The 20th Saarwellingen International Jazz Workshop will be celebrated with a festival program that has it all! To warm up, we start with one Big band meeting on Sunday, August 11th, 2024. During the week, the workshop runs as usual from Tuesday to Saturday with evening concerts by the lecturers and the final concert of the workshop participants will take place on Saturday. At the end there is a musical fireworks display - a jazz open air that invites you to join in, enjoy, dream and dance.
Gilad Atzmon has been the artistic director of the project since 2014. Just like Thilo Wagner and Claus Krisch, he is also a man from the very beginning and has been a lecturer in the workshop from the very beginning. In this respect, they are also celebrating an anniversary.
Lecturers 2024: Gilad Atzmon - Tony Lakatos - Johannes Müller (saxophones, clarinet) - Carlo Nardozza (trumpet) - Barbara Bürkle (vocals) - Marta Capponi (vocals) - Randolph Matthews (vocals) - Thilo Wagner - Claus Krisch - John Turville ( piano) - Amos Hoffman - Nicolas Meier (guitar) - Ulrich Glassmann - Yaron Stavi (bass) - Jim Hart (drums, vibraphone) - Enzo Zirilli (drums)
This year the concert series on the Nobel campus begins with the big band meeting, the "Jailhouse Big Band" and the "Silent Explosion Orchestra".
The evening will be opened by the Jailhouse Big Band under the direction of Thomas Graf. With around 20 musicians, the big band has once again put together a varied program this year. Jazz standards, works from the areas of funk and Latin, as well as pieces of modern big band music will be heard.
The Saarland drummer Kevin Naßhan brings together some of the most talented jazz musicians in the southwest German music scene with his Silent Explosion Orchestra, founded in 2014. The formation is already celebrating its 10th band anniversary this year. Of course, a concert in Saarwellingen, where the SEO held its debut concert on April 5, 2014, cannot be missed on this occasion. During this time, the Silent Explosion Orchestra has repeatedly managed to surprise its audience and create captivating concert evenings through many cross-genre project concerts. The concerts were of a high musical standard, but also always brought with them a portion of youthful looseness and entertaining humor.
Collaborations with dancers, cabaret artists and classical ensembles are just as much a part of her portfolio as gala evenings with greats from national and international jazz. The musicians led by Kevin Na’han were able to regularly present their audience with well-known guests such as Scott Hamilton, James Morrison and Christopher Dell. In addition, two studio albums and a live album were produced. As in previous years, the Silent Explosion Orchestra will once again perform at the big band meeting of the Saarwellingen Jazz Workshop this year and will delight the audience together with guest soloists from the workshop's team of lecturers.
As every year, the eagerly awaited opening concert of the 20th International Jazzwerkstatt promises an evening full of rousing sounds and virtuoso performances. Internationally renowned musicians, who share the stage in various ensembles, create a unique musical experience.
"All in: All-Stars in Concert" promises a unique fusion of different styles.
In the beer garden at the lake there are fine wines from Pinard de Picard, freshly tapped beer and delicious homemade burgers, wraps, paninis, fries and much more in vegan and vegetarian versions on every concert evening.
Admission to the outdoor area on campus is from 6 p.m. so that you can have something to eat and drink in peace beforehand. Admission to the hall is only after the sound check.
The Ensembles are with:
Gilad Atzmon (art director, saxophone, clarinette)
Tony Lakatos (saxophone)
Johannes Müller (saxophone)
Carlo Nardozza (trumpet)
Barbara Bürkle (vocals)
Marta Capponi (vocals)
Randolph Matthews (vocals, beatboxing)
Thilo Wagner (piano)
Claus Krisch (piano)
John Turville (piano)
Amos Hoffman (guitar)
Nicolas Meier (guitar)
Ulrich Glaszmann (bass)
Yaron Stavi (bass)
Jim Hart (vibraphone, drums)
Enzo Zirilli (drums)
The focus of the lecturers' concerts is the "American Song Book" and in particular the music of Jimmy Van Heusen, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Today, interpretations of such pieces by great jazz musicians are often better known than the original versions. Many songs were sung by the world's most famous performers in jazz and its fringes.
