September 2021

Hans Lüdemann receives the Rome Prize

The Rome prize is the most prestigious federal German Artist award. It’s history goes back to the year 1913. It is awarded by the Federal German ministry of culture and the cultural foundation of the federal states and includes a one year stay at the Villa Massimo in Rome. Hans Lüdemann is the first jazz artist to receive it. www.villamassimo.de

RISM festival

The „RISM Festival“ at LOFT Köln is presenting the music of Hans Lüdemann, featuring the ensembles „Trio Ivoire“ and members of the „TransEuropeExpress - Ensemble“ (the trio ROOMS & Silke Eberhard & Kalle Kalima) as well as piano solos and duos of Hans Lüdemann and Philip Zoubek.

Hans Lüdemann & Burcu Karadag - Tarabya Ensemble

Burcu Karadag, the great Ney flute player, teamed up with Hans Lüdemann as a duo this year in Istanbul. Their concert premiere will be at Stadtgarten, Köln, on October 1 with the Tarabya Ensemble. It is also featuring singers Michael Schiefel and Jakobien Vlasman and led by drummer Christian Thomé. All musicians will unite in the „Tarabya Ensemble“ in a concert that is part of the jubilee celebrations of the cultural academy Tarabya.

Hans Lüdemann - Aly Keita - Christian Thomé TRIO IVOIRE & TRIO IVOIRE XX: Enchanted Forest

The music from the new album „TRIO IVOIRE XX: Enchanted Forest“ had it’s concert premiere at Stadtgarten Köln in April 2021 - as a livestream concert without concert audience. It featured vocalists Simin Tander, Tamara Lukasheva and Monica Akihary and bassist Lisa Wulff. The first part of the concert was a solo piano performance combining acoustic and virtual piano sounds. (livestream link) Hans Lüdemann Solo & Trio Ivoire XX: Enchanted Forest: Stadtgarten
Among the postponed concerts of the project are two appearances at the NDR radio concert hall in Hamburg that are now scheduled for April 7 & 8, 2022.
The regular TRIO IVOIRE of Lüdemann - Keita - Thomé restarted doing live concerts with audience (!) with a concert tour in Rumania in June and appearance at the „Jazz Unique“ Festival Bucarest and continued with concerts in Germany. Still, the Corona situation is not fully back to normal, so that the performance at the „Jazz au Chellah“ Festival in Rabat/Morocco, scheduled for October, was cancelled again (for the third time).
Supported by:

TransEuropeExpress - Ensemble

preview: The new CD release „on the edges 1“ featuring Moroccan master musician Majid Bekkas (Oud, Guembri, vocals) will be released on BMC records later this year. It is the start of a series of projects featuring guests from and beyond the borders of Europe. „on the edges 3“ (Roman Express) , a project featuring Italian guest artists Rita Marcotulli, Luciano Bondini and Michele Rabbia, is starting with several small scale projects in 2021 and will be fully realized and premiered in 2022 in Rome.
TransEuropeExpress e.V. suported by:

November 2015

Hans Lüdemann solo „das reale Klavier – ein Kölner Konzert“ (BMC records)
The new solo record is a live concert recording from Köln that shows Lüdemann creating a musical arc of great intensity throughout the concert, achieving a mature balance between deep emotion, suspense and surprises, and going further in blending acoustic and „virtual“ piano sounds, expanding the sound spectrum of the piano.
It was already released in the US in October and is coming out in Europe in early November.

LIVE CONCERT AT THE OPERA KÖLN "Hommage a Köln concert - das reale Klavier"

The album will be presented live in two special premiere concerts that will also include a homage to Keith Jarrett’s historic „Köln concert“ from 1975 – In Swarthmore/USA on November 1 and at the original venue of the 1975 concert, the Opera in Köln, Germany, on November 29.

The video to the new cd here!

Supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media on the basis of a resolution passed by German Bundestag.

T.E.E. Ensemble
The new French - German Jazz Ensemble, that extends the ROOMS trio to an octet with Yves Robert, Silke Eberhard, Alexandra Grimal, Theo Ceccaldi and Kalle Kalima (replacing Ronny Graupe) will perform in November at the Jazzdor Festival Offenburg and the Budapest Music Centre, where the group will record their debut CD production for BMC records.

The T.E.E. concerts and recordings are possible through support of the Deutsch-Französische Kulturstiftung and the Goethe institute.

„Rhythmische Etüden“ („Rhythmic Etudes“)
is the title of a collection of new piano etudes to be published by SCHOTT in December 2015. The technically demanding etudes use the whole range of sound and dynamics of the instrument based on Jazz and African rhythm. They are designed as concert pieces for Classical piano players. Photo: Volker Beushausen

The composition of „Rhythmische Etüden“ was possible with a composition grant from the Konrad Adenauer – Stiftung/EHF – Fonds.

