Stan Sulzmann (tenor & soprano sax)
Born in London, England in 1948, Stan’s first extensive contact with music was as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Britain at the age of 16. Later on he studied the flute and the saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music. He was member of the John Dankworth Big Band, Mike Gibbs Orchestra and performed regularly at the Ronnie Scott Club in London. He has toured with the Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band, with Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin and many others. The first quartet of his own he formed with John Taylor on piano, Ron Mathweson on bass, and Tony Levin on drums. For many years he was a member of the Kenny Wheeler Big Band and Sextet. His quartet has made recordings with the BBC and taken part in the London, Molde (Norway), and Zurich Festivals. He played at the Hamburg Jazz Festival in Germany with Gordon Beck and Tony Oxley in 1982. Besides making the recording "Seven Steps to Evans" for MPS Records, he has recorded with Clark Terry, Volker Kriegel, Eberhard Weber and toured with Phil Woods and the Gil Evans Band. In 1987 he recorded a duet entitled "Everybody’s Song but my own?" with the pianist John Taylor. In the same year he went on a European tour with Dave Holland and Kenny Wheeler. Stan joined the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1992.
Gerd Dudek (tenor & soprano sax)
Born in 1938 in Gross-Döbern (now in Poland) Gerd Dudek, after completing his studies, was a member of the famous Kurt Edelhagen Big Band from 1960 to 1964. Whereupon he joined the Manfred Schoof Quintet. As a member of the Albert Mangelsdorff Quintet and the German All Stars he undertook several tours of Asia and South America. Gerd has also played in a quartet with Alan Skidmore and Adelhard Roidinger. He was one of the founding members of the Manfred Schoof Big Band as well as of both Alexander von Schlippenbach´s "Globe Unity" and "Berlin Contemporary Orchestra". What is more, Gerd Dudek was also among the founding members of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1976. Besides many other productions with various groups and soloists, he made a recording in Japan in 1961. In the 1960s he went on tour with George Russell and Don Cherry. He has worked extensively in trios, quartets and duets with Ali Haurand. With the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE and smaller formations he has recorded more than 70 records and CDs.
Jiri Stivin (flutes & alto sax)
Jiri Stivin was born on November 23rd 1943 in Prague, Czech Republic. As his mother was an actress, his background can be said to be an artistic one. After graduating from high school he studied cine-photography at Prague’s prestigious Film Academy (FAMU). Having played the violin as a child, he now became fascinated by the flute and studied it with the leading Czech flutists Milan Munclinger and Jiri Válek. Beginning in the 1970s he performed with Barre Phillips, bass, and Zbigniew Seifert, violin. It was at this time that Stivin´s talent was acknowledged with a number of awards and prizes. Under the name "System Tandem" he collaborated for a long time and made recordings for the Munich-based ECM Label with the guitar player Rudolf Dasek. His activities in the sphere of old music resulted in, for example, his leading ensembles such as "COLLEGIUM QUOTLIBET", which performs medieval, renaissance and baroque music, in occasional appearances with the Prague Baroque Trio, as well as in collaborations with a number of other ensembles, e.g. the Ars Redivina, with which he performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos at the Prague Spring Festival. Jiri Stivin and Ali Haurand first met in 1968, while both performed with the mime Milan Sládek. After joining the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1992, Jiri in 1996 recorded the CD "BORDERTALK" for Konnex Records, Berlin, with the piano player Rob van den Broeck and Ali Haurand. Many jazz and baroque music records and CDs reveal his wide range of musical ability. In 2001 he recorded the CD “Just The Two Of Us” with Ali Haurand.
Allan Botschinsky (trumpet and flugelhorn)
Allan Botschinsky was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1940. He studied music at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen and later received a scholarship for the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he studied with Cecil Collins. In 1962 he was voted "Musician of the Year" in Denmark and in 1965 became a member of the Danish Radio Big Band. Allan has worked extensively with Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen, Kenny Drew, the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm and Brass Combination and Oscar Pettiford. He has been on tour with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton, George Russell and Quincy Jones. He has played with his quintet at the Jazz Festivals Molde, Kongsberg, Stockholm, Warsaw, Pori, Berlin and Copenhagen, to name but a few. In 1983 he was awarded the Ben Webster Prize and became a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE. He appears on the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE records "LIVE" (Konnex ST 5015), "Live at the Philharmonic Hall" (MA Music) - and on the 20th anniversary concert recording of 1996.
Jarmo Hoogendijk (trumpet)
In 1986 trumpet player Jarmo Hoogendijk (born in The Hague in 1965) assumed the position of solo trumpeter in the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, a position formerly held by Ack van Rooyen. He is also a soloist with the Netherlands Concert Jazz Band and the Rein de Graaff/Dick Vennik Sextet. He has toured the US as a guest with the Dutch Radio Big Band ´the Skymasters´. Jarmo won the Pall Mall Export Swing Award in 1986 and has represented the Netherlands at the jazz events EBU/Nordring in Helsinki in 1988 and at Lignano, Italy, in 1989. He graduated cum laude from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Jarmo has worked with Art Taylor, Charles McPherson, Teddy Edwards, Jimmy Heath, J.J. Johnson, the Ron Matthews Trio, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Benny Bailey and Lew Soloff. He joined the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1994. On March 5th 1988 Woody Shaw said about Jarmo Hoogendijk: “Jarmo plays just like he is in his character, a gentleman, but – dangerous on the trumpet.....You all should be very proud of him". The Dutch Magazine Keynotes had this to say about him in 1988: "Jarmo is already being called the country’s greatest post-war trumpet-player". He appears on the recordings: EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE "20th Anniversary" (KCD 5078 /1996) & European Trumpet Summit “Live" (KCD 5064, Konnex, Berlin)
Manfred Schoof (trumpet & flugelhorn)
Manfred Schoof was born in 1936 in Magdeburg in the eastern part of Germany. Manfred grew up perfecting his innovative jazz style, often practicing on either his jazz trumpet or his flugelhorn. By the time he reached high school, Manfred was composing his own arrangements. In 1955 he decided to purse a musical career, enrolling in the Music Academy (Musikakademie) in Kassel. After studying and performing there for three years, he moved on to improve his techniques still further to the Cologne Academy of Music (Musikhochschule). While there, Manfred took a jazz course given by Kurt Edelhagen, a West German bandleader with a radio program of his own. Schoof and Edelhagen established a musical connection, with the pupil contributing to the teacher's Radio Big Band radio show. At the same time, Manfred began touring with Gunter Hampel. In 1965 Manfred created a free jazz quintet with Gerd Dudek and Alex von Schlippenbach. It would provide the foundation for another band he formed in 1969, the Manfred Schoof Orchestra. The group toured throughout Germany and Europe, featuring Evan Parker and Irène Schweizer, among others. In 1969 Manfred joined the George Russell Orchestra and stayed with the band until 1971. Throughout the next two decades he expanded his musical horizons, recording and performing with several groups and artists, including the Globe Unity Orchestra and Jasper van't Hof. Manfred also began composing classical music pieces, often for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1985 Manfred Schoof has been a regular guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE, performing at its 10th anniversary bash in 1986, in 1989 in concerts with it at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, in London and Madrid and as one of the artists celebrating its 20th anniversary with the CD “Live” in 1996 and at the concert the ensemble gave for German TV.
