Klaeng

Four musicians – four instruments – countless possibilities. Bassist Robert Landfermann, guitarist Tobias Hoffmann, drummer Jonas Burgwinkel and saxophonist Sebastian Gille are deeply connected within the regional, national and international music scene. They have long been highly regarded as exceptional musical partners and have received numerous prestigious awards.

In their genre-crossing work, the musicians draw on influences from  different musical worlds, ranging from improvisation to composition, from classical acoustic sounds to experimental and electronic textures. Their music is as diverse as jazz itself: each musician has their own distinctive focus. The spectrum ranges from free improvisation to the constraints of minimalism, from the transparency of chamber-music-inspired sounds to the density of power rock, from the kinetic energy of more popular music to the preservation of tradition in the acoustic idiom of bebop. And far beyond that: no connection is off limits—the shape of the music is determined in the moment of encounter.

Ten years after its founding in summer 2009, KLAENG had established itself as an exceptionally stable and productive jazz collective with a shared musical vision. The most visible results of the collective’s artistic work are the annual KLAENG Festivals, the one-day open-air festival SummerKLAENG, the concert series KLAENG, die Serie at Cologne’s Stadtgarten, and, since 2014, its own label KLAENGrecords. Beyond its curatorial work, KLAENG advocates for the professional and political interests of its members, supports emerging talent and, not least, promotes strong collaboration within the local and regional scene.