March 2015

Hans Lüdemann TRIO IVOIRE - Aly Keita - Christian Thomé
The current CD release „Timbuktu“ has been nominated for the ECHO Jazz 2015 award in the category „Ensemble of the year - national“. The album was also chosen among the „albums of the year 2014“ by jazztokyo.com. In 2015, the trio will perform concerts in Europe, West Africa and the USA.
www.echojazz.de/nominierte_2015/
www.jazztokyo.com
Supported by kunststiftung nrw.

die kunst des trios 8
Hans Lüdemann - Mark Helias - Pierre Favre „ad libitum“
The trio series of adventurous first meetings continued in January 2015 with two great Jazz masters, Swiss drummer Pierre Favre and New York bass player Mark Helias, creating a colorful premiere of inspired improvisations and compositions by Lüdemann and Helias.
Supported by kunststiftung nrw.
CD review: www.jazzword.com/one-review/

Hans Lüdemann ROOMS - Sebastien Boisseau - Dejan Terzic
In November 2014, the trio performed at the Domicil Dortmund within the „Dortmunder Jazztage“ Festival. The concert was recorded by WDR radio and is yet to be broadcasted this year. In the meantime, Dejan Terzic has received the ECHO Jazz 2014 as best drummer. The trio will record a new album this summer for BMC records to be released in 2015/16.
Review from Dortmund concert (german): www.nrwjazz.net/reviews/2014/
Photo: ROOMS 2014 live in Berat/Albania (Ulla Binder)

Hans Lüdemann solo „das reale Klavier“
New solo recordings from the LOFT Köln will be released by BMC records before the summer of 2015. On his 4th release, Lüdemann is going further on his path extending the possibilities of the piano, but also finding a beautiful and mature balance between deep emotion, suspense and surprises, blending acoustic and „virtual“ piano sounds. A very special new video on youtube shows the solo performance of a quartertone piano piece by composer Georg Friedrich Haas.

T.E.E. Ensemble
The new French - German Jazz Ensemble, that extends the ROOMS trio to an octet with Yves Robert, Silke Eberhard, Alexandra Grimal, Ronny Graupe and Theo Ceccaldi, plans to perform in fall in France, Germany and Hungary. New video samples of their German premiere in 2013 can be seen on „youtube“: T.E.E. Ensemble live Köln 2013 CRUM / TRAUM IM TRAUM / ENGE BEWEGUNG
Supported by:

Extended cooperation with „La Candela“
The Cologne based booking agency „La Candela“ extends its collaboration with Hans Lüdemann and is starting to work exclusively for all his projects including solo piano and the ensembles Trio Ivoire, Rooms and T.E.E. www.lacandela.de

„Cornell Visiting Professorship“ at Swarthmore College, USA
Hans Lüdemann has been appointed the „Cornell Visiting Professorship“ at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia for the 2015/16 academic year. It his second time after his stay in 2009/2010. He will teach Jazz classes and workshops as well as perform concerts, also inviting and presenting some of his musical colleagues.

„Rhythmic Etudes“
s the title of a collection of new piano etudes to be published by SCHOTT in 2015. The technically demanding etudes use the whole range of sound and dynamics of the instrument based on Jazz and African rhythm. They are designed to work as concert pieces for Classical piano players.

News January 2014

Winterjazz Köln
The year 2014 started off very well with the Winterjazz Festival at Stadtgarten Köln, where the Cologne Jazz Scene presented itself impressively with 20 high quality bands. The audience in the crowded concert hall experienced an inspired and strong performance of the trio Hans Lüdemann - Joscha Oetz - Jonas Burgwinkel „Nu RISM“ as the final group of the festival. www.winterjazzkoeln.com

Hans Lüdemann TRIO IVOIRE - Aly Keita/Christian Thomé „Timbuktu“
After a celebrated performance at the Jazzfest Berlin 2013 the TRIO IVOIRE is starting in 2014 with the release of their new, fourth album „Timbuktu“ and a number of concerts and festival appearances. The town in the Malian desert is starting point for a journey to real and imaginary places and points of reference. The trio with the unique setup of piano, balaphon and drums creates connections and suspense between African polyrythm, clear melodic lines and large forms. For the first time and the 15 year history of the group, the chromatic balaphon is introduced and the acoustic trio is spiced with electronic ingredients and virtual piano sounds. The CD will be released internationally in April by INTUITION. In may the group performs at „Elbjazz Festival“ Hamburg and at „8 Brücken Festival“ Köln with a special project featuring Ballaké Sissoko from Mali and trumpet player Reiner Winterschladen, as well as on concerts and festival in different European countries. > VIDEO: TRIO IVOIRE/Jazzfest Berlin & Timbuktu trailer https://vimeo.com/80555888

die kunst des trios 6 - 8
The CD box „die kunst des trios 1 - 5“ (the art of the trio) with recordings from five different piano trio concerts and concepts received the ECHO Jazz award in 2013 and was highly acclaimed by critics - a good motivation to continue the series with three new trios in 2014. The concept stays to create a new conception and program with every trio under the same conditions, using spontaneity and improvsation as essential impulses and making each concert a singular event.