Alan Skidmore (tenor sax)
Alan Skidmore was born in London in 1942. He received his musical education at the London Conservatory. When but a young man he already played with John Mayall, Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame, the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra, the Stan Tracy Band and Ronnie Scott. Then in later years with Tubby Hayes, John Surman, Chris MacGregor's "Brotherhood of Breath", the George Grunz "Concert Band", Eberhard Weber, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, Weather Report, Dave Holland and the BBC Big Band in London. He made recordings with Herbie Hancock, Mike Gibbs, Mike Westbrook and founded SOS with John Surman. As a guest soloist he played in Hamburg with the NDR Big Band and from 1981 to 1984 with the WDR Big Band. Tours with Charlie Watts took in the US and Europe. He has performed with Colin Towns Mask Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. When he represented England in 1969 with his quintet at the International Jazz Festival in Montreux, they won the media’s first prize and Alan was rated best soloist. For many years the tenor saxophone prize awarded by the English Jazz Polls of "Melody Maker" has gone to him. He has made vinyl and CD recordings with Chick Corea, George Grunz, SOH, the European Jazz Quintet, Third Eye, Georgie Fame, the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE, as well as with his own quartet.
Charlie Mariano (alto sax)
Charlie Mariano was born in Boston in 1923. As the son of Italian immigrants Charlie Mariano began his long musical career in Boston in 1941. From 1953 to 1955 he played in the Big Band of Stan Kenton, together with, among others, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Eroll Garner; he later founded his own band together with his then wife Toshiko Akiyoshi. After having played with Charles Mingus for a time, he moved to Japan from 1963 to 1965, where for the first time he came into direct contact with Asian music. Since 1971 Charlie has been living mainly in Europe, where he has played with many leading musicians; with Jasper van't Hof and Philip Catherine in the jazz rock formation "Pork Pie" as early as 1975 and from 1977 to 1998 with the United Rock & Jazz Ensemble. Since the 1970s, when his musical studies began to take him to India on a regular basis, Charlie has played the Indian oboe-like instrument nagaswaram. He has recorded and been on tour with the Argentinean bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi and the songwriter Konstantin Wecker. Charlie Mariano never forgot that his idol was Charlie Parker, with whom he had played himself. He has recorded LPs and CDs, some under his own name, with the Mariano/Dodgion Sextet, Stan Kenton, Sheely Manne, Bill Holman, Frank Rossolino, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Charles Mingus, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Eberhard Weber, the United Rock & Jazz Ensemble, Jasper van't Hof, Philip Catherine, Stu Goldberg, Don Alias, Gene Perla, to name but a few. Since 1996 he has been playing as a guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE. At the moment he is a member of a trio with Daniel Humair and Ali Haurand.
Conny Bauer (trombone)
Conny Bauer was born in Halle-on-the-Saale in eastern Germany in 1943. From 1964 to 1968 Conny studied at the conservatory in Dresden. Before he started playing the trombone he gained early performance experience as a guitarist and singer in the band of Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky. Since 1970 he has been much in demand as a soloist, which led to his becoming one of the prominent representatives of jazz of the former German Democratic Republic and of Europe as a whole. Between 1974 and 1977 he toured with the bands Synopsis, the Globe Unity Orchestra, the Berlin Contemporary Orchestra and Doppel – Moppel. He was a member of the Zentral-Quartett with Günter "Baby" Sommer, E.L. Petrowsky and Ulli Gumpert. From 1988 to 1989 he headed the National Jazz Orchestra of the former German Democratic Republic. He has participated in festivals in Moers, Warsaw, Leipzig, Berlin, Zurich, London, Wuppertal, Leverkusen, and Nuremberg, at times with solo projects. In July 2004 Conny Bauer received the award “Jazz musician of the year” and the Jazz Prize of the broadcaster SWR Baden-Baden.
Pino Minafra (trumpet, flugelhorn, megaphone, didgeridoo)
Pino Minafra was born in Ruvo di Puglia (Bari) in 1951. As a young boy he was a member of a church choir. Later he devoted himself to the study of music in general and the trumpet in particular, receiving a rich training in a whole range of musical contexts, from the traditional "banda" to light music, from ancient music to opera, from symphonic music to jazz and improvised music. He graduated in trumpet at the conservatoire "N.Piccinni" in Bari. Since 1977 he has formed and conducted numerous bands, among them "PRAXIS", the “Pino Minafra Quintet” and, most recently, the "Sud Ensemble" and the “Banlieues Bleues Quartet", touring the most famous international festivals with them and achieving considerable recognition. He has played with the most important musicians of the international scene. He has collaborated with the poet Vittorino Curci, creating and directing the Europe Jazz Festival Noci in cooperation with him. He is the founder of the Italian Instabile Orchestra and of the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia. He has produced a documentary on the music of Holy Week in Ruvo, recording on CD a number of compositions by the two brothers Antonio and Alessandro Amenduni, performed by the “Banda Città di Ruvo di Puglia”. Together with the same banda he took part in the "Donaueschinger Musiktage 1996" and recorded a double CD for Enja Records which includes both traditional pieces from Italian Opera and original compositions for banda and improvisers written by M. Godard, W. Breuker and B. Tommaso. In 1999 on behalf of the High National Conservatory of Paris and the Festival Jazz à la Villette he conducted with G. Trovesi a Big Band formed of young European students that played original compositions by Trovesi and himself. In 2000, during the Carnavalcade in Saint-Denis (Paris), he worked for a theatrical and musical project on Pinocchio, for which he wrote a number of compositions, which he conducted himself. During the eighth instalment of the Talos Festival and within the framework of a special project celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, he arranged a musical meeting, the first one, between Instabile and Cecil Taylor. For this very special event Cecil Taylor wrote a new composition in honour of the Orchestra. In 2001 in the course of a special project that came about during the Puglia Festival Bande in Conversano (southern Italy) he, together with his group, the Sud Ensemble, played with the Roncati Banda of Boulogne, the Titubanda of Rome, the Ottoni a scoppio of Milan and the Express Brass Band of Monaco; 130 musicians in all! In 2002 he wrote and played, together with his son Livio, Pinocchio's Music, a composition that has the famous Italian puppet as its subject. This work was commissioned by the American choreographer Karole Armitage in conjunction with the Dutch theatre company Introdans. Pino is a permanent member of the Instabile Orchestra, of G.Trovesi's Octet and Keith Tippett's Tapestry; what is more, he has taken part in numerous original projects, such as M.Godard e L. Galeazzi´s "Castel Del Monte” " and B.Tommaso´s "Oltre Napoli, la notte".
