German Jazz 1990s

1990er bis heute

Der Jazzforscher Ekkehard Jost stellte im Jahr 1998 zwei Grundtendenzen der Jazzszene fest: Jazz als Repertoiremusik und Jazz in beständiger und dynamischer Entwicklung. In den 1990er Jahren dominierte, noch stärker als schon in den 1980er Jahren, die Vermarktung der Musikstile. Besonders der Jazz war davon betroffen. Ein bekannter Entertainer verstand es, den Jazz auf seine eigene Art in seine Comedy-Kunst zu integrieren: Helge Schneider. Ein weiterer bekannter deutscher Jazz-Musiker und Entertainer ist Götz Alsmann. Erfolgreich ist auch der Trompeter Till Brönner. Neben Brönner gibt es noch eine Reihe weiterer Jazzer, die sich in der Szene mit Entertainment-Jazz einen Namen gemacht haben. Allerdings sind es nicht nur diese Musiker, die zum Teil unter schwierigen Bedingungen als Jazzmusiker in Deutschland arbeiten und den Jazz in seiner Vielfalt entscheidend gestalten. – Zu den Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen der Jazzmusiker in Deutschland bietet die Jazzstudie 2016 detaillierte Informationen.

Zudem erfolgte eine Angleichung zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschland, deutlich zu Lasten der ostdeutschen Jazzkultur. Im Laufe der Zeit wurden oft Elemente des Jazz in andere Musikrichtungen wie Hip-Hop, später in Drum and Bass und andere integriert. Diese Ergebnisse werden bei genügender Jazzlastigkeit als Acid Jazz oder als NuJazz gewertet. Jazz findet sich heute in vielen bekannten und unbekannten Musikproduktionen wieder; in deutschem Hip-Hop, in House, in Drum and Bass und vielen weiteren Musikstilen.

In der öffentlichen Wahrnehmung wurde dem Jazz in Deutschland zum einen „attestiert, dass er wegen seiner improvisatorischen Praxis bestens dafür geeignet sei, die Gegenwart abzubilden“; zum anderen wurde „sein Marktsegment von höchstens drei Prozent“ herausgearbeitet, weshalb er als „Minderheitenmusik“ abgewertet wurde. Dennoch blieb der Jazz für engagierte Plattenfirmen interessant, weil er langlebig war, was aber auch bedeutete, dass sich die Produktionen in der Regel nicht rasch amortisierten, sondern erst nach Jahren.

Nach der teilweisen Privatisierung der Radiolandschaft gegründete Jazzsender wie Jazz Welle Plus in München und Jazz Welle plus Hamburg waren mehrere Jahre auf Sendung, bevor sie eingestellt wurden, da sie nur ein Minderheiten-Publikum erreichten; aktiv ist aber noch zum Beispiel JazzRadio 106.8 in Berlin. Auch im Fernsehen sind die Sendungen für Jazz selten geworden. Jazzclubs und andere Spielstätten haben weiterhin mit der Schwierigkeit zu kämpfen, dass die Besuchersituation zumindest schwer vorhersehbar und häufig auch dramatischen Veränderungen unterworfen ist. Oft bleibt das jüngere Publikum aus. Auch aus steuerlichen Gründen (sog. Ausländersteuer) gehen die Tourneen großer internationaler Musiker, insbesondere des Modern Creative, die in der Schweiz, in Österreich, in den Niederlanden, in Italien und Frankreich spielen, zunehmend an Deutschland vorbei.

Obwohl es heutzutage viel mehr Jazzmusiker in Deutschland gibt als in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren, wird es dem Publikum vor allem durch die elektronischen Medien erleichtert, sich ein eigenes Meinungsbild von den Jazzmusikern und ihrer Musik zu machen. Traditionelle Meinungsmacher wie z. B. die Jazzredaktionen der öffentlichen Rundfunkanstalten, etablierte Konzertagenturen, Veranstalter und Festivals haben als Trendsetter an Bedeutung verloren, auch weil Musiker aufgrund der unsicheren finanziellen Basis dazu gezwungen sind, sich selbst zu vermarkten. Auf der anderen Seite zählen neben den nach wie vor wichtigen Lehraufträgen und Clubauftritten möglichst publikumsorientierte Konzerte, Festivals und punktuelle Förderung, etwa durch Kompositionsaufträge, zu einem zentralen Bestandteil der künstlerischen Überlebensstrategien. Jazz in Deutschland hat somit trotz vorhandener Förderstrukturen und guter universitärer Ausbildungssituation mit ähnlichen Problemen der Existenzsicherung, geringen medialen Sichtbarkeit und dem historisch gewachsenem Nischendasein zu kämpfen wie in anderen europäischen Ländern auch. – Über neuere Entwicklungen seit 2010 informiert jährlich die Seite Jahresrückblicke im Portal Jazz aus Deutschland des Goethe-Instituts.