Barbara Bürkle, Tali Atzmon und Randolph Matthews (vocals)
Gilad Atzmon & Johannes Müller (saxophone)
Amos Hoffman (guitare)
Thilo Wagner & John Turville (piano)
Yaron Stavi (bass)
Enzo Zirilli (drums)
Jim Hart (vibraphone)
Van Heusen (1913-1990) may not be as well-known as Gershwin or Porter, but he undoubtedly contributed some of the finest titles to the American Song Book and music of the 20th century. Van Heusen had written over 800 songs - mainly for films - since the end of the 1930s, of which around 50 are the so-called standards, i.e. those songs that have been played, interpreted and recorded over and over again by jazz singers and musicians for decades: My One and Only Love, Darn that Dream, Nancy.
And then of course there are the (title) songs from the fifties and sixties that were tailor-made for Sinatra. For years and decades, Sinatra and Van Heusen hung out so much together that a Van Heusen song was already soaked in Sinatra before he even sang it for the first time.
Barbara Bürkle, Tali Atzmon and Randolph Matthews will sing this evening. Gilad Atzmon and Johannes Muller can be heard on the saxophone. Amos Hoffman plays the guitar as an additional melodic instrument. John Turville and Thilo Wagner on piano, Yaron Stavi on bass as well as Enzo Zirili on drums and Jim Hart on vibraphone make up the rhythm section.
Randolph Matthews & Marta Capponi (vocals)
Tony Lakatos (saxophone)
Carlo Nardozza (trumpet)
Nicolas Meier (guitare)
Thilo Wagner (piano)
Ulrich Glaszmann (bass)
Enzo Zirilli (drums)
Probably the most famous American Song Book composer, whether due to tunes such as Summer Time, I Got Rhythm, But Not for Me, is Gershwin (1898-1937). Even if you don't know jazz, you know the name. George Gershwin is probably the number one traditional jazz composer.
Many of his works also achieved great popularity beyond America. They found their way into jazz with interpretations by well-known stars, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Ray_Conniff and Barbra Streisand. But Gershwin was also taken up in rock, for example with versions of Summertime by Janis Joplin.
Barbara Bürkle & Marta Capponi (vocals)
Tony Lakatos, Gilad Atzmon & Johannes Müller (saxophone)
Carlo Nardozza (trumpet)
Nicolas Meier & Amos Hoffman (guitare)
John Turville (piano)
Yaron Stavi & Ulrich Glaszmann (bass)
Jim Hart (drums)
The brilliant composers of Love for Sale (Cole Porter) and All The Things You Are (Jerome Kern) meet at Campus Nobel. They meet Marta Capponi, Barbara Bürkle-voc; Tony Lakatos, Gilad Atzmon, Johannes Mullers- sax, Carlos Nardozza trumpet, Nicolas Meier & Amos Hoffman - Guit, John Turville (p), Yaron Stavi & Ulrich Glassmann - bass, Jim Hart -dr, who dedicate themselves to their works. Jerome David Kern (1885 - 1945) was an American composer who wrote music for dozens of Broadway shows and Hollywood films. His best-known titles include Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Ol' Man River, All the Things You Are and The Way You Look Tonight. Cole Porter has composed around 40 musicals and written the lyrics to them, many of which have become evergreens. His style is usually described as elegant or sophisticated. His talent as a lyricist was expressed in many unusual and funny lines, which were often peppered with puns and therefore often caused him problems with the censorship.
For almost a week, the workshop participants are taught by their tutors. What they have worked out as a combo in this period, you show this evening. The combos are each coached by two lecturers - and it is always surprising how diverse the results of this "work phase" are. And one more thing becomes clear - the combos are the heart of this event, here meet the lecturers and students, here everyone wants to show what he can. And the joy of playing, the joy of music usually leaps over the audience as a spark.
To celebrate the anniversary of our jazz workshop, a number of bands will be performing both indoors and outdoors. In this way we are fulfilling the dream of a small jazz open air at the lake with additional indoor concerts. Among others, there will be performances (in addition to the "Open Stage" for all alumni who decide to contribute something to the program for a short time - please contact kultur@saarwellingen.de - you will also be on the guest list!)
