The 8th season of the BMW Welt Jazz Award will start off on January 24 and 31, 2016. A total of six free Sunday matinees, January to March 2016, will see the presentation of international jazz ensembles following the theme “Inspired by Legends.” The programme includes live performances by musicians from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. In addition, this season will see the inauguration of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award, a project presented in collaboration with the city of Munich. Following the Sunday matinees, a panel of expert jurors will nominate two finalists to compete for the award on May 7, 2016, at the auditorium of BMW Welt.

On January 24, bassist Dieter Ilg will star as the opening act of this year’s series of matinees. In “My Beethoven”, Ilg, as part of a trio including pianist Rainer Böhm and drummer Patrice Hèral, transformed Ludwig van Beethoven’s music into timeless jazz. Originally from the German city of Freiburg, this musician made his name alongside famous artists such as Randy Brecker, Albert Mangelsdorf and Charlie Mariano and as Till Brönner’s regular bassist. In 2010, he made his own wish come true by transforming Giuseppe Verdi’s “Otello” into jazz.

During the second matinee on January 31, a performance of the Oded Tzur Quartet will be presented. The famous tales of “The Arabian Nights” is the theme of the debut album “Like A Great River” by Israeli saxophonist Oded Tzur. With melodies changing from meditative flow to rapid dynamism, he creates a musical link between the Orient, Occident and his chosen home of North America. In Munich, Tzur will present his unique sound accompanied by Shai Maestro, a pianist rumoured to be the next shooting star, and another fellow musician linked to numerous big stars of the New York scene, drummer Ziv Ravitz.

Programme of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2016

Matinees: 11 am to c.1:30 pm at the double-coned structure of BMW Welt:

January 24, 2016         Dieter Ilg: Mein Beethoven

January 31, 2016         Oded Tzur Quartet

February 14, 2016       Stefano Battaglia Trio

February 21, 2016       Stucky-Doran-Studer-Tacuma: Play Hendrix!

February 28, 2016       Latham-Carniaux-Egan: Constellations

March 20, 2016           Indra Rios-Moore

Admission is free of charge but seating is limited. Tickets are subject to availability. Doors open at 10.30 am.

Grand finale at the auditorium of BMW Welt at 7 pm

May 7, 2016   Final concert featuring the two nominated finalists

Tickets for the grand finale on May 7, 2016, will be available as of January 24, 2016, at BMW Welt and München Ticket.