Get ready for a magical night where rhythm, soul, and improvisation come alive! This year’s Jazz Festival brings together two incredible acts from India and Germany, creating a vibrant cross-cultural musical experience.
Harlem featuring Neil on Violin (India)
The band formed when four musicians realized the sound they grew up with had too much soul and unexplainable energy to stay quiet. So, they stepped into jazz, and everything good, loud, emotional, and pleasantly chaotic followed. What started as a wild idea quickly became a sound that feels like home, feels like fire, and still surprises them every time it works.
Izrael Harlem’s North Star pianist, every phrase he plays carries a silent disclaimer: "Don’t worry, I’ll explain later." And he pulls the whole room with him, whether they’re ready for it or not.
On guitar, Stevie Dave, aka The Tone Surgeon, delivers tone so clean it feels like a full system reset — followed by riffs so unhinged they make you question what universe you’ve just entered.
Kaleb, ‘The Low-End Philosopher’, anchors the rhythm with basslines heavy enough to stop time, yet smooth enough to start problems.
And on drums, Wungrito, ‘The Rhythm Locksmith’, is the heartbeat, the engine — the one who can make even silence swing. If Harlem has a pulse, he’s the one hitting it.
Neil on Violin - At just 21 years old, Neil has already spent nearly a decade dedicated to the violin—a journey that has shaped not only his musicianship but also his identity. While his foundation is rooted in classical technique, Neil has developed a strong passion for jazz and improvisation, which led him to focus more on this genre, studying under some of the top jazz musicians and mentors in the field.
Over the years, Neil has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of venues and musical settings, each one deepening his love for creating and sharing music. Whether exploring new improvisational ideas, collaborating with other musicians, or bringing fresh energy to familiar melodies, Neil strives to use the violin as a voice for expression, connection, and creativity.
Music isn’t just what Neil does—it’s what he loves, and it continues to inspire him to grow, experiment, and push the boundaries of what the violin can do.
ZOOM (Germany)
From Germany, we present ZOOM, a celebrated jazz group known for their bold improvisations, experimental soundscapes, and high-energy stage presence. Their seamless interplay and innovative approach to jazz promise to transport audiences into a world of pure musical artistry.
Zoom: Openness and form – this is how you could describe the music of the tenor saxophonist, composer and improviser Stephan Mattner. His characteristic compositions open up a structure to which many musical paths follow, which are unfolded with great melodic sense, rhythmic variability and the necessary serenity. We are sent on a musical journey in which some areas of the 70’s and 80’s appear in a new light; Associations with Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie emerge to melt into the warm unmistakable sound of his tenor saxophone. The whole thing leads to music that is independent and yet rooted in the great jazz tradition.
Stephan Mattner – tenor saxophone Philipp van Endert – guitar Sebastian Räther – bass Jo Beyer - drums Stephan Mattner – tenor saxophone, composition, arrangement
Studied classical saxophone and instrumental pedagogy at the Detmold University of Music/Dortmund department and jazz saxophone at the Folkwang University in Essen with Prof. Hugo Read and Matthias Nadolny.
During his studies he attended courses such as "Days for New Music Darmstadt", was a member of the Landes Jugend Jazz Orchester NRW and taught as an assistant lecturer at the Musikhochschule Dortmund.
Concerts have taken him with a wide variety of formations and musicians through almost all clubs and festivals in Germany as well as in various European countries and Australia.
At the Montreux International Jazz Festival he was a semi-finalist in the attached International Saxophone Competition. Radio and TV recordings and transmissions from WDR, MDR, BR, Deutschlandfunk.
In addition to various jury activities such as at the national youth jazz event and the state orchestra competition of North Rhine-Westphalia, he holds a teaching position for saxophone at the University of Siegen.
He was a guest in the WDR Big Band, the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra with Nils Wogram, Gwilym Simcock, Joachim Ulrich, Darcy James Argue, Jürgen Friedrich, Florian Ross, Frank Rheinshagen, Marko Lackner, Christoph Eidens, Niels Klein, Nicolas Simion, among others , Sherisse Rogers, Martin Sasse, Sabine Kühlich, Frank Wunsch, Claudius Valk, Christina Fuchs Big Band, Christian Thomé, Caroline Thons Thoneline Orchestra, Big Band Convention Cologne, etc.
Philipp van Endert – guitar
Since his return from the USA, Philipp van Endert has established himself as his own and unmistakable voice in the current jazz scene. He has played numerous tours and recordings in America and Europe and accepted invitations to many international festivals - including the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival, The Hague Jazz, Jazz Sur Son/Toulouse, Ankara Jazz Festival and the Leverkusen Jazz Days. His energetic and at the same time lyrical guitar playing is documented on more than 40 CD releases and has brought him together with jazz greats such as Mike Stern, Danny Gottlieb, Lajos Dudas, Jarek Smietana, Karl Berger, Gerd Dudek, Kenny Wheeler, Adrian Mears, Rick Margitza and many others. brought together.
Nomination for the German Record Award 2006 in the jazz category with the production Philipp van Endert Trio – KHILEBOR (JazzSick Records), winner of the Steven D. Holland Memorial Scholarship, the Berklee Guitar Department Achievement Award and winner of the cultural advancement award of the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital Düsseldorf (1996).
Since 2009, Philipp van Endert has been teaching jazz guitar at the Institute for Music and Media at the Robert Schumann University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf, and since 2014 also at the Institute for Music at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.
Sebastian Raether – bass
Born in Hamburg, he has been in the middle of the Cologne jazz scene for 20 years now. In this very present he plays and has already played with (almost) all local modern jazz colleagues and numerous musicians from Düsseldorf, Essen and the Ruhr area, such as Nils Wogram, Jonas Burgwinkel and Niels Klein, Simon Nabatov, ... together. The collaboration with Angelika Niescier began in 1997 and is reflected above all in the band "sublim" until 2012, but also in numerous other projects of Niescier.
Jo Beyer – drums
born 1991 in Essen, lives in Cologne since 2016.
Studied jazz drums at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and at the Royal Academy of Music in Århus, Denmark. CD, radio and television productions as well as concerts and tours with various projects and bands in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Belgium, France, Denmark, Russia, Malaysia and the Czech Republic, among others. Winner of various European and international young jazz prizes.
Join us for an evening where East meets West, tradition meets innovation, and music becomes a universal language.
Let the jazz take over!
Location
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Auditorium
No 4 Rutland Gate 5th Street Chennai 600006 India