Rob van den Broeck (piano)
Rob van den Broeck was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, in 1940. In 1961 Rob began playing with various Dutch groups, such as, among others, Dick Vennik´s group and the Chris Hinze Combination (with Gary Brown on drums and John Lee on bass). He has recorded with Billy Higgins, Clint Houston, Joe Farell, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Skidmore, Ali Haurand and Gerd Dudek. For many years now he has headed the Band "FREE FAIR", which is famous both as a combo and as a quartet plus four trombones and four trumpets. Rob has made several CDs for the Timeless label, among them with Joe Farell, Dexter Gordon, Billy Higgins, Clint Houston, Louis Hayes and Ben Webster. He has, moreover, recorded several trio albums with the English drummer Tony Levin. He has worked together with Ali Haurand in the group "THIRD EYE" since 1972, making recordings with that group, with Alan Skidmore and Wilton Gaynair. Rob has been a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1981 and also since 1982 of its Quartet & Trio formation. Thirteen recordings chronicle his intense work with Gerd Dudek and Ali Haurand, among them: "Dedication" (1982), "Relation" (1984), "Interchange" with E.L.Petrowsky (1985) and "Live" (1987); "Pulque", "After All“ and "Crossing Level" between 1990 and 1998 (also published by Konnex Records, Berlin). Tours have taken him as far afield as Canada and Australia.
Joachim Kühn (piano)
Joachim Kühn was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1944. He made his debut as a concert pianist when still a young man. He completed his studies of piano and composition under the aegis of the concert pianist Arthur Schmidt-Elsey, while at the same time, influenced by his elder brother, the clarinettist Rolf Kühn, developing an interest in jazz. Early on he led both traditional and mainstream bands. Joachim turned professional jazz musician in 1961. With his first trio, which he founded in 1964, he for the first time brought home to an audience in the German Democratic Republic free jazz with European roots. In 1966 he was invited to a talent competition in Vienna from which he never returned to his home country. He settled down in Hamburg, where he founded a free jazz quartet with his brother, which they made know to a wider jazz audience at, among other events, the Berlin Jazztage and the Newport Jazz Festival. Together with the Coltrane bassist, Jimmy Garrison, the Kühn brothers recorded an album in New York for Impuls, which was produced by Bob Thiele. Since 1968 Joachim has been living in Paris, where he has worked with many musicians representing a wide range of musical styles and all residents in that city, among them Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, Karl Berger, Slide Hampton, Philly Joe Joens, Phil Woods, Michel Portal. As a member of Jean-Luc Ponty´s "Experience" and "Association P.C." in the 1970s he turned to electronic keyboards, distinguishing himself as one of the leading exponents of European Rock Jazz. While at the same time acting as a member of trios of his own, one of which, with Jean-Francois Jenny Clark (bass) and Daniel Humair (drums) - two musicians who would again and again cross his path – was to become Europe’s leading piano jazz trio. Joachim has also played with Alphonse Mouson, Billy Cobham, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Jan Akkermann, Joe Lovano, Enrico Rava, Albert Mangeldorff, Randy Brecker, Adam Nussbaum and Ornette Coleman. His concerts with the Leipzig Thomaner Choir in 1999 and 2000 attracted great attention and praise. In May 2000 his CD "the diminished augmented system", with compositions by Ornette Coleman, Johann Sebastian Bach and himself, was nominated for the German Record Award. Joachim’s awards include: - Between 1970 and 1993: twelve times winner of the Poll conducted by Jazz Forum: Best European Pianist. - 1991: RAI TV Italy: chosen as best European musician. - 1997: Jazz musician of the year ahead of Keith Jarret; chosen by the readers of the magazine HI-FI-VISION - 1994: German Record Critics´ Prize for "famous melodies". Since 1991 Joachim has been a regular guest with and composer for the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE; in 1991 he took part when the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE met the Khan Family from India and in 1996 and 2001 he was a member of the ensemble’s 20th and 25th anniversary tours respectively.
