For all their enthusiasm for improvisation, the jazz greats sense pretty precisely when it’s time to end a piece. Not too early, not too late – you shouldn’t tire your audience with endless virtuoso showpieces, but on the other hand you should offer them sufficient musical finesse, creativity and emotion.
It is unlikely that the auditorium could miss out on the Jazz Piano Marathon on Friday and Saturday, July 8th and 9th in Ottobrunn. Four exciting pianists will unfold in the world of improvisation over two days and will follow their solo performances with a joint jam session – the term “piano marathon” should therefore be appropriate. The Frenchman William Lecomte and the Serb Bojan Z. will organize the Friday evening under the motto “Paris & Balkans meet Bill Evans”, on the second evening it will be “Piano Jazz made in Russia”, when the Russian pianist Simon Nabatov and in Baku born and Moscow-educated David Gazarov meet. For friends of jazzy piano music, the opportunity to attend a stylistically varied concert weekend characterized by very different personalities. “They are all four outstanding artists and at the height of their abilities,” enthuses Cornelius Claudio Kreusch, who organizes the Ottobrunn concerts with his brother Johannes Tonio Kreusch and is himself a renowned jazz pianist.
William Lecomte, Bojan Z., Simon Nabatov, David Gazarov – the cast is high quality and international
Bojan Z., born as Bojan Zulfikarpašić in Belgrade, has lived in Paris since the late 1980s. He is rooted in the traditional music of the Balkans, as a virtuoso transgressor, he also works with world musicians and is one of the greats of the Parisian jazz scene. Among others, he was awarded the Prix Django Reinhardt. William Lecomte also works in Paris. The French pianist likes to travel between musical worlds. He works regularly with the renowned fusion jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and is a member of various Latin jazz and African jazz bands, among others Vaya Con Dios. He is also influenced by the great American pianist Bill Evans (1929 to 1980). “He plays in his spirit,” says Cornelius Kreusch.
Simon Nabatov, who has US citizenship and has lived in Germany for a long time, is nevertheless considered an important representative of the Russian jazz piano school. As a stylistically versatile and technically outstanding pianist, he has won numerous important awards, especially in the USA and France. After studying classical music at the Moscow Conservatory and at the New York Juilliard School, he devoted himself entirely to jazz. David Gazarov also comes from classical music, but turned to jazz early on. The pianist of Armenian descent, born in Azerbaijan, is a German citizen and is considered an excellent virtuoso, who is also able to elicit an amazing variety of tones from his instrument. Both concerts start at 8 p.m.
As always, the Kreusch brothers also promote workshops like the “Meet the Artist”–Discussions are an integral part of the Ottobrunn concerts: “You can go through the whole history of jazz there.” All four festival artists will give a workshop on Saturday, July 9th. Registration for these workshops is possible via 089/608 08 303, tickets are available online via 089/608 08 302 www.wfh-ottobrunn.de or by e-mail [email protected]. More info at www.Ottobrunner-Konzerte.com.