BMW Welt Jazz Award 2022 kicks off. "Key Position" interpreted by the trios of Julia Hülsmann and Jacob Karlzon

Munich. With the Julia Hülsmann Trio on March 8 and the Jacob Karlzon Trio on March 22, the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2022 kicks off its thirteenth season. A total of six free concerts given on Tuesday evenings from March to April 2022 will see international jazz ensembles interpret this year’s theme “Key Position” in the Double Cone of BMW Welt. Following the concerts, an expert jury will nominate two finalists to compete for the award on July 9, 2022. In addition, the viewers can help their favorite ensemble to win the audience award.

On March 8, the German ensemble Julia Hülsmann Trio will kick off this year’s BMW Welt Jazz Award. Berlin-based pianist Hülsmann is one of the selected German musicians “who give fresh impetus to the world of European jazz”, said the jury of SWR Jazz Award as early as 2016. Hülsmann first made her mark with lyrical interpretations for the label ACT in collaboration with prominent vocalists such as Rebekka Bakken, Anna Lauvergnac and Roger Cicero. Since moving to ECM in 2008, she has to date released seven albums, all featuring her inimitable, delicate and completely pared-down performances on the piano interpreting her own compositions. At the heart of each project is her trio with bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling, which has performed in this constellation for 20 years. This year, the current awardee of the German Jazz Prize and her trio will be on stage at the BMW Welt Jazz Award.

For the second concert on March 22, BMW Welt will be host to the Jacob Karlzon Trio. Swedish musician Jacob Karlzon counts among the outstanding jazz pianists coming out of Scandinavia in recent years. Following a long period as accompanist of vocalist Viktoria Tolstoy, Karlzon made his name on the international stage with numerous projects of his own. Combining his passion for improvisation with unexpected rock rhythms and an open style characteristic to Scandinavian jazz, he prefers the term “alternative artist” to jazz pianist. True to his own style, Karlzon’s albums to date show influences from Ravel to hard bop, from metal to EDM, merged effortlessly by his preference for minimalist melodies. He is currently in Munich, promoting his new album “Wanderlust”, released by Warner and featuring the trio’s other members, bassist Morten Ramsbøl and drummer Rasmus Kihlberg.

Evening concerts of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2022
March 8, 2022         Julia Hülsmann Trio
March 22, 2022       Jacob Karlzon Trio
April 5, 2022            Anat Fort Trio
April 12, 2022         Giovanni Guidi Quintet
April 19, 2022         Marco Mezquida Trio
April 26, 2022         Ashley Henry Quartet

The concerts in the Double Cone of BMW Welt are offered free of charge; however, seating is limited and cannot be guaranteed. Doors open at 6.00 pm, the concerts start at 7.00 pm. BMW Welt follows the latest rules regarding social distancing and hygiene that apply to events. Current information on the concerts of the BMW Welt Jazz Award can be found at www.bmw-welt.com.

The final concert featuring the two shortlisted finalists will be at the auditorium of BMW Welt on July 9, 2022 at 7.00 pm. Tickets will be available at München Ticket as of March 8, 2022.

This year‘s events will again be hosted by Hannah Weiss, winner of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award 2019.

Jury
The jury, headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (journalist for music and cultural affairs, Süddeutsche Zeitung), consists of Heike Lies (Musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital Munich ), Christiane Böhnke-Geisse (Director of schwere reiter Musik), Roland Spiegel (Editor and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK) and Andreas Kolb (Editor-in-chief of JazzZeitung.de and nmz – neue musikzeitung).