Ali Haurand (bass)
Ali Haurand was born in Viersen, Germany, in 1943. Right after finishing his studies at the Folkwang School in Essen he founded his first trio. Since 1967 he has been a member of the George Maycock Trio. In 1969 Ali with the Dutch pianist Jan Huydts founded the group "THIRD EYE". Ali has toured with Philly Joe Joens, Ben Webster, Don Byas, Bobby Jones, John Handy, John Surman, Kenny Wheeler, Jan Akkerman, Joachim Kühn, John Taylor, Tony Coe, Eje Thelin, Joe Albany and Enrico Rava. Together with Gerd Dudek, Alan Skidmore, Leszek Zadlo and Pierre Courbois he founded the "EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE" in 1976. From 1978 to 1984 he played with SOH, a trio that included Tony Oxley and Alan Skidmore. In 1982 with Rob van den Broeck and Gerd Dudek he formed "THE QUARTET". As leader of the "EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE" he has been on tour in Australia, Canada, Russia, Africa and very nearly all European countries. He is also a member of Pantomime & Jazz, which includes the mime Milan Sládek from Slovakia and the Czech flute player Jiri Stivin. With Jiri Stivin he has been collaborating in a duet for a long time now. Tours and festivals have taken him all over Europe, America and even further afield; notable festivals include: Moers, Berlin, Warsaw, London, Paris, Den Haag, Vancouver, Toronto, Barcelona, Prague, Burghausen, Munich, Oslo, Sydney, Melbourne, Leverkusen, to name but a few. Since 1998 he has been playing in a trio with the alto saxophone player Charlie Mariano and the drummer Daniel Humair. The 10th, 12th, 20th and 25th anniversary concerts of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE were recorded for German Television and broadcast by the WDR station in Cologne, West Germany’s leading broadcaster. Ali won the European Jazz Poll of the "Jazz Forum Magazine" in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, with the European Jazz Ensemble, with SOH, or as a bass player. Since 1991 he has also been doing freelance work for the WDR TV station and has acted as co-presenter of the two TV series "Round Midnight" and "Fullhouse". The more than 50 records and CDs to his name so far - as well as his many concert tours – have made him an internationally recognized artist. Thus in 2005 by being made a "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" Ali Haurand received the French Republic’s highest award for cultural achievements.
Sébastien Boisseau (bass)
After receiving classical training in the double bass at the Dreux conservatory, Sébastien Boisseau began to study jazz at about the age of 12, before later going on to the C.N.R. in Tours. A series of musical encounters with J.F. Jenny-Clark, R. Del Fra, Kenny Wheeler, L. Konitz and Marc Johnson later rounded off his training. He began teaching music theory and double bass in 1996 at the Jazz à Tours school and participated in numerous pedagogical activities. He was awarded the “D.E. de jazz” (a prestigious teaching diploma) in 2001. He was voted best soloist at the La Défense competition in 2001. He currently plays in Daniel Humair’s “Baby-boom” quintet, Franco Ambrosetti’s “European Legacy”, Martial Solal’s Newdécaband, the Eric Watson Quartet and Trio, as well as in François Jeanneau’s “Pandemonium”. He is, moreover, a participant in several groups such as “Triade”, which won the 2nd prize in the ensemble category at La Défense in 2001, and guitarist Gado Gabor’s quartet with M. Donarier and J. Quitzke. He also works with the Gueorgui Kornazov Quintet and the Belgian group Mââk’s Spirit. He is member of the Tristano Project group founded by Stefan Oliva and François Raulin together with Marc Ducret, Laurent Dehors and Christophe Monniot. He recently appeared with the Michel Portal/Louis Sclavis/Daniel Humair Quartet. He has played and/or recorded with such outstanding musicians as Pat Metheny, Michel Portal, Denis Badault, David Friedman, Marvin Stamm, Franco Ambrosetti, Marc Ducret, François Merville, Dado Moroni, Andy Emler, Chander Sardjoe, Médéric Collignon, Eric Echampard......
Daniel Humair (drums)
Daniel Humair was born in 1938 in Geneva. He is seen as one of the finest European percussionists in New Jazz. Daniel started to play percussion at the early age of seven. In 1955, after winning the amateur prize at the International Zurich Jazz Festival, he became a professional musician. In 1958 he settled in Paris, where he played with Lucky Thompson, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker. In 1959 he formed his first trio with the pianist Martial Solal. In the late ´60s he became a member of Phil Woods´ European Rhythm Machine and of a trio with the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and the organist Eddy Louiss. Later he went on tour regularly with Stephane Grappelli, J.L. Ponty, George Grunz, Jim Hall, Herbie Mann, Lee Konitz and Anthony Braxton, before forming the most progressive of the French trios of those years with the bassist Henri Texier and the saxophonist Francois Jeanneau. In the ´70s he, in addition, started to work with Joachim Kühn and J.F. Jenny-Clark. Until the death of Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark the later trio was his main musical focus. Daniel Humair was always a man for "special occasions". Witness his ensembles featuring Bob Berg or John Scofield, David Friedman or Larry Schneider or his co-operation with Martial Solal and Michel Portal. In 1991 Daniel went on tour with "Quatre" featuring Enrico Rava, Franco D'Andrea and the bassist Miroslav Vitous. A regular guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1996, from 1997 on Daniel has been a member of a trio that includes Charlie Mariano and Ali Haurand. Besides his musical work Daniel is a dedicated painter.
Tony Levin (drums)
Tony Levin was born in Shropshire in the UK in 1940. He has been an ardent student of drums and jazz since the age of 13 and has been working with professional musicians since the age of 17. An artist of renown since the 1960s for his work with world class musicians, his tours throughout Britain and not least his masterful performance at "Ronnie Scott´s" in London, Tony has played with such people as - to name but a few - Al Cohn, Zoot Zims, Steve Lacey, Hank Mobley, Toots Thiedemanns, Dave Holland, Harry "Sweet" Edison, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Red Rodney, Johnny Griffin, Annie Ross, John Hendricks, Gary Burton and Joe Henderson. Tony was a regular member of many famous British groups (records of all of which are available): from 1965 to 1969 of the quartet of the legendary saxophone player Tubby Hayes, which besides Tony included Mick Pyne (piano) and Ron Mathewson (bass), in 1969 of the Alan Skidmore Quintet and from 1973 until 1979 of the John Taylor Quartet and Kenny Wheeler Sextet, besides being a member of a quartet with Stan Sulzmann, Chris Pyne and Chris Laurence. He formed a duet with John Surman – which was recorded at the Moers New Jazz Festival for Moers Music in 1976. He became a member of the international group Third Eye with Ali Haurand, Wilton Gaynair and Alan Skidmore in 1979. He has also recorded with Rob van den Broeck ("Heavy Duty", Timeless Records, 1982) as well as with Keith Tippett´s Septet (1984) - which also included Larry Stabbins, Elton Dean, Paul Rogers, Nic Evans and Mark Charig. He has performed with Andy Sheppard, Evan Parker and Paul Dunmall. Tony has been on many tours throughout Europe, with, for instance, the group Nucleus, and has appeared at numerous festivals. He has been a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1988. Furthermore, he is also with Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers and Paul Dunmall a member of the group "Mujician".
