BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020. Following the new theme “The Melody at Night”, the award enters its twelfth season

Munich. Celebrating its twelfth edition, the successful and well-established format of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award will introduce a new concept. Following the theme “The Melody at Night“, six outstanding international ensembles from Norway, Poland, Germany, Luxemburg and Italy will perform six concerts offered free of charge on Tuesday nights. And while the venue of the concerts will remain the same at the Double Cone of #bmw Welt, this year’s audiences can expect to be greeted by a new set up.

Created in the blue hour of blues music, late-night dances and jam sessions in the early morning hours, #jazz has been a creature of the night from its inception. This is why in the “Great American Songbook” the terms “night” and “moon” will most likely be found more often than even “love”. Therefore, the musicians chosen for the #bmwweltjazzaward2020 will explore this year’s theme “The Melody at Night” by taking a closer look at the night and its associated melodies – and for the very first time, the concerts will be performed on Tuesday nights instead of Sunday matinees.

Following the last #event on March 10, an expert jury will select two ensembles to perform at the final concert held at the auditorium of the #bmw Welt, where the winner will be announced. In addition to prize money of 10,000 Euro, the winning ensemble will receive a trophy designed specially by #bmw Design. The runner-up will receive 5,000 Euro. In addition, the audience’s overall favourite ensemble will receive the audience award, which includes a performance at the festival “Jazz Sommer 2020” held at the Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof.

Dieter Reiter, Mayor of Munich, said, “I am sure that the #bmw Welt #jazz Award will once again bring an enthusiastic audience to the Double Cone of the #bmw Welt to experience outstanding newcomers of the #jazz scene in evening performances free of charge. In the name of the City of Munich, I would like to thank the #bmw Group for this exceptional and lasting commitment.”

Ilka Horstmeier, member of the Board of Management responsible for Human Resources at #bmw AG has become patron of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award: “Every year the #bmw Welt #jazz Award offers a fantastic opportunity for talented artists to show their skills. #jazz stands for many virtues that are also relevant in today´s working world: creativity, improvisation, lifelong learning, tolerance and cultural diversity. We are delighted to offer, for the very first time, six inspiring evening performances following the theme “The Melody at Night”. I would like to thank our partners for the brilliant cooperation.

The upcoming year will also see the fifth edition of the #bmw Welt Young Artist #jazz Award, which is offered in co-operation with the City of Munich. Young #jazz musicians and ensembles who come from Munich or its surrounding area are eligible to apply. As previously seen with award winners Josef Reßle, Roman Sladek, Martin Brugger and Hannah Weiss, the jury members of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award will decide on the level of support granted to the applicants.

Programme of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award 2020

Concerts from 7 pm to about 9.30 pm at the double-coned structure of the #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 pm.

Final concert at the auditorium of #bmw Welt at 7pm:

May 9, 2020                    Final concert featuring the two shortlisted finalists

Tickets for the final concert 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 jury of expert jurors, that proved success in previous years, will be headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (Music and cultural affairs journalist, 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 musikzeitungHeike Lies, Musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital MunichChristiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the international #jazz festival “Bingen swingt”.

Artists and ensembles

January 14, 2020: Cecilie Grundt Quintet

Saxophonist Cecilie Grundt is one of the latest discoveries of the lively 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 while also playing in various other ensembles and big bands. Unlike many other young Scandinavian #jazz musicians, Grundt did not come to #jazz via folk, rock or avantgarde music; her role models include traditional iconic saxophonists from Dexter Gordon over Charlie Parker and Sonny Rollins to Jan Garbarek. This 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, she will develop new soundscapes and melodies based on this tradition at #bmw Welt #jazz Award.

January 21, 2020: 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 a trio or, together with saxophonist Carolyn Breuer, in their own band. Surprisingly, she has only recorded a single project under her own name to date. Its name, however, matches this year’s edition of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award perfectly. In “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 southern European sounds and her reduced lyrical song.

February 11, 2020: Adam Bałdych Quartet

From an early age, Polish violinist Adam Bałdych was a celebrated prodigy in his home country and he launched his international career at the tender age of 16. Following his studies at the Berklee College of Music, he founded his first band Damage Control and began performing at all the great festivals. In 2011, he was signed by Siggi Loch’s ACT label and has since worked with pianists Yaron Herman, Iiro Rantala and Helge Lien. Today, this multiple award-winning musician is based in New York and critics talk of his unparalleled technique which helped “redefine the sound of violins”. With his current project Sacrum Profanum Baldych returns to his classical roots – together with his Polish colleagues, pianist Krzysztof Dys, bassist Michal Baranski and drummer Dawid Fortuna, he focusses on “sacral music” and its great composers, from medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen and Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to the contemporary Russian avant-garde musician Sofia Gubaidukina.

February 18, 2020: Peter Gall Quintet

Born in Bad Aibling and based in Berlin, Peter Gall is one of Germany’s most prominent drummers and composers. He has been playing alongside #jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and numerous singers including Thomas Quasthoff, Jane Monheit, Kim Sanders, Jasmin Tabatabai, Peter Fessler and the New York Voices as well as his brother, pianist Chris Gall, while also being a fixture at bands such as Subtone and Robert Di Gioia’s Web Web. At the #bmw Welt, Gall will present his first album as a band leader. Paradox Dreambox is an impressive kaleidoscope of modern #jazz sounds presented in collaboration with outstanding colleagues of the innovative German and European #jazz scenes. This includes Echo #jazz laureate, saxophonist Wanja Slavin, Dutch guitar icon Reinier Baas, pianist Reiner Böhm, winner of the award Neuer Deutscher Jazzpreis, and the up-and-coming bassist Felix Henkelhausen.

February 25, 2020: Reis/Demuth/Wiltgen

The small Duchy of Luxembourg is home to a new generation of musicians that successfully work on developing a young, open European #jazz independent of the genre’s US-American original style. One of the movement’s most famous international representatives is the trio of pianist Michel Reis, bassist Marc Demuth and drummer Paul Wiltgen. After each having worked on their own successful projects, the three musicians, who have known each other since their school days, formed their trio in 2011. The trio has, since published, three critically acclaimed albums; The most recent being “Once In A Blue Moon”, which will be presented at the #bmw Welt. Bubbling over with ideas, the trio’s album presents surprising, gripping music that excites its audiences and is carried by the confident interpretation of its three musicians.

March 10, 2020: Giovanni Guidi Quintet

When attending his #jazz lectures as a teenager, pianist Giovanni Guidi was discovered by trumpeter Enrico Rava, Italy’s #jazz icon, and he has been Rava’s accompanist on the piano ever since. In addition to the ensuing fame, Guidi continued to gain international recognition for projects of his own. Together with bassist Joe Rehmer and Portuguese drummer João Lobo Guidi performs as a trio – for his current programme “Avec le temps”, however, he added two prominent names of the Italian #jazz scene to his ensemble, woodwind player Francesco Bearzatti and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto. The quintet, which Guidi jokingly calls “the inferno” on account of its potential, favours impressionist, lyrical and bluesy sounds when paying hommage to the poet, composer and chansonnier Léo Ferré or the recently deceased Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko.

This edition of #bmw Welt #jazz Award will once again enjoy the generous support of nmz and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Munich. For the first time, the Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof will be partner of the #bmw Welt #jazz Award where the winners of the audience award will perform at the festival “Jazz Sommer 2020” hosted by the hotel. Additionally, the radio station egoFM will also be a new partner who will be broadcasting all the concerts.