World Music

Once a year, renowned stars and the best newcomers of gypsy swing meet at the Gypsy Jazz Days Munich. To mark the tenth anniversary of the festival, we are presenting a concert evening of superlatives: Generation Django met in Paris through the music of Django Reinhardt and set to music the attitude to life of a young urban generation of artists. The ensemble under the direction of Edouard Pennes brings together the virtuoso soloists Sebastien Giniaux, Fanou Torracinta and Giacomo Smith. Orchestral arrangements of classics from all of Django Reinhardt’s creative phases are at the heart of the entertaining program, which celebrated its premiere at the world’s largest Gypsy Swing Festival in Paris in 2023.

Sébastien Giniaux, Fanou Torracinta (solo guitar), Giacomo Smith (clarinet), Edouard Pennes (double bass), Julien Cattiaux (rhythm guitar), Jules Dussap (violin), Sandra Rieger (violin), Julia Sebastian (viola), Nargiza Yusupova (cello)

Foto: Asterios

Songs by Aznavour, Brel and other greats of chanson alternate with jazz standards and original compositions: “Invitation au voyage” is the name of Marie and Jean-Claude Séférian’s new program. Father and daughter embark on a long-awaited journey with chansons and songs from different corners of the world. “Séférian” means the traveler. The singer and the singer let themselves be carried by the music and discover countries, cities and cultures in a different and new way. Music is emotion, imagination and movement. Father and daughter dedicate part of the program to the fragile world situation and sing about people’s longing for peace and freedom. They are carried along by the tapestry of sound that mother and wife Christiane Séférian spreads out on the grand piano.

Marie Séférian (vocals), Jean-Claude Séférian (vocals), Christiane Séférian (grand piano)

Foto: Peter Lessmann

Three musicians from the Bavarian Fünfseenland region whisk you away to whimsical fantasy worlds with a mixture of classical music, folklore and world jazz. Meet the clever goldfish Otto and a somewhat naive bat. Follow the soundscapes, sometimes in three-quarter ländler, sometimes in a tango frenzy, sometimes with jazzy and fast-paced rhythms or longingly and passionately inspired by classical music. With electrified hair and golden shoes, Gruberich play their very own style of music and awaken alpine longing. Video artist Felix Pitscheneder has used artificial intelligence to create animated images to accompany the sounds. Slow tracking shots immerse you in music, image and story.

Thomas Gruber (diatonic button accordion, dulcimer), Maria Friedrich (cello), Sabine Gruber-Heberlein (harp), Felix Pitscheneder (animations)

Foto: Felix Pitscheneder

The Marion & Sobo Band creates its own modern style of global music and vocal jazz. They prove that handmade, acoustic music can not only be delicate, contemplative and colorful, but also highly energetic and powerful, even without drums. The German-French-Polish ensemble led by multilingual singer Marion Lenfant-Preus and guitarist Alexander “Sobo” Sobocinski presents a new album, “Gomera”. It is dedicated to the scenically and culturally diverse Canary Island of the same name, where the two have spent many winters and collected many song ideas. Stylistically colorful with gypsy jazz, rumba, Balkan and chanson sounds, linguistically diverse with songs that invite you to dance and dream. The band sings and plays with charm, humor and ease for a cross-cultural and cross-generational audience.

Marion Lenfant-Preus (vocals), Alexander Sobocinski (guitar), Jonas Vogelsang (guitar), Frank Brempel (violin), David Andres (double bass)

Foto: Alessandro De Matteis

Look forward to a musical feast! The ensemble around violinist Ilona Cudek and accordion virtuoso Enrique Ugarte serves up spicy czardas, hot jazz, bittersweet tango and creamy classical hits, spiced up with a touch of Christmas just in time for the second Advent. Special guest soprano Roxana Lucia Mihai enriches the evening.

