Launch of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020.

Munich. The twelfth edition of the BMW Welt Jazz Award will be launched on January 14 and 21, 2020 at the Double Cone of BMW Welt. A total of six free concerts given on Tuesday evenings from January to March 2020 will see international jazz ensembles interpret this year’s theme “The Melody at Night.” The programme will include live performances by musicians from Norway, Germany, Poland, Luxemburg and Italy. Following the concerts, an expert jury will nominate two finalists to compete for the award on May 9, 2020, at the auditorium of BMW Welt.

On January 14, the Norwegian ensemble Cecilie Grundt Quintet will kick off this year’s BMW Welt Jazz Award. Saxophonist Cecilie Grundt is one of the latest discoveries of the Norwegian jazz scene. Trained in Stavanger, Trondheim and Valencia, this 28-year-old musician founded her first band Matrjosjka in 2016, closely followed by her quintet in 2017, which she focusses most on. Her role models include traditional iconic saxophonists such as Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Jan Garbarek, which is why she named her debut album “Contemporary Old School” – a humoristic nod to the inspiration that informs all her pieces. Together with trumpeter Øyvind Mathisen, pianist Håvard Aufles, bassist Morten Stai and drummer Åsmund Smidt, Grundt will develop new soundscapes and melodies based on this tradition at BMW Welt Jazz Award.

For the second concert on January 21, BMW Welt will be host to Andrea Hermenau Quintet. For many years, pianist, singer, percussionist and composer Andrea Hermenau has been an integral part of Munich’s jazz scene. She performs as part of the Etna Quartet and the Fjoralba Turku Quartet, in various ensembles of Harald Rüschenbaum, at Jerker Kluge’s Deep Jazz, as part of trios or, together with saxophonist Carolyn Breuer, in their own band. For her project “Splendours of the Night” Hermenau arranged and composed pieces that for her represent the music of the night and emphasize its poetic qualities. Playing as part of a quintet alongside saxophonist Till Martin, bassist Sven Faller, drummer Bastian Jütte and the American vibraphonist Tim Collins, Hermenau creates her accomplished harmonic piano sound, her highly developed sense of rhythm, her passion for Southeastern European sounds and her reduced atmospheric vocals.

Programme of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020

Concerts from 7.00 pm to approximately 9.30 pm at the Double Cone of BMW Welt:
January 14, 2020         Cecilie Grundt Quintet
January 21, 2020         Andrea Hermenau Quintet
February 11, 2020       Adam Bałdych Quartet
February 18, 2020       Peter Gall Quintet
February 25, 2020       Reis/Demuth/Wiltgen
March 10, 2020           Giovanni Guidi Quintet

The concerts are offered free of charge; however, seating is limited and cannot be guaranteed. Doors open at 6.00 pm.

The final concert featuring the two shortlisted finalists will be at the auditorium of BMW Welt on May 9, 2020 at 7.00 pm. Tickets will be available as of January 14, 2020, at BMW Welt and München Ticket.

This year’s events will be hosted by Hannah Weiss, winner of the BMW Welt Young Artists Award 2019.

Jury
The distinguished panel of expert jurors, that proved successful in previous years, will be headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (journalist for music and cultural affairs, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and will include the following members:
Roland Spiegel, Editor and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK
Andreas Kolb, Editor-in-chief of JazzZeitung.de 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”.

This edition of BMW Welt Jazz Award will once again enjoy the generous support of neue Musikzeitung and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Munich. For the first time, the Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof will be partner of BMW Welt Jazz Award and the winners of the audience award will perform at the festival “Jazz Sommer 2020” hosted by the hotel. In addition, the radio station egoFM will also join the ranks of new partners and broadcastall  concerts.

For further questions please contact:
Doris Fleischer
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 278 06
Email: Doris.Fleischer@bmw.de

Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 247 53
Email: Thomas.Girst@bmwgroup.com

Christophe Koenig
Spokesperson BMW Brand und Marketing
Telephone: +49 89 382 56097
Email: Christophe.Koenig@bmw.de

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Email: presse@bmw.de

About BMW Group Cultural Engagement
For almost 50 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 contemporary and mod- ern art, classical music and jazz 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, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. As part of its art programme “Muse”, Rolls-Royce partners for the initiative “The Dream Commission” with two internationally esteemed art institutions. Together with Fondation Beyeler and Serpentine Galleries, emerging and established artists are invited to submit a moving-image work that delivers an immersive sensory experience. The artists are nominated and chosen by renowned personalities of the art world like Daniel, Birnbaum, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Cao Fei, and Theodora Vischer. BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities for granted – as this initiative is as essential for producing 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

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BMW Welt – at the heart of the brand, on the pulse of the city
The BMW Welt welcomes over 3 million visitors per year. With its pioneering architecture, BMW Welt is the heart of all the brands in the BMW Group – BMW, the sub-brands BMW M and BMW i, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW Motorrad, which are impressively presented in their own worlds of experience. But it is not only the exhibitions and the collection of new vehicles that are highlights for car lovers from all over the world. Visitors can enjoy a year-round programme of varied events covering culture, art and entertainment as well as a popular event location for over 400 external events per year. The various restaurants of the BMW Welt offer a variety of culinary delights up to star gastronomy. In the BMW Welt Junior Campus, children and youngsters can enjoy exciting guided tours and workshops on the themes of mobility and sustainability.

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The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2018, the BMW Group sold over 2,490,000 passenger vehicles and more than 165,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2018 was € 9.815 billion on revenues amounting to € 97.480 billion. As of 31 December 2018, the BMW Group had a workforce of 134,682 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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