Born in London, England in 1948, Stan’s first extensive contact with music was as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Britain at the age of 16. Later on he studied the flute and the saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music. He was member of the John Dankworth Big Band, Mike Gibbs Orchestra and performed regularly at the Ronnie Scott Club in London. He has toured with the Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band, with Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin and many others. The first quartet of his own he formed with John Taylor on piano, Ron Mathweson on bass, and Tony Levin on drums. For many years he was a member of the Kenny Wheeler Big Band and Sextet. His quartet has made recordings with the BBC and taken part in the London, Molde (Norway), and Zurich Festivals. He played at the Hamburg Jazz Festival in Germany with Gordon Beck and Tony Oxley in 1982. Besides making the recording "Seven Steps to Evans" for MPS Records, he has recorded with Clark Terry, Volker Kriegel, Eberhard Weber and toured with Phil Woods and the Gil Evans Band. In 1987 he recorded a duet entitled "Everybody’s Song but my own?" with the pianist John Taylor. In the same year he went on a European tour with Dave Holland and Kenny Wheeler. Stan joined the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1992.
Gerd Dudek (tenor & soprano sax)
Born in 1938 in Gross-Döbern (now in Poland) Gerd Dudek, after completing his studies, was a member of the famous Kurt Edelhagen Big Band from 1960 to 1964. Whereupon he joined the Manfred Schoof Quintet. As a member of the Albert Mangelsdorff Quintet and the German All Stars he undertook several tours of Asia and South America. Gerd has also played in a quartet with Alan Skidmore and Adelhard Roidinger. He was one of the founding members of the Manfred Schoof Big Band as well as of both Alexander von Schlippenbach´s "Globe Unity" and "Berlin Contemporary Orchestra". What is more, Gerd Dudek was also among the founding members of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1976. Besides many other productions with various groups and soloists, he made a recording in Japan in 1961. In the 1960s he went on tour with George Russell and Don Cherry. He has worked extensively in trios, quartets and duets with Ali Haurand. With the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE and smaller formations he has recorded more than 70 records and CDs.
Jiri Stivin (flutes & alto sax)
Jiri Stivin was born on November 23rd 1943 in Prague, Czech Republic. As his mother was an actress, his background can be said to be an artistic one. After graduating from high school he studied cine-photography at Prague’s prestigious Film Academy (FAMU). Having played the violin as a child, he now became fascinated by the flute and studied it with the leading Czech flutists Milan Munclinger and Jiri Válek. Beginning in the 1970s he performed with Barre Phillips, bass, and Zbigniew Seifert, violin. It was at this time that Stivin´s talent was acknowledged with a number of awards and prizes. Under the name "System Tandem" he collaborated for a long time and made recordings for the Munich-based ECM Label with the guitar player Rudolf Dasek. His activities in the sphere of old music resulted in, for example, his leading ensembles such as "COLLEGIUM QUOTLIBET", which performs medieval, renaissance and baroque music, in occasional appearances with the Prague Baroque Trio, as well as in collaborations with a number of other ensembles, e.g. the Ars Redivina, with which he performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos at the Prague Spring Festival. Jiri Stivin and Ali Haurand first met in 1968, while both performed with the mime Milan Sládek. After joining the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1992, Jiri in 1996 recorded the CD "BORDERTALK" for Konnex Records, Berlin, with the piano player Rob van den Broeck and Ali Haurand. Many jazz and baroque music records and CDs reveal his wide range of musical ability. In 2001 he recorded the CD “Just The Two Of Us” with Ali Haurand.
Allan Botschinsky (trumpet and flugelhorn)
Allan Botschinsky was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1940. He studied music at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen and later received a scholarship for the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he studied with Cecil Collins. In 1962 he was voted "Musician of the Year" in Denmark and in 1965 became a member of the Danish Radio Big Band. Allan has worked extensively with Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen, Kenny Drew, the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm and Brass Combination and Oscar Pettiford. He has been on tour with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton, George Russell and Quincy Jones. He has played with his quintet at the Jazz Festivals Molde, Kongsberg, Stockholm, Warsaw, Pori, Berlin and Copenhagen, to name but a few. In 1983 he was awarded the Ben Webster Prize and became a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE. He appears on the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE records "LIVE" (Konnex ST 5015), "Live at the Philharmonic Hall" (MA Music) - and on the 20th anniversary concert recording of 1996.
Jarmo Hoogendijk (trumpet)
In 1986 trumpet player Jarmo Hoogendijk (born in The Hague in 1965) assumed the position of solo trumpeter in the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, a position formerly held by Ack van Rooyen. He is also a soloist with the Netherlands Concert Jazz Band and the Rein de Graaff/Dick Vennik Sextet. He has toured the US as a guest with the Dutch Radio Big Band ´the Skymasters´. Jarmo won the Pall Mall Export Swing Award in 1986 and has represented the Netherlands at the jazz events EBU/Nordring in Helsinki in 1988 and at Lignano, Italy, in 1989. He graduated cum laude from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Jarmo has worked with Art Taylor, Charles McPherson, Teddy Edwards, Jimmy Heath, J.J. Johnson, the Ron Matthews Trio, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Benny Bailey and Lew Soloff. He joined the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 1994. On March 5th 1988 Woody Shaw said about Jarmo Hoogendijk: “Jarmo plays just like he is in his character, a gentleman, but – dangerous on the trumpet.....You all should be very proud of him". The Dutch Magazine Keynotes had this to say about him in 1988: "Jarmo is already being called the country’s greatest post-war trumpet-player". He appears on the recordings: EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE "20th Anniversary" (KCD 5078 /1996) & European Trumpet Summit “Live" (KCD 5064, Konnex, Berlin)
Manfred Schoof (trumpet & flugelhorn)
Manfred Schoof was born in 1936 in Magdeburg in the eastern part of Germany. Manfred grew up perfecting his innovative jazz style, often practicing on either his jazz trumpet or his flugelhorn. By the time he reached high school, Manfred was composing his own arrangements. In 1955 he decided to purse a musical career, enrolling in the Music Academy (Musikakademie) in Kassel. After studying and performing there for three years, he moved on to improve his techniques still further to the Cologne Academy of Music (Musikhochschule). While there, Manfred took a jazz course given by Kurt Edelhagen, a West German bandleader with a radio program of his own. Schoof and Edelhagen established a musical connection, with the pupil contributing to the teacher's Radio Big Band radio show. At the same time, Manfred began touring with Gunter Hampel. In 1965 Manfred created a free jazz quintet with Gerd Dudek and Alex von Schlippenbach. It would provide the foundation for another band he formed in 1969, the Manfred Schoof Orchestra. The group toured throughout Germany and Europe, featuring Evan Parker and Irène Schweizer, among others. In 1969 Manfred joined the George Russell Orchestra and stayed with the band until 1971. Throughout the next two decades he expanded his musical horizons, recording and performing with several groups and artists, including the Globe Unity Orchestra and Jasper van't Hof. Manfred also began composing classical music pieces, often for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1985 Manfred Schoof has been a regular guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE, performing at its 10th anniversary bash in 1986, in 1989 in concerts with it at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, in London and Madrid and as one of the artists celebrating its 20th anniversary with the CD “Live” in 1996 and at the concert the ensemble gave for German TV.
