When the Cologne bassist and composer Hendrika Entzian, born in Kiel in 1984, has to find titles for her pieces, she is often guided by the sound of the words. This was the case for example with her piece “Rotate”, which gave its name to the programme with the Bundesjazzorchester at the Cologne Jazzweek. It is not the actual meaning of this English verb, “to turn”, that is important to her, but the intonation and phrasing of the word itself. Only this gives her the opportunity to give the young musicians of the big band the freedom to improvise their orchestral music. In a way the combination of Entzian, who has been a visiting professor at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts since 2023 on the new Master’s programme “MA Big Band – Playing, Writing, Conducting”, and the BuJazzO, which was founded in 1988, is a perfect match. In this federal talent factory, the composer meets young jazz musicians who are eager to get to know her orchestral pieces, rehearse them and perform them in front of an audience.
Hendrika Entzian – cond/comp
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