Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Spectacular concert of German saxophonist and composer Uwe Steinmetz was held at Rotunda Jazz Club on October 16 as part of Baku International Jazz Festival.

Uwe Steinmetz plays saxophone since 1988 and has been continuously trying to bring more unity to his music and his spiritual experiences and beliefs. For him, music should be challenging and entertaining on all levels alike, inspiring, enriching, for soul, heart and mind, and ultimately a spiritual healing force in a fragmented world.

He has performed his own music in more than thirty countries with such internationally recognized artists as Joe Maneri (Boston, saxophone), Benny Prasad (Bangalore, guitar), Hariharan (Bombay, vocals), Markus Stockhausen (Cologne, trumpet), Peter Weniger (Berlin, saxophone), Bob Mintzer (New York, saxophone), Wolfgang Sieber (Luzern, organ), Carlos Bica (bass, Lisbon), Mads Tolling (San Francisco, violin) and many others.

Steinmetz’s compositions include works for string quartet and jazz ensemble, organ, guitar, saxophone, choir, and jazz orchestra. Since 2002 he has worked with the London-based Fitzwilliam String Quartet, who premiered three of his works for large ensemble.

German saxophonist has been a recipient of numerous grants and prizes, including complete scholarships for all his studies, the 2000 Theodor Fontane Award from the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wissenschaft, first prize at the 2001 European Jazz Competition in Getxo, Spain, the "Jazz In" prize awarded by Lower Saxony in 2005/2006, and grants for his compositions and other artistic work from the ministries of culture in Hannover and Berlin.

The performance of musician was greeted with great interest.

The musician vowed the audience with his fascinating music.

The Baku Jazz Festival is a forum and musical festival including education (seminars, master classes), competition ("Best Jazz Performer"), a "Kids jazz day", art and photo exhibitions, jam sessions and jazz concerts with the participation of best performers of the world of jazz. It has become a member of the Europe Jazz Network, which brings together 115 members from 34 countries.

Each year the festival prepares programs of great interest and diversity. The festival features extensive and diverse program.

Estonian singer Laura Poldveren will give a concert at Rotunda Jazz Club on October 19.

The French band Trio Initiatives will perform at Rotunda Jazz Club on October 20.

The Swedish band "Music, Music, Music" (October 21) will delight you with superb performance.

Nurlan Abdullazadeh and Afgan Rasul will perform at the Rotunda Jazz Club on October 22.

Moreover, Elvin Bashirov's band will perform a concert at Landmark.

Rotunda Jazz Club will also host a concert of Can Canakkaya and Kagan Yildiz (Turkey) on October 23.

A concert of Kodaly Spice Jazz band will be held at Landmark as well.

Martin Salemi Trio (Belgium) will perform at the Rotunda Jazz Club on October 24.

Helge Lien Trio (Norway) will delight you with their fascinating music at the Rotunda Jazz Club on October 25.

A concert of Michael Pipoquinha (Brazil) await jazz lovers at the Rotunda Jazz Club on October 26.

Belgian Ruben Hein trio will perform at Rotunda Jazz Club on October 27.

The final concert will be held at the International Mugham Center. Famous U.S. musicians Grégoire Maret and Christie Dashiell will perform at International Mugham Center on October 28.

Within the framework of the festival, International Jazz Contest will be held on October 15-18.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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