Michael Benoit (saxophone) - Michael Schäfer (bass) - Daniel Krüger (keys) - Dominik Lauer (drums)
The band around drummer Dominik Lauer consists of long-time friends of the musician, who was previously mainly known as a sideman. Lauer was an integral part of the workshop for years - and his drums for much longer. Michael Schäfer is still a supporter and sponsor of the workshop today and was always ready to step in when there was a need and there weren't enough bass players to fill the combos. The band name "Tower of Lauer" already suggests that a selection of favorite songs from different styles are presented with confidence, musical sensitivity and a pinch of self-irony.
Tali Atzmon (vocals) - Roman Gomez (bandoneon, guitare) - Yaron Stavi (double bass) - Gilad Atzmon (saxophone, clarinet)
Tali Atzmon began a brilliant career as an actress and singer in Israel. After graduating from drama school, she became a member of
the Israeli National Theater Company. In recent years, Tali Atzmon has worked as a singer and composer and founded the Talinka
Quartet with her husband Gilad. The quartet has released two highly acclaimed albums, "Talinka" and "Rainbow Over Kolonaki".
"Poesis" is also a project by the artist couple, both of whom are an integral part of the workshop.
Old-fashioned yet contemporary, impetuous and enchanting is the sound of the "Poesis Quartet", which has found a way to combine the
sound of Artie Shaw and Bechet with that of Petroloukas. The songs and pieces from the international repertoire that the "Poesis
Quartet" performs in this performance are compositions by Nino Rota, Django Reinhardt, Sidney Bechet and Marlene Dietrich: hits
that are related to some of the... ;other music meets homogenized originals.
Jonathan Strieder (trombone) - Paul Scheugenpflug (saxophone) - Jona Heckmann (piano) - Niklas Schumacher (bass) - Kevin Naßhan (drums)
FäZZ embodies the joy of experimentation, improvisation and interaction and combines traditional and contemporary jazz music. Kevin Nasshan, who suggested this project as part of the "Alumientreff", is one of the founders of the project as part of his master's degree. The participating musicians explore crossover music of different styles in their various projects and formats. You draw from a large pool of first-class performing musicians, composers and conductors. They perform in different formations - from a five-piece quintet to large sound bodies such as a big band. They always invite exciting guest musicians from the Rhine-Main area for their projects. The first big project was realized at the beginning of the year with Tony Lakatos.
The saxophonist, a member of the HR Big Band for many years and winner of the Hessian Jazz Prize 2020, is one of the leading saxophonists of our time - and almost coincidentally is also one of the lecturers in our workshop. Half of the program consists of Lakato's own compositions and compositions from the Master Big Band course at the HfMDK Frankfurt, which were written specifically for this project. The musicians are very happy to be able to perform this wonderful project in Saarwellingen, where Tony Lakatos has been a lecturer at the summer workshop for many years.
Nora Kamm (saxophone/flute/vocals) - Eli Frot (keys) - Alexandre Bamba (bass) - Michael Nyenty (drums) - Fab Beaurel Bambi (percussion)
Frankfurt native Nora Kamm operates in the border area between jazz, afro and fusion. Kamm began playing the flute at the age of twelve and discovered the saxophone five years later. Around this time she also discovered the Saarwellingen Jazz Workshop and took one or two suggestions from there: She studied jazz at the Lyon Conservatory. She released two albums with the band Dreisam and played with musicians such as Michel Benita, Manu Dibango, Andy Sheppard and Cheick Tidiane Seck.
She is the winner of the Selmer Soloist Prize. After moving to Paris in 2018, she intensified her interest in West and Central African sounds and rhythms. This is reflected in her first solo album "ONE", which Nora Kamm is now presenting as part of her release tour. We can look forward to the performance of a power woman and virtuoso who transcends genre boundaries with her music.
Single ticket for the lecturers concerts / jazz open air / big band meeting: €20 / reduced €15
(Discount for students / unemployed / social assistance recipients)
Festival pass (without big band meeting) €70 / reduced €50
(Discount for students / unemployed / social assistance recipients)
Free admission for children and young people up to 15 years old