Cologne Jazzweek: Wanja Slavin - libelle

Cologne Jazzweek goes into the third round
12-18 August 2023

The journey continues. Also in 2023 unique artists:inside of the Cologne, German and international jazz scene will be experienced on the many stages throughout the city. Whether in the Stadtgarten, LOFT, King Georg, Open Air, the Ehrenfeld-Clubs or our new venues in the Filmhaus, the Klaus von Bismarck Sendesaal in the WDR or the Philharmonie - new encounters will arise and new stories will be written. Be part of the festival summer 2023 and dive into the wonderful world of improvised music!

A striking feature of the career of alto saxophonist Wanja Slavin, who was born in Freiburg in 1982 and has lived in Berlin since 2005, is that he has rarely been involved with a long-lasting band. Slavin seeks the challenge in change - be it that he likes to reshuffle a recently formed band right away, to get involved from the start in the unique feeling of coming together with musicians on stage for the first time. Only in this way can he give himself over to the free play of improvisational forces, unbiased and unimpressed by models and clichés, and ensure that every phrase, every note and every line he blows on the saxophone sounds unique and remains a one-off. For his concert at Jazzweek, Slavin has again assembled a new quintet. In addition to the alto saxophone, he himself will also be heard on the flute, piano and synthesizer, accompanied by the New Zealand trombonist Shannon Barnett (who will also sing), who lives in Cologne, the electric bassist Ruth Goller, who comes from South Tyrol and has been living in London for some time, and the two Brits Percy Pursglove (trumpet) and James Maddren (drums). With these musicians he wants to experiment with the different parameters of the rhythmic phenomenon "groove" and first analyze its various forms and condensations in order to then set them in constantly changing, new contexts.

The complete program of all participating venues can be found on the Cologne Jazzweek website.