Alan Skidmore (tenor sax)
Alan Skidmore was born in London in 1942. He received his musical education at the London Conservatory. When but a young man he already played with John Mayall, Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame, the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra, the Stan Tracy Band and Ronnie Scott. Then in later years with Tubby Hayes, John Surman, Chris MacGregor's "Brotherhood of Breath", the George Grunz "Concert Band", Eberhard Weber, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, Weather Report, Dave Holland and the BBC Big Band in London. He made recordings with Herbie Hancock, Mike Gibbs, Mike Westbrook and founded SOS with John Surman. As a guest soloist he played in Hamburg with the NDR Big Band and from 1981 to 1984 with the WDR Big Band. Tours with Charlie Watts took in the US and Europe. He has performed with Colin Towns Mask Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. When he represented England in 1969 with his quintet at the International Jazz Festival in Montreux, they won the media’s first prize and Alan was rated best soloist. For many years the tenor saxophone prize awarded by the English Jazz Polls of "Melody Maker" has gone to him. He has made vinyl and CD recordings with Chick Corea, George Grunz, SOH, the European Jazz Quintet, Third Eye, Georgie Fame, the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE, as well as with his own quartet.
Charlie Mariano (alto sax)
Charlie Mariano was born in Boston in 1923. As the son of Italian immigrants Charlie Mariano began his long musical career in Boston in 1941. From 1953 to 1955 he played in the Big Band of Stan Kenton, together with, among others, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Eroll Garner; he later founded his own band together with his then wife Toshiko Akiyoshi. After having played with Charles Mingus for a time, he moved to Japan from 1963 to 1965, where for the first time he came into direct contact with Asian music. Since 1971 Charlie has been living mainly in Europe, where he has played with many leading musicians; with Jasper van't Hof and Philip Catherine in the jazz rock formation "Pork Pie" as early as 1975 and from 1977 to 1998 with the United Rock & Jazz Ensemble. Since the 1970s, when his musical studies began to take him to India on a regular basis, Charlie has played the Indian oboe-like instrument nagaswaram. He has recorded and been on tour with the Argentinean bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi and the songwriter Konstantin Wecker. Charlie Mariano never forgot that his idol was Charlie Parker, with whom he had played himself. He has recorded LPs and CDs, some under his own name, with the Mariano/Dodgion Sextet, Stan Kenton, Sheely Manne, Bill Holman, Frank Rossolino, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Charles Mingus, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Eberhard Weber, the United Rock & Jazz Ensemble, Jasper van't Hof, Philip Catherine, Stu Goldberg, Don Alias, Gene Perla, to name but a few. Since 1996 he has been playing as a guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE. At the moment he is a member of a trio with Daniel Humair and Ali Haurand.
Conny Bauer (trombone)
Conny Bauer was born in Halle-on-the-Saale in eastern Germany in 1943. From 1964 to 1968 Conny studied at the conservatory in Dresden. Before he started playing the trombone he gained early performance experience as a guitarist and singer in the band of Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky. Since 1970 he has been much in demand as a soloist, which led to his becoming one of the prominent representatives of jazz of the former German Democratic Republic and of Europe as a whole. Between 1974 and 1977 he toured with the bands Synopsis, the Globe Unity Orchestra, the Berlin Contemporary Orchestra and Doppel – Moppel. He was a member of the Zentral-Quartett with Günter "Baby" Sommer, E.L. Petrowsky and Ulli Gumpert. From 1988 to 1989 he headed the National Jazz Orchestra of the former German Democratic Republic. He has participated in festivals in Moers, Warsaw, Leipzig, Berlin, Zurich, London, Wuppertal, Leverkusen, and Nuremberg, at times with solo projects. In July 2004 Conny Bauer received the award “Jazz musician of the year” and the Jazz Prize of the broadcaster SWR Baden-Baden.
Pino Minafra (trumpet, flugelhorn, megaphone, didgeridoo)
Pino Minafra was born in Ruvo di Puglia (Bari) in 1951. As a young boy he was a member of a church choir. Later he devoted himself to the study of music in general and the trumpet in particular, receiving a rich training in a whole range of musical contexts, from the traditional "banda" to light music, from ancient music to opera, from symphonic music to jazz and improvised music. He graduated in trumpet at the conservatoire "N.Piccinni" in Bari. Since 1977 he has formed and conducted numerous bands, among them "PRAXIS", the “Pino Minafra Quintet” and, most recently, the "Sud Ensemble" and the “Banlieues Bleues Quartet", touring the most famous international festivals with them and achieving considerable recognition. He has played with the most important musicians of the international scene. He has collaborated with the poet Vittorino Curci, creating and directing the Europe Jazz Festival Noci in cooperation with him. He is the founder of the Italian Instabile Orchestra and of the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia. He has produced a documentary on the music of Holy Week in Ruvo, recording on CD a number of compositions by the two brothers Antonio and Alessandro Amenduni, performed by the “Banda Città di Ruvo di Puglia”. Together with the same banda he took part in the "Donaueschinger Musiktage 1996" and recorded a double CD for Enja Records which includes both traditional pieces from Italian Opera and original compositions for banda and improvisers written by M. Godard, W. Breuker and B. Tommaso. In 1999 on behalf of the High National Conservatory of Paris and the Festival Jazz à la Villette he conducted with G. Trovesi a Big Band formed of young European students that played original compositions by Trovesi and himself. In 2000, during the Carnavalcade in Saint-Denis (Paris), he worked for a theatrical and musical project on Pinocchio, for which he wrote a number of compositions, which he conducted himself. During the eighth instalment of the Talos Festival and within the framework of a special project celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, he arranged a musical meeting, the first one, between Instabile and Cecil Taylor. For this very special event Cecil Taylor wrote a new composition in honour of the Orchestra. In 2001 in the course of a special project that came about during the Puglia Festival Bande in Conversano (southern Italy) he, together with his group, the Sud Ensemble, played with the Roncati Banda of Boulogne, the Titubanda of Rome, the Ottoni a scoppio of Milan and the Express Brass Band of Monaco; 130 musicians in all! In 2002 he wrote and played, together with his son Livio, Pinocchio's Music, a composition that has the famous Italian puppet as its subject. This work was commissioned by the American choreographer Karole Armitage in conjunction with the Dutch theatre company Introdans. Pino is a permanent member of the Instabile Orchestra, of G.Trovesi's Octet and Keith Tippett's Tapestry; what is more, he has taken part in numerous original projects, such as M.Godard e L. Galeazzi´s "Castel Del Monte” " and B.Tommaso´s "Oltre Napoli, la notte".
