city and it is an absolute must of our event calendar,” added Dieter Reiter, mayor of the state capital Munich.

The upcoming year will also see the second season of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award, which is awarded together with the city of Munich. In addition to a prize money, the winner will be offered to hold a concert at Unterfahrt Jazzclub as well as an appearance at the Leipzig-based Jazztage festival.

Programme of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2017

Matinees: 11 am to c.1:30 pm at the double-coned structure of BMW Welt:

January 22, 2017         Chris Minh Doky & New Nordic Jazz

February 5, 2017         Lars Danielsson plays Liberetto feat. Grégory Privat

February 12, 2017       Henning Sieverts: Symmethree

February 19, 2017       Rauned Garcia-Fons: Revoir Paris

March 5, 2017             Linda Oh: Sun Pictures

March 12, 2017           Eva Kruse: On the Mo

Admission is free of charge but seating is limited. Tickets are subject to availability. Doors open at 10.30 am.

Grand finale at the auditorium of BMW Welt at 7 pm

May 6, 2017   Final concert featuring the two nominated finalists

Tickets for the grand finale on May 6, 2017, will be available as of January 22, 2017, at BMW Welt and München Ticket.

As in previous years, the programme will be hosted by Beate Sampson, jazz expert and editor at the German broadcasting station “BR-KLASSIK”.

Jury

The distinguished panel of expert jurors will be headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (journalist for music and cultural affairs at the German daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung”) and will include the following members:

Roland Spiegel, editor at the music desk and jazz expert at the German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk “BR‑KLASSIK“;

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

Heike Lies, musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital Munich;

Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”.

Artists and Ensembles

January 22, 2017: Chris Minh Doky & New Nordic Jazz

In Danish jazz, bassists have a long-standing tradition as band leaders. Continuing this tradition in a convincing and unique manner is Chris Minh Doky, son of a Danish pop singer and Vietnamese doctor and guitarist. As a teenager, he studied piano at the Royal Danish Academy for Music before turning to the bass age 15. He went to the US, where he became an integral part of the young New Yorkean Scene of the early 90s. Whether playing alongside the likes of Larry Goldings, Mike Stern or Randy Brecker or together with his brother, pianist Niels Lan Doky as part of Doky Brothers, his renditions always combine East Coast grooves with the lyrical sounds of Scandinavia. With his current trio New Nordic Jazz, Chris Minh Doky once again gives a taste of this special mix.

February 5, 2017: Lars Danielsson plays Liberetto feat. Grégory Privat

For many years, Swedish bassist Lars Danielsson has been one of the major voices in European jazz. Originally a cellist, he produces a more melodic, warmer sound than most of his colleagues. Add to this mix the “Nordic sound” with which Danielsson joined in his own way the modern, open style European jazz that incorporates both classical and pop music. With his quartet and its members including David Liebman, Bobo Stenson and Jon Christensen alone he recorded ten albums. Other than developing projects with his singer wife Cæcilie Norby, he favoured working with pianists as of late – he recorded several albums with Polish musician Leszek Mozder and for “Libretto” I and II, he formed an entirely harmonious duo with Armenian musician Tigran Hamasyan. Aficionados hold Grégory Privat, a young musician from Martinique in high regard, and it is with him that Danielsson will perform at BMW Welt for the very first time.

February 12, 2017: Henning Sieverts: Symmethree

This inhabitant of Munich holds a special place among Europe’s top bassists as he also holds a degree of the German School of Journalism and works as radio host. He is featured on more than 120 albums and continuously makes appearances with his own remarkable projects. Symmetry plays an important role in Sieverts’ musical world, sometimes exclusively as mirrored compositions, sometimes with intriguing rhythmical and harmonious numbers games with which this Berlin-born musician turns his passion for chess, Sudoku, Scrabble and riddles of all kinds into music. Together with his trio, which includes star trombonist Nils Wogram, who won the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2011, and guitarist Ronny Graupe, Henning Sieverts will present his brand new, second project “Symmethree” at “Amazing Bass!”.

February 19, 2017: Renaud Garcia-Fons: Revoir Paris

The Ibero-Frenchman Renaud Garcia-Fons might just be the greatest virtuoso among jazz bassists. Aged 53, he turns what is often reduced to a rhythmic humdrum of a bell metronome into a lyrical, singing and polyphonic cornucopia of bouncy staccato and legato strokes in the highest ranges otherwise known only from violin or guitar performances. For many years Garcia-Fons has been using this unique tone for his programme featuring Mediterranean jazz influenced by Italian, southern French, Spanish and even Arabic and south eastern European folk music. In his new trio, together with accordionist David Ventucci and vibraphonist and percussionist Stephen Caracci, he now turns back to the urbanity of his native Paris. This reunion, named “Revoir Paris”, covers a broad range indeed – from Musette to hot jazz, from chansons in the tradition of Charles Trenet to folklore imaginaire, from “Montmartre en courant” to “Rue du Dragon”.

March 5, 2017: Linda Oh: Sun Pictures

Bassist Linda Oh grew up in Western Australia as the daughter of Malaysian immigrants and has been living in New York, the Mecca of Jazz, since 2008. To the faithful members of the BMW Welt Jazz Award audience, she is no stranger – in 2015, she accompanied guitarist and singer Camila Meza in such an impressive manner that everyone understood why this winner of many newcomer’s competitions (including the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer‘s Award 2008) as well as scholarships in the USA is currently one of the most sought-after bassists. She played alongside a range of musicians including Joe Lovano, Vijay Iyer, Dave Douglas and Kenny Barron and just became a member of the Pat Metheny’s new quartet. She has made her name not only as an instrumentalist but also as a composer for a broad range of ensembles and short film projects. At BMW Welt, Oh will perform as part of a quartet alongside saxophonist Ben Wendel, guitarist Matthew Stevens and drummer Justin Brown and together they will present her third album “Sun Pictures”.

March 12, 2017: Eva Kruse: On the Mo

Bassists and drummers typically act as the supporting acts of jazz. Which is why it is all the more remarkable when the career of a female bassist is linked to a single ensemble, as is the case for Eva Kruse and Trio [em]. Ever since the early stages of the new millennium, she has symbolised the new beginnings of young German jazz together with Michael Wollny and Eric Schaefer (also as the winners of the very first BMW Welt Jazz Award 2009). After her parental leave, Kruse changed directions, moved to Sweden, played with star trombonist Nils Landgren and finally brought her very own projects to fruition. Following “In Water”, which won the Echo Jazz, she will present “On the Mo”, her next fascinating programme, at BMW Welt. Arranged for a quintet, its outstanding qualities are the result of a somewhat unusual orchestration: Eric Schaefer on the drums, Christian Jormin on the piano, Uwe Steinmetz on the saxophone and Tjadina Wake-Walker on the oboe.

This edition of the BMW Welt Jazz Award will once again enjoy the generous support of BR-KLASSIK, „nmz“, „nmz-online“ and „JazzZeitung.de“, resort Schloss Elmau and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich.

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

and via LoeschHundLiepold Kommunikation GmbH

on behalf of the department for public relations of BMW Welt.

Telephone: +49-89-720187-15

Email: bmw-welt@lhlk.de

For further questions please contact:

Dr Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-89-382-24753

Leonie Laskowski

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-89-382-45382

Bernhard Ederer

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Spokesperson BMW Welt

Telephone: +49-89-382-28556

www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

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