Past & Present: Joachim Ullrich

His concert in the series "past and present" features the ancient saxophone mafioso Joachim Ullrich as composer and bandleader. Ever since his very first LP ( Kölner Jazz Haus Big Band - open lines, 1980!!!) he has always been a composer/arranger and lover of large sound bodies.
For this evening he has chosen the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra as his partner. The band will be complemented at some positions by old companions of Ullrich...(more will not be revealed)

The first set is a retrospective of an approximately 30-year-old production that Joachim Ullrich released in 1990 under the title "Faces of the Duke" with a ten-piece large ensemble.
In the last two years, in addition to the complete big band re-release of that CD, further current pieces have been written on the "ground" of Ellington's music.

Ullrich on the project:
"I would like to illuminate with the CCJO the project "Faces oft he Duke" once again completely new - quasi 2.0! In the broadest sense, it is my current commentary, my view of Ellington's music, which resonates in the background and in the broadest sense forms the basis for something new. I'm not interested in arranging pieces by Ellington - that's what he and Strayhorn did best anyway - rather, Ellington's fundamental approach and his often refreshingly carefree attitude to the big form serve me as a blueprint for my own music-making..."

The second set then features - as a world premiere, so to speak - a suite that has only just seen the light of day...