Rob van den Broeck (piano)
Rob van den Broeck was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, in 1940. In 1961 Rob began playing with various Dutch groups, such as, among others, Dick Vennik´s group and the Chris Hinze Combination (with Gary Brown on drums and John Lee on bass). He has recorded with Billy Higgins, Clint Houston, Joe Farell, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Skidmore, Ali Haurand and Gerd Dudek. For many years now he has headed the Band "FREE FAIR", which is famous both as a combo and as a quartet plus four trombones and four trumpets. Rob has made several CDs for the Timeless label, among them with Joe Farell, Dexter Gordon, Billy Higgins, Clint Houston, Louis Hayes and Ben Webster. He has, moreover, recorded several trio albums with the English drummer Tony Levin. He has worked together with Ali Haurand in the group "THIRD EYE" since 1972, making recordings with that group, with Alan Skidmore and Wilton Gaynair. Rob has been a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1981 and also since 1982 of its Quartet & Trio formation. Thirteen recordings chronicle his intense work with Gerd Dudek and Ali Haurand, among them: "Dedication" (1982), "Relation" (1984), "Interchange" with E.L.Petrowsky (1985) and "Live" (1987); "Pulque", "After All“ and "Crossing Level" between 1990 and 1998 (also published by Konnex Records, Berlin). Tours have taken him as far afield as Canada and Australia.
Joachim Kühn (piano)
Joachim Kühn was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1944. He made his debut as a concert pianist when still a young man. He completed his studies of piano and composition under the aegis of the concert pianist Arthur Schmidt-Elsey, while at the same time, influenced by his elder brother, the clarinettist Rolf Kühn, developing an interest in jazz. Early on he led both traditional and mainstream bands. Joachim turned professional jazz musician in 1961. With his first trio, which he founded in 1964, he for the first time brought home to an audience in the German Democratic Republic free jazz with European roots. In 1966 he was invited to a talent competition in Vienna from which he never returned to his home country. He settled down in Hamburg, where he founded a free jazz quartet with his brother, which they made know to a wider jazz audience at, among other events, the Berlin Jazztage and the Newport Jazz Festival. Together with the Coltrane bassist, Jimmy Garrison, the Kühn brothers recorded an album in New York for Impuls, which was produced by Bob Thiele. Since 1968 Joachim has been living in Paris, where he has worked with many musicians representing a wide range of musical styles and all residents in that city, among them Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, Karl Berger, Slide Hampton, Philly Joe Joens, Phil Woods, Michel Portal. As a member of Jean-Luc Ponty´s "Experience" and "Association P.C." in the 1970s he turned to electronic keyboards, distinguishing himself as one of the leading exponents of European Rock Jazz. While at the same time acting as a member of trios of his own, one of which, with Jean-Francois Jenny Clark (bass) and Daniel Humair (drums) - two musicians who would again and again cross his path – was to become Europe’s leading piano jazz trio. Joachim has also played with Alphonse Mouson, Billy Cobham, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Jan Akkermann, Joe Lovano, Enrico Rava, Albert Mangeldorff, Randy Brecker, Adam Nussbaum and Ornette Coleman. His concerts with the Leipzig Thomaner Choir in 1999 and 2000 attracted great attention and praise. In May 2000 his CD "the diminished augmented system", with compositions by Ornette Coleman, Johann Sebastian Bach and himself, was nominated for the German Record Award. Joachim’s awards include: - Between 1970 and 1993: twelve times winner of the Poll conducted by Jazz Forum: Best European Pianist. - 1991: RAI TV Italy: chosen as best European musician. - 1997: Jazz musician of the year ahead of Keith Jarret; chosen by the readers of the magazine HI-FI-VISION - 1994: German Record Critics´ Prize for "famous melodies". Since 1991 Joachim has been a regular guest with and composer for the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE; in 1991 he took part when the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE met the Khan Family from India and in 1996 and 2001 he was a member of the ensemble’s 20th and 25th anniversary tours respectively.