The series starts with a concert at Stadtgarten, Köln (Cologne), January 12 with the trio Hans Lüdemann - Manou Gallo - Boris Tchango „Polycolor“ (die kunst des trios 6)
Electric bass player and singer Manou Gallo from Ivory Coast is known for her work with the group Zap Mama, drummer Boris Tchango from Togo as one of the great masters auf African groove. Both together have drawn attention as the rhythm team of „Acoustic Africa“ on tours in Europe and the US. In the trio with Hans Lüdemann they create a fresh and energetic program full of lively, pulsating and oscillating colors and rhythms.

Two more editions of the series are planned in 2014: „die kunst des trios 7“ with Hans Lüdemann - Mark Helias - Pierre Favre is planned for summer/fall, Trio no. 8 for fall/winter.
„die kunst des trios“ is supported by the „kunststiftung nrw“

T.E.E. Ensemble
The new French-German Jazzensemble continues its collaboration after the successful premieres in Paris and Köln in 2013. In 2014, the 8 piece group will perform at the „Jazz d‘Or“-Festivals in Berlin in June and in Strasbourg in November and additional concerts and workshops. > Trailer of the Goethe-Institut Paris on the project: www.goethe.de/ins/fr/lp/kul/mag/bmo/fr11853176.htm
> Citizen Jazz - Photo documentation of the Premiere of T.E.E. in Paris Sept 18, 2013 www.citizenjazz.com/TEE-Ensemble-au-Goethe-Institut-de.html

Hans Lüdemann ROOMS - Sebastien Boisseau, Dejan Terzic
In November 2013 the German-French piano trio had a celebrated performance at the „Reims Jazz Festival“ in the opera of Reims. For 2014 tours and festival appearances and a new CD production are scheduled. > photos from the concert of ROOMS in Reims, November 20, 2012 www.djaz51.com/diaporamas.html#Haut

Steinway Arabesque
A special composition commission was given in the summer of 2013 to Hans Lüdemann - to compose, perform and record a piece of music for the jubilee edition „Arabesque“ grand piano of Steinway & Sons. The film version of the piece is used as a score for the short film and DVD presenting the new piano, the concert version was composed and recorded for the CD compilation „Arabesque“ where it can be heard in the illustrious company of internationally reknown Classical composers and pianists such as Evgeni Kissin and Jean-Yves Thibauded. >VIDEO Steinway Arabesque (film version) www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLTErfRVjQ

News September 2013

T.E.E. Ensemble
is the title of a new French-German Jazzensemble, initiated by the Goethe institute Paris. It unites established musicians and young talents of creative Jazz, the lineup being half French, half German. Hans Lüdemann has the artistic direction and is contributing much of the musical material, his trio ROOMS with Sebastien Boisseau (cb) and Dejan Terzic (dr) is the foundation for T.E.E. The team also comprises trombone magician Yves Robert, guitar discovery Ronny Graupe and a frontline of saxophonists Alexandra Grimal and Silke Eberhard with young violin virtuoso Théo Ceccaldi.
www.goethe.de

special tv appearance:
Sol Gabetta with Hans Lüdemann in „Anke hat Zeit“ WDR TV sep 28, 10:45 pm
Sol Gabetta, the fantastic classical cello player, is performing a virtuoso piece by Servais and is accompanied on the piano by Hans Lüdemann.

Reiner Winterschladen - Hans Lüdemann - new CD „Heavy Hearts“
Reiner Winterschladen, trumpet, Hans Lüdemann, piano
The CD has finally - after several delays - been released end of July by A-Jazz/NRW records and is receiving very good reviews. The two duo partners have been working together for 12 years and have developed an intuitive understanding for each other. For their new, second CD they have taken their time and the result is an almost „classic“ recording of two mature artists. They have the freedom to draw from the tradition on one hand - interpreting ballads of Brecht/Eisler and Mingus, on the other they are neither afraid of simple melodies and grooves nor of free and avantgardistic improvisation. Each one of these two musicians has found his own voice. They speak through their instruments, creating relaxed and powerful music with soul, playing straight into the heart of the music.
http://ajazz.de

