Brooklyn Instead of Saxony: Five years after receiving the " Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award ," jazz drummer Philippos Thönes returns to the " Leipziger Jazztage." With his trio, Sonic Abra, he follows in the footsteps of African-American jazz traditions.

“Philippos Thönes impresses as a drummer who, with his high-energy playing, is able to provide creative inspiration,” wrote Eva Klesse, Nils Wogram, and Bert Noglik in 2021. At the time, the three were members of the jury for the Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award, which Thönes received that year. 

The distinguished trio particularly emphasized that the young musician draws on a wide range of influences and has thus had a lasting impact on the Leipzig jazz scene. Five years later, this can undoubtedly still be emphasized: What began in 2017 as a collaboration with his longtime companion Uli Huebner in the ensemble Church of Jupiter—with its spiritual-jazz elements—has found a consistent continuation since 2023 with the trio Sonic Abra. 

Despite the reduced lineup—featuring Thönes, Huebner, and Flo Müller on bass—the band’s sonic range is anything but limited: Sonic Abra captivates listeners with a wide variety of musical expressions, ranging from complex harmonic structures and shifting grooves to elements of swing and fusion rock. The trio’s common thread is undoubtedly Black American music, particularly African American jazz from the 1960s. So it’s hardly surprising that their debut album, *The Earth Has Weight*, released in May, with its post-bop influences, sounds far more like it was recorded in Brooklyn than in Saxony. 

Previously:
Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award:Alma Gröning with the Alou String Quartet

Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award: Jakob Obleser "Music is just wiggly air"