The Music of Charlie Mariano - Tribute Concert

Celebrating 100th Birthday of Charlie Mariano

The famous bassist Charlie Mingus described his sound as "Tears of Sound": Charlie Mariano, saxophonist, world musician, one of the greats of jazz. Charlie Mariano influenced European jazz like no other and inspired generations of musicians with his playing and his love of music.

Throughout his life as a saxophonist, Charlie Mariano kept changing his style, and even at the age of 85 he was still playing with the young guns of the Cologne jazz scene and inspiring them to experiment in new ways. As a great composer, he never stuck to the old, but insisted that his pieces be interpreted differently and personally each time. "I want to feel something" was one of his most frequent phrases during rehearsals. His pieces are so flexible, open and timeless that they still retain their message and depth today.

In today's concert, the young saxophonist Jakob Manz will take on the part of the alto saxophone. Charlie Mariano's long-time friends from Cologne will also be playing. Mike Herting already played as a duo with Charlie Mariano as a young student and founded the band "KCP4" with him and Ramesh Shotham, with whom they toured internationally. Matthias Schriefl not only played with Mariano in the European Jazz Ensemble from 2006, he also represented Mariano in KCP4.

Charlie Mariano spent his last 23 years in the cathedral city and died there in 2009. He would have been 100 years old on 12.11.2023.

Before the concert, the film "Charlie Mariano: Last Visits" will be shown at 18:00 (admission free). The film by Cologne filmmaker Axel Engstfeld follows Mariano during his last two years. The film is available from Real Fiction.