Jazz Festival
About the Jazz Festival
Since 1997, TU Dortmund University has been organizing the annual jazz festival in collaboration with the Fritz-Henßler-Haus (FHH), held in all of the FHH’s venues. The festival is unique in Dortmund because it brings together the university’s vibrant and diverse music scene, the city’s jazz scene, and renowned guests from Germany and abroad every year.
It is precisely this mix of established stars and exciting up-and-coming artists, as well as the networking of the international, regional, and local jazz scenes, is what makes the TU Dortmund University and FHH Jazz Festival, year after year, such a popular gathering place and a must-attend event within the Ruhr region—a cultural area that is certainly not lacking in highlights.
Cosmo Klein & The Phunkguerilla
Following their nationwide acclaimed tribute to Marvin Gaye with “The London Palladium Marvin Gaye Show,” Cosmo Klein & Claus Fischer are dedicating 2020 to their next hero, the icon Prince. Hits like “Purple Rain,” “Kiss,” “Wanna Be Your Lover,” “7,” “Diamonds and Pearls,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Sexy Dancer,” “Sexy Motherfucker,” and “Musicology” were far ahead of their time and still hold a permanent place on radio playlists worldwide.
This restless, multifaceted genius inspired many artists who came after him, including Berlin-based Cosmo Klein and his bandmates, The Phunkguerilla. The masterful blend of funk, rock, and pop had fascinated Klein since childhood, but when he had the chance to see the master perform on his “One Nite Alone” tour in 2002, he was hooked. From then on, he seized every opportunity to see the grand master of funk perform live. His uncompromising dedication to his art fascinated and inspired the young singer. Prince knew better than anyone how to give his songs a fresh new sound in a live setting. On stage, he played alongside the best—including Maceo Parker, Candy Dulfer, John Blackwell, and Ronda Smith—and, right up until the end, delivered high-energy shows that not only left his audience in awe but also challenged them intellectually.
Cosmo Klein: “The idea for Purple for Life was born on the evening of the premiere of the London Palladium Marvin Gaye Show at the A-Trane in Berlin. Completely enchanted by the first set, we were already discussing backstage which artists we’d like to pay tribute to someday. Many names came up, but for me there was only one answer—the greatest live performer of all time. During the second set, I simply asked the audience—and we were all in complete agreement—PRINCE! Ever since then, I’ve been hooked, and I’ve been asked time and again to put this show together.”
Over the past ten years, Claus Fischer & Cosmo Klein have built up a first-class network of musicians, some of whom have even played with the Grand Master themselves. The various lineups that come together under the musical direction of Claus & Cosmo are unique, of the highest musical caliber, and authentic. With great respect and a passion for performing, they celebrate the work and life of the one-of-a-kind artist and all-around genius—PRINCE! An absolute highlight for every music lover.
Groove m.b.H. feat. Gabriel Pérez
For Groove m.b.H., the name says it all!
Founded in 1991, the TU Dortmund University Big Band is made up of current and former students as well as ambitious musicians from the Ruhr region. Its repertoire consists of challenging, predominantly contemporary big band music by renowned composers and arrangers.In addition to performances at TU Dortmund University and in the city’s jazz scene, the band presents its energetic arrangements—crafted with meticulous attention to detail—as well as compelling improvisations on jazz and concert stages throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, such as at the 2nd German University Big Band Festival in Bonn in early October 2019. In May of last year, the band participated in the “International Big Band Competition” in Amsterdam, where it impressed the judges above all with a “nice variety of songs and arrangements of a high professional standard.”
During the TU Jazz Festival—where Groove m.b.H. is performing for the fifth time—the group will feature compositions by Rob Pronk, Bert Joris, and Pat Metheny, as well as works by Argentine composer/arranger, saxophonist/clarinetist, and bandleader Gabriel Pérez. Born in Córdoba in 1964, Gabriel Pérez—who has been one of the artistic directors of the NRW Youth Jazz Orchestra since 2008—has also performed in concerts and productions with, among others, the WDR Big Band, the HR Big Band, Chris Potter, David Liebman, Mike Stern, Nils Wogram, Luciano Biondini, and Afra Mussawisade, as well as arrangement commissions from, among others, the WDR Big Band, HR, NDR, the “Zurich Jazz Orchestra,” the “Parcodella Musica Jazz Orchestra Rome,” Kyoto University in Japan, the “Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra,” the “Córdoba Symphonic Wind Orchestra” in Argentina, the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, and the “Amsterdam Conservatory Big Band.”
The winner of the WDR Jazz Prize for Composition and Arrangement (2008) combines the expressive energy of jazz with the traditional, authentic style of his homeland to create a new, personal sound. Gabriel Pérez will perform this evening as a composer, conductor, and soloist with Groove m.b.H.
