LET'S TALK ABOUT JAZZ ... and cultural diversity
"If you have the swing," jazz guitarist Coco Schumann once said, "you can't march in step." Born in Berlin, Schumann once survived the horrors of Auschwitz and later became a prominent voice for freedom and human rights - and a sought-after musician.

Even today, the anti-fascist achievements of the past 80 years are by no means set in stone. More than ever, the democratic public is under attack from the right. Alongside many others, the free cultural scene is also a popular enemy of those marching in lockstep. However, the political conjuncture is not a law of nature, but can be shaped: this is why it is important to make use of the right to vote in the local and European elections on June 9 and thus strengthen democracy, civil society and cultural diversity.
What this can be worth, for example, can be experienced two days earlier - on June 7 - at the naTo: Leipzig pianist Olga Reznichenko and her trio will present their new album "Rhythm Dissection". Like her debut "Somnambule", it breathes the spirit of musical freedom and combines a variety of musical coordinates into an inextricable and highly exciting jazz construct. Quite rightly, the trio has already been nominated for the German Jazz Award in the "Band of the Year" category.
A premiere of a special kind can also be experienced at naTo at the end of the month: Richard Koch on trumpet, clarinettist Claudio Puntin and double bassist Christian Weber, three of today's most exciting jazz musicians, will perform together as a trio for the first time. Further information about the program cannot even be elicited from the sheer endless sea of information called the Internet, which on the other hand can be a nice change. The only thing to do is to go and be surprised. And if you want, you can still enjoy the great solo works of the protagonists until then.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to a series of final concerts by this year's HMT Leipzig graduates: Percussionist Jonas Müller on the 19th, guitarist Felix Kantelberg on the 26th and pianist Robbi Nakayama on the 29th of this month will all be taking their public final exams at Horns Erben. They all underline what we have long known anyway: There is no need to worry about the next generation of jazz musicians.
See you soon,
Luca
Jazzkalender-Editorial office