Cologne Jazzweek Celebrates German Jazz Prize Winners in Five Concerts

Last Friday, the German Jazz Prize presented five outstanding concerts by award winners and nominees for the first time as part of the Cologne Jazzweek.

Two-time award winner Alexander von Schlippenbach captivated the audience at LOFT with the Schlippenbach-Walsdorff Quartet. At the same time, Frank Gratkowski performed with his band In Cahoots and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock at the WDR Funkhaus. Highlights included performances by Lesley Mok at Stadtgarten and the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet at the WDR Funkhaus. Both award winners were presented with their Jazz Prize trophies in a celebratory moment at the beginning of their concerts, as they were unable to attend the ceremony in April. To close the evening, the Jakob Bänsch Quartet — honored for its debut album Opening — performed at JAKI, with support from guitarist Ella Zirina.

For those who couldn’t attend in Cologne, we have good news: The concerts by Frank Gratkowski and the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet are available for streaming on ARD Mediathek and WDR. Additionally, both concerts and the recording of the Schlippenbach & Walsdorff Quartet will be broadcast on September 17 at 8:03 PM as part of the ARD Radio Festival (at BR Klassik, hr2 kultur, MDR Kultur, MDR Klassik, NDR Kultur, Bremen Zwei, Radio3 rbb, SR2 Kulturradio, SWR Kultur and WDR3).

On January 28, 2025, we can also look forward to the broadcast of Lesley Mok with their ensemble The Living Collection concert on Deutschlandfunk.