Hans Lüdemann TRIO IVOIRE
Aly Keita - Christian Thomé
The TRIO IVOIRE is performing at the prestigious Berlin Jazzfest on October 23. For beginning of 2014, the release of a new CD is scheduled. It will be released by INTUITION records, a release tour and festival appearances are planned in spring. There are videos on the internet from the legendary 2010 Berlin concert at the „Haus der Kulturen“, featuring Chiwoniso, singer and Mbira player from Zimbabwe. Chiwoniso died on July 27 this year in Zimbabwe. We are mourning for her and remembering a fantastic musician and dear friend. (Photo: MacPherson. Chiwoniso & Hans Lüdemann - Harare/HIFA-Festival 2008)
vimeo.com/71509527
vimeo.com/71682265
www.trioivoire.com

Newsletter spring 2012

News: Agentur Fischermann/Stefan Nauheimer is booking concerts for Hans Lüdemann ROOMS starting april (see contact).

Hans Lüdemann/Sebastien Boisseau/Dejan Terzic ROOMS
were on tour in January of 2012.
More dates this year:
April 19, 2012 CH - Zürich, Moods
June 21, 2012 D - Köln, LOFT
June 22, 2012 D - Köln, LOFT
November 16, 2012 F - Nevers, Festival

Reviews: Jazzthetik 2012 (german, pdf, 850 kb), Jazzman 2010 (french/english, pdf, 350 kb), Südkurier 2012 (german, pdf, 51 kb), www.culturejazz.fr
The group will present the program of their CD „Rooms“ (BMC records 176) as well as a special new production:

„die kunst des trios“ (the art of the trio)
5 CD-Box plus DVD - 5 piano trios
Hans Lüdemann - piano/virtual piano with
Robert Landfermann - Jonas Burgwinkel „Nu RISM“
Dieter Manderscheid - Christian Thomé „Eisler‘s Exil“
Sebastien Boisseau - Dejan Terzic „Rooms“
Linley Marthe - Chander Sardjoe „Rhythm Magic“
Henning Sieverts - Eric Schaefer „Chiffre“ (each bass and drums)

The CD box will be officially released this spring, starting in January in Germany and later also in other European countries and the US. „5 high level piano trios, very different in conception and sound, give splendid insight into the art of improvisation. In an opulent box with five CDs, a DVD and an 80 page booklet, the highlights of this project can now be experienced“. (Jazzthetik)

During the years 2007 - 2008 the concert series „die Kunst des Trios“ (the art of the trio) took place at the LOFT in Köln, Germany. The unique experiment presented 5 piano trios within a short period of time with a lineup of outstanding musicians from the German and European Jazz scene: The series turned out to be an astonishing, multi-facetted enterprise that unfolded the practically indefinite possiblities of improvised music. Each of these trios was put together uniquely for single concert and developed its own conception - each created a small musical universe of its own. The CD-box of studio quality recordings in a beautiful editon allows you to compare the 5 trios and experience „three secrets of Jazz“: spontaneous improvisation, musical communication and the individual sound of each musician. The project will be available as a box of 5 CDs and one DVD plus an 80-page booklet on BMC records. (BMC 196) from distributors/shops and through email to post@rism.de.
The CD production was possible through a grant of the Kunststiftung NRW.
A radio portrait in Deutschlandfunk (DLF) on March 3, 2012 (Jazzfacts, 10:05 pm) will focus on the project. Reviews:www.culturejazz.fr, NDR-Kultur 2/12 (german, pdf, 250 kb), Pianonews 2/12 (german, pdf, 970 kb), Rolling Stone 2/12(german, pdf, 260 kb)

"die kunst des trios", introduced on France Musique/Jazz Open (Radio France) by Alex Dutilh (French) June 22, 2012. This podcast can be found online with the following link: http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/open-jazz/emission.php?e_id=65000050&d_id=460000336

Hans Lüdemann TRIO IVOIRE Aly Keita - Chander Sardjoe
with NDR Bigband, Ltg. Geir Lysne
In february the TRIO IVOIRE is doing a production and concert with the NDR Bigband in Hamburg. The program consists of original compositions by Hans Lüdemann and Aly Keita. Some of them are new, other stem from the trio repertoire. The arrangements are written by Hans Lüdemann, the band is directed by Geir Lysne. The premiere is in Hamburg, February 24, 2012 at the NDR. Review: Die Welt, 27.2.12 (german, pdf, 135 kb)

Hans Lüdemann - Toumani Diabaté „piano & kora magic“
The seductive combination of piano and kora harp had fascinated the public at concerts in Berlin and Köln (Cologne in november 2011). In october of this year, the project will continue with more concerts and workshops.
It can be booked through the agency "la Candela" in Köln.
The project, which included workshops as well, is supported by the „Aktion Afrika“ of the Federal Republic of Germany/Foreign Office.

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