BIGBAND PLUS - Jazz and Pop on CD & YouTube

Four brand-new big band compositions, recorded live at the final concerts of the new Master's degree course in Big Band, plus six further recordings in smaller ensembles from the jazz/pop department of the HfMDK show just how diverse jazz and pop are at our university. This rousing CD offers music ranging from Latin American-inspired sounds to modern jazz, blues, folk and pop!

The piece Spring's Dew by saxophonist Roman Fritsch is inspired by John Williams' arranging style for big band. With Footfingers, saxophonist Paul Scheugenpflug and his quartet PSQ build bridges between clichés and the unconventional, between catchy pop melodies, driving grooves and energetic jazz improvisation. Gregor Schor makes a surprising literary excursion to Ernst Jandl with his orchestral interpretation of the poem Dooschlogdadoo. A Cucumber In Space by Daniel Rheinbay introduces guest soloist Jan Lammert on the Moog synthesizer and takes listeners on a ten-minute sonic journey. Instrumental reinforcement by the accomplished alto saxophone soloist Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn from the hr-Bigband is provided in the saxophone concerto by Sören Riesner, which is influenced by Latin American music. With Unappreciated, the neo-soul band Neelah presents a power ballad from their own pen. In contrast, the HfMDK Pop & Jazz Choir has always had a preference for groovy gospel music, which they live out with powerful vocals in I Found The Way. And last but not least, the all-rounder Jona Heckmann presents himself as an imaginative arranger and composer, trombonist and pianist in equal measure.

What characterizes the sound? "The originality of the compositions, powerful rhythms, sparkling melodies, fresh sound, the unbridled joy of playing. It's fun and contagious," says Hendrika Entzian. She is a guest professor on the Master's degree course in Big Band, in which the HfMDK cooperates with the hr-Bigband (the Frankfurt Radio Bigband. The students now head out into the world. "With FÄZZ," says Hendrika Entzian, "the Rhine-Main region has a jazz collective that will certainly continue to enliven the regional scene and inspire the next generation of students."

Music critic and jazz author Wolfgang Sandner wrote in the FAZ after the concerts: "Looking at the compositional results, we can already speak of a good year (...)."

The Master's degree course in Big Band has been enriching artistic jazz education in Germany with a unique profile since 2022. Students deepen their knowledge of writing for, playing in and leading large jazz ensembles in projects with the hr-Bigband, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, and in lessons at the HfMDK. In the summer of 2024, the first year of this innovative course of study completed its training and is now ready to enter the world of music.

The HfMDK Big Band brings together two years of the HfMDK's Big Band Master's degree course as well as jazz students from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and guests. Their work focuses on the students' arrangements and compositions.

CD: BIGBAND PLUS - Jazz and Pop
Recording a. o. May 2024, Small Hall of the HfMDK

• Jens F. Meier, sound engineer
• Dr. Sylvia Dennerle, editor
• www.s-t-a-t-e.com, design/concept
• Lisa Mahlberg, design/layout
• Laura Brichta, Photography
• HOFA GmbH, Production
• Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts - Prof. Elmar Fulda, President

Sponsors

We would like to thank the following for their kind support: The MA Bigband - for Instrumentalists, Composers and Conductors is supported by the Ernst Max von Grunelius Foundation, the Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt, the Wirtschafts- und Infrastrukturbank Hessen (WIBank) and the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der hr Bigband e.V. The HfMDK Jazzfest is supported by DZ Bank.