Event Calendar

Line-up:
• Nicolai Thärichen: Composition, Arrangement, Piano
• Michael Schiefel: Vocal
• Andreas Spannagel: Flute, Alto Flute, Tenor Saxophone
• Sven Klammer: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
• Sören Fischer: Trombone
• Jan von Klewitz: Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
• Nikolaus Leistle: Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
• Kai Brückner: Guitar
• Johannes Gunkel: Contrabass
• Kai Schönburg: Drums

Seldom have jazz critics and the audience shared such unambiguous enthusiasm: the Berlin tentett around composer, arranger and pianist Nicolai Thärichen is Germanys new Jazz highlight. The band proved this not only with their third album, Grateful, but also live at festivals all over Germany.

Freaky, manic, crazy – with other words: the Thärichens Tentett. The pianist Nicolai Thärichen takes poems, non-jazz themes, from Lord Byron, Thomas Hardy and Ronald D. Laing. He assembles some of the best Jazz-musicians from Berlin to one sounding body, which he bends, kneads, until the poems become dancing sculptures and the sounding body rears to a fulminating Big Band, while in the next moment it unfolds delicately. And he tops that with the voice from Michael Schiefel, who is androgynous, sensual, overtorqued, virtuosic, and short: completely manic.

Thärichens Tentett delivers felicitous compositions, polished arrangements, as well as a humorous presentation. In September they released their new album Farewell Songs and the Goethe-Institut is thrilled to present the band to the Mumbai audience.

The Tentett has been invited by the Goethe-Institut to perform within the South-Asia region. Apart from Mumbai, they will be performing at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.

 

Jazz Utsav

It is time again for the annual jazz festival in its new avatar “The Jazz Utsav”. (21st & 22nd November). Jazz Utsav is a festival of this celebration, the annual coming together of jazz music, jazz musicians and jazz fans. This is the 31st year of the jazz festival in India (earlier The JazzYatra and now the The Jazz Utsav) making it one of the oldest series of jazz festivals in the world (it was the first in Asia).The first JazzYatra was held in 1978 in Mumbai and Delhi. This year The Jazz Utsav has been expanded to include Bangalore and Pune.

The festival also moves to a new location in Mumbai – The Priyadarshini Park on Nepeansea Road, right next to the sea. This is a much bigger venue and will allow more jazz lovers to attend the festival. The Jazz Utsav Festivals are organised by Capital Jazz.

The Utsav this year has an equally formidable global line-up, with bands from six countries, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Canada, Germany, Norway and Poland. And, of course, keeping in mind the objective of promoting jazz music and musicians in the country, there will be top Indian representatives at all 3 cities.