Ilona Cudek (violin), Enrique Ugarte (accordion), Manfred Manhart (piano), Bernhard Seidel (double bass), Roxana Lucia Mihai (soprano)

Foto: konzert.name

Jermaine Landsberger is a musical citizen of the world and is now one of the style-defining pianists on the European gypsy scene thanks to his break from tradition. The Upper Palatinate native with Sinti roots spices up his powerful yet melodic piano playing with elements of gypsy music and has already toured across Europe with it. For his concert, he has brought along the crème de la crème of German jazz musicians: the bassist Joel Locher, who is in demand throughout Europe, and the renowned Munich drummer Guido May. Tony Lakatos, who was a soloist and member of the HR Big Band for 30 years, joins them as a special guest. With virtuosity and melancholy, they present sensitive original compositions, exquisite classics, but also swinging gypsy jazz melodies in a modern guise.

Jermaine Landsberger (piano), Tony Lakatos (saxophone), Joel Locher (double bass), Guido May (drums)

Foto: Mathieu Wilson / Tony Lakatos

August Zirner and Sven Faller tell entertaining stories of leaving and arriving with humor and depth, based on the love stories of their grandmothers. Zirner tells how, as a young American, he fled the Vietnam War to Austria, the country from which his parents had fled. The young Faller, on the other hand, was drawn to America. His grandmother’s Jewish fiancé had returned from there 30 years ago to keep his marriage vows. An exciting musical dialog between flute and double bass continues the stories in a lively manner. Zirner and Faller playfully revive not only jazz classics such as “Summertime” and “Take Five”, but also Bach’s “Bourreé”.

Foto: Xenia Trampusch

Whispering, speaking, shouting, dancing or in silence. In its new program, the Moritz Weiß Klezmer Trio tells of the stories that the “wind” carries with it. They speak through klezmer, a musical genre that has provided the trio with inspiration, motivation and direction for years. “Wind” is dedicated to the concert tours of recent years: a yodeling Tyrolean in Patagonia, an emotional tango concert in Buenos Aires, the sweltering heat in Senegal, a filling Koshari dinner in Cairo or a few too many schnapps in Serbia. There were quite a few adventures along the way! But because there is not only wonderful music in the big wide world, but also in the trio’s home country, the three gentlemen from Styria have invited a special guest: Simon Reithofer on gypsy guitar.

Moritz Weiß (clarinet), Niki Waltersdorfer (guitar), Maximilian Kreuzer (double bass), Simon Reithofer (gypsy guitar)

Foto: Reithofer Media

Sophie Wegener (vocals), Vlado Grizelj (guitar), George Makhoshvili (bass)

The German-French singer Sophie Wegener has dedicated herself entirely to bossa nova, the music that was ‘invented’ in Brazil in the late 1950s. After releasing three albums with her band Zona Sul (“Pure love – Um amor tão puro”, “Beira” and “Tem mais samba”) and performing in jazz clubs around the world, she is breaking new ground with her trio and opting for an even more intimate sound. She enchants the audience with great emotions and serenely relaxed to bittersweet compositions by Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso or Baden-Powell.

Sophie Wegener will be accompanied by jazz guitarist Vlado Grizelj and double bassist George Makhoshvili, both of whom are established names on the European jazz and music scene. Vlado and George are not only first-class accompanists – it is a special experience to experience their interplay, which is characterized by deep musicality. And even if Sophie Wegener takes center stage as the singer, there is always enough room for her virtuoso accompanists to inspire with numerous solos.

Foto: Lena Semmelroggen

Beauty of sound, sensuality and virtuosity on the Spanish guitar

Tranquillity, reflection and the rapid drifting of clouds inspired the Dinkelsbühl guitarist Philipp Schiepek to create his program “Meadows and Mirrors”. In a space-consuming composition process, solo and trio pieces were created, which are interpreted on the classical nylon-string guitar. Together with the established artists Henning Sieverts and Bastian Jütte, the result is an exciting concert evening full of joyful playing. Philipp Schiepek has already performed with his ensembles at Jazzfest Berlin, Jazztage Leipzig, the Berlin Philharmonie, Sunset Paris and the Europe Sound Festival in Ankara. His concerts have been broadcast on Deutschlandfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk and other stations.

Philipp Schiepek (nylon string guitar), Henning Sieverts (bass), Bastian Jütte (drums)

Foto: Gregor Kipping