Ali Haurand (bass)
Ali Haurand was born in Viersen, Germany, in 1943. Right after finishing his studies at the Folkwang School in Essen he founded his first trio. Since 1967 he has been a member of the George Maycock Trio. In 1969 Ali with the Dutch pianist Jan Huydts founded the group "THIRD EYE". Ali has toured with Philly Joe Joens, Ben Webster, Don Byas, Bobby Jones, John Handy, John Surman, Kenny Wheeler, Jan Akkerman, Joachim Kühn, John Taylor, Tony Coe, Eje Thelin, Joe Albany and Enrico Rava. Together with Gerd Dudek, Alan Skidmore, Leszek Zadlo and Pierre Courbois he founded the "EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE" in 1976. From 1978 to 1984 he played with SOH, a trio that included Tony Oxley and Alan Skidmore. In 1982 with Rob van den Broeck and Gerd Dudek he formed "THE QUARTET". As leader of the "EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE" he has been on tour in Australia, Canada, Russia, Africa and very nearly all European countries. He is also a member of Pantomime & Jazz, which includes the mime Milan Sládek from Slovakia and the Czech flute player Jiri Stivin. With Jiri Stivin he has been collaborating in a duet for a long time now. Tours and festivals have taken him all over Europe, America and even further afield; notable festivals include: Moers, Berlin, Warsaw, London, Paris, Den Haag, Vancouver, Toronto, Barcelona, Prague, Burghausen, Munich, Oslo, Sydney, Melbourne, Leverkusen, to name but a few. Since 1998 he has been playing in a trio with the alto saxophone player Charlie Mariano and the drummer Daniel Humair. The 10th, 12th, 20th and 25th anniversary concerts of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE were recorded for German Television and broadcast by the WDR station in Cologne, West Germany’s leading broadcaster. Ali won the European Jazz Poll of the "Jazz Forum Magazine" in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, with the European Jazz Ensemble, with SOH, or as a bass player. Since 1991 he has also been doing freelance work for the WDR TV station and has acted as co-presenter of the two TV series "Round Midnight" and "Fullhouse". The more than 50 records and CDs to his name so far - as well as his many concert tours – have made him an internationally recognized artist. Thus in 2005 by being made a "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" Ali Haurand received the French Republic’s highest award for cultural achievements.
Sébastien Boisseau (bass)
After receiving classical training in the double bass at the Dreux conservatory, Sébastien Boisseau began to study jazz at about the age of 12, before later going on to the C.N.R. in Tours. A series of musical encounters with J.F. Jenny-Clark, R. Del Fra, Kenny Wheeler, L. Konitz and Marc Johnson later rounded off his training. He began teaching music theory and double bass in 1996 at the Jazz à Tours school and participated in numerous pedagogical activities. He was awarded the “D.E. de jazz” (a prestigious teaching diploma) in 2001. He was voted best soloist at the La Défense competition in 2001. He currently plays in Daniel Humair’s “Baby-boom” quintet, Franco Ambrosetti’s “European Legacy”, Martial Solal’s Newdécaband, the Eric Watson Quartet and Trio, as well as in François Jeanneau’s “Pandemonium”. He is, moreover, a participant in several groups such as “Triade”, which won the 2nd prize in the ensemble category at La Défense in 2001, and guitarist Gado Gabor’s quartet with M. Donarier and J. Quitzke. He also works with the Gueorgui Kornazov Quintet and the Belgian group Mââk’s Spirit. He is member of the Tristano Project group founded by Stefan Oliva and François Raulin together with Marc Ducret, Laurent Dehors and Christophe Monniot. He recently appeared with the Michel Portal/Louis Sclavis/Daniel Humair Quartet. He has played and/or recorded with such outstanding musicians as Pat Metheny, Michel Portal, Denis Badault, David Friedman, Marvin Stamm, Franco Ambrosetti, Marc Ducret, François Merville, Dado Moroni, Andy Emler, Chander Sardjoe, Médéric Collignon, Eric Echampard......
Daniel Humair (drums)
Daniel Humair was born in 1938 in Geneva. He is seen as one of the finest European percussionists in New Jazz. Daniel started to play percussion at the early age of seven. In 1955, after winning the amateur prize at the International Zurich Jazz Festival, he became a professional musician. In 1958 he settled in Paris, where he played with Lucky Thompson, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker. In 1959 he formed his first trio with the pianist Martial Solal. In the late ´60s he became a member of Phil Woods´ European Rhythm Machine and of a trio with the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and the organist Eddy Louiss. Later he went on tour regularly with Stephane Grappelli, J.L. Ponty, George Grunz, Jim Hall, Herbie Mann, Lee Konitz and Anthony Braxton, before forming the most progressive of the French trios of those years with the bassist Henri Texier and the saxophonist Francois Jeanneau. In the ´70s he, in addition, started to work with Joachim Kühn and J.F. Jenny-Clark. Until the death of Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark the later trio was his main musical focus. Daniel Humair was always a man for "special occasions". Witness his ensembles featuring Bob Berg or John Scofield, David Friedman or Larry Schneider or his co-operation with Martial Solal and Michel Portal. In 1991 Daniel went on tour with "Quatre" featuring Enrico Rava, Franco D'Andrea and the bassist Miroslav Vitous. A regular guest with the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1996, from 1997 on Daniel has been a member of a trio that includes Charlie Mariano and Ali Haurand. Besides his musical work Daniel is a dedicated painter.
Tony Levin (drums)
Tony Levin was born in Shropshire in the UK in 1940. He has been an ardent student of drums and jazz since the age of 13 and has been working with professional musicians since the age of 17. An artist of renown since the 1960s for his work with world class musicians, his tours throughout Britain and not least his masterful performance at "Ronnie Scott´s" in London, Tony has played with such people as - to name but a few - Al Cohn, Zoot Zims, Steve Lacey, Hank Mobley, Toots Thiedemanns, Dave Holland, Harry "Sweet" Edison, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Red Rodney, Johnny Griffin, Annie Ross, John Hendricks, Gary Burton and Joe Henderson. Tony was a regular member of many famous British groups (records of all of which are available): from 1965 to 1969 of the quartet of the legendary saxophone player Tubby Hayes, which besides Tony included Mick Pyne (piano) and Ron Mathewson (bass), in 1969 of the Alan Skidmore Quintet and from 1973 until 1979 of the John Taylor Quartet and Kenny Wheeler Sextet, besides being a member of a quartet with Stan Sulzmann, Chris Pyne and Chris Laurence. He formed a duet with John Surman – which was recorded at the Moers New Jazz Festival for Moers Music in 1976. He became a member of the international group Third Eye with Ali Haurand, Wilton Gaynair and Alan Skidmore in 1979. He has also recorded with Rob van den Broeck ("Heavy Duty", Timeless Records, 1982) as well as with Keith Tippett´s Septet (1984) - which also included Larry Stabbins, Elton Dean, Paul Rogers, Nic Evans and Mark Charig. He has performed with Andy Sheppard, Evan Parker and Paul Dunmall. Tony has been on many tours throughout Europe, with, for instance, the group Nucleus, and has appeared at numerous festivals. He has been a member of the EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE since 1988. Furthermore, he is also with Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers and Paul Dunmall a member of the group "Mujician".
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