Leipzig Jazz Days | This G minor is not anti-state

Flowers for Bach: the star of the anniversary edition Jason Moran in the Thomaskirche Photo: Lukas Diller Instrumental music has its practical sides. "It's hard to say: This G minor is anti-state," says Stefan König. In an audio contribution, the jazz pianist remembers his years at the Leipzig University of Music and Theater (HMT).

In the trade fair city, the artistic clocks ticked differently during the GDR era than in large parts of the republic. The first Leipzig Jazz Days took place in 1976 - and in the second year the volunteer organizers from the jazz club managed to invite international bands. No texts, no censorship – that simple.

You can learn about stories like these in the Jazztage audio walk, lavishly produced by Caro Behr. The “Jazz in the Ear” format paints a highly exciting, multi-voiced picture of Leipzig jazz and relates past, present and future perspectives to one another.

The Congress Hall at the Zoo is featured, as are of course the Free Jazz Center, NATO, the HMT and their short-term venue Telegraph. When the owner of the basement club went bankrupt, the students got out of the wing overnight - just before the bailiff showed up. Reason for the audio walk: the 50th anniversary of the Jazz Days.

Jazz is omnipresent in Leipzig these days. Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity Orchestra was undoubtedly an excellent choice for the opening evening of the Jazztage last Saturday at the Opera House. The 88-year-old pianist paved the way for freer jazz in the 1960s - and not just in Germany.

The Globe Unity Orchestra will also celebrate its 60th birthday in 2026. The 13-piece band includes greats like Evan Parker and Rudi Mahall, who get plenty of time for solos. The evening is largely free of dynamic or harmonious concepts; Even more unpleasant: nobody seems to be interested in what the others are playing. Nevertheless, there is a deserved standing ovation for a life in the service of musical freedom. 

Then a break typical of Leipzig: Charlie Hunter and Ella Feingold play a reduced instrumental funk with two electric guitars. Hunter's technique is particularly amazing. As he plays melodies and chords, the thumb of his right hand takes over the bass lines on an additional low string. The two rarely appear together. After one of Hunter's ultra-casual solos, Feingold comments, honestly touched: "I just have to let that sink in." There's also a fantastically sensitive drummer in Isaac Kizito. A finale to the evening that will certainly take some getting used to for free jazz fans. Anyone who appreciates Joe Pass, James Brown and the Meters will have had fun.

The next day, the young festival team breathes a sigh of relief: with the UT Connewitz, probably the most beautiful former cinema in Germany, a more typical, less complicated venue is on the program. The store is full, the atmosphere is Connewitz-like relaxed. The ADHD quartet brought all of their equipment with them from their home country of Iceland, including a heavy Hammond B3 organ with rotary loudspeakers. The warm, hissing sound of the instrument is characteristic of the dense sound of this post-jazz band. Or should we call it post-blues? Expansive solos are the order of the day here - a pleasantly lulling retro sound.

It goes without saying that the Jazz Days feature a number of bands with an all-female line-up - something unthinkable in 1976. The five women of the Sjaella vocal ensemble, which is celebrated in Leipzig, are based on baroque singing. Their fusion with electronica and film music in the patina-rich Schaubühne Lindenfels only works together with the Munich synth-pop duo Fallwander. Without accompaniment, Sjaella surrender to bombast pop.

More exciting: the appearance of the Austrian-Italian quartet Loaness around singer Laura Zöschg in NATO. The ghostly three-part vocal harmonies fit surprisingly well with Yvonne Moriel's alto saxophone and Ruth Goller's booming electric bass. A demanding, poetic and always surprising evening, where, unlike Schlippenbach, everyone listened to each other.

And then there's Jason Moran's solo concert. The US pianist is, alongside Bill Frisell and Norma Winstone, the star of the anniversary edition. Moran enters St. Thomas Church with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Johann Sebastian Bach is buried just a few meters from the wing. A bow to the audience, a 180 degree turn, another bow. Possibly addressed to the crucified Jesus, or more likely it is aimed at Bach's gravestone. Moran carefully places the flowers on the edge of the piano and begins to play. 

The pianist's program entitled "Plays Duke Ellington" was closely based on the album of the same name, with only the encore being by Moran. He is not afraid to play extensively in both the very low and high registers. “Black and Tan Fantasy” is dominated by dark, thunderous rumbles for what feels like ten minutes. »The blues is a mirror, it is close to all of us. That’s why it fits so well in a space like this,” says Moran. After the concert, he places the bouquet of flowers that had been lying on the grand piano the entire time on Bach's gravestone and leaves. A dignified end to a magnificent evening, as harmonious as any of these jazz days.

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