1990s until today

In 1998, jazz researcher Ekkehard Jost identified two basic trends in the jazz scene: jazz as repertoire music and jazz in constant and dynamic development. In the 1990s, the marketing of musical styles was even more dominant than in the 1980s. Jazz was particularly affected by this. One well-known entertainer knew how to integrate jazz into his comedy art in his own way: Helge Schneider. Another well-known German jazz musician and entertainer is Götz Alsmann. Trumpeter Till Brönner is also successful. In addition to Brönner, there are a number of other jazz musicians who have made a name for themselves in the entertainment jazz scene. However, it is not only these musicians who work as jazz musicians in Germany, sometimes under difficult conditions, and who play a decisive role in shaping the diversity of jazz. – The 2016 Jazz Study provides detailed information on the living and working conditions of jazz musicians in Germany.

There was also an alignment between East and West Germany, clearly to the detriment of East German jazz culture. Over time, elements of jazz were often integrated into other music genres such as hip-hop, and later drum and bass and others. These results are classified as acid jazz or nu jazz if they are sufficiently jazz-heavy. Today, jazz can be found in many well-known and unknown music productions; in German hip-hop, in house, in drum and bass and many other styles of music.

In public perception, jazz in Germany was on the one hand “attested to be ideally suited to depicting the present due to its improvisational practice”; on the other hand, “its market segment of no more than three percent” was singled out, which is why it was devalued as “minority music”. Nevertheless, jazz remained interesting for committed record companies because it was long-lived, but this also meant that the productions usually did not pay for themselves quickly, but only after years.

Jazz stations founded after the partial privatization of the radio landscape, such as Jazz Welle Plus in Munich and Jazz Welle plus Hamburg, were on air for several years before they were discontinued because they only reached a minority audience; however, JazzRadio 106.8 in Berlin, for example, is still active. Jazz programs have also become rare on television. Jazz clubs and other venues continue to struggle with the difficulty that the audience situation is at least difficult to predict and often subject to dramatic changes. Younger audiences often stay away. Also for tax reasons (so-called foreigner’s tax), tours by major international musicians, especially modern creative musicians who play in Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and France, are increasingly bypassing Germany.

Although there are many more jazz musicians in Germany today than in the 1960s and 1970s, the electronic media in particular make it easier for the public to form their own opinion of jazz musicians and their music. Traditional opinion makers such as the jazz departments of public radio stations, established concert agencies, promoters and festivals have lost importance as trendsetters, partly because musicians are forced to market themselves due to the uncertain financial basis. On the other hand, in addition to the still important teaching assignments and club appearances, audience-oriented concerts, festivals and selective promotion, for example through composition commissions, are a central component of artistic survival strategies. Despite existing funding structures and a good university education situation, jazz in Germany is thus struggling with similar problems of securing its existence, low media visibility and its historically grown niche existence as in other European countries. – The annual reviews page on the Goethe-Institut’s Jazz from Germany portal provides information on more recent developments since 2010.

A few references to the precarious situation of the musicians, otherwise very warm air, not to say knitted with a hot needle and in parts redundant – German Jazz from the nineties to today is the name of the game and the names Helge, Till and Götz remain – that is inadequate. [The article shines in the small print, i.e. in the references!]

At Jazzdor 2024 I was asked by a photographer why I do verhoovensjazz at all, I should just leave it alone – I would like to explain it to this photographer once again with saxophone clarity: because there are only very hard to find adequate representations of the scene on the internet – and when main actors of the scene claim “we only work for the good guys”, you know all the more that there are gaps in the representation, as in every cultural-critical statement, and when first the message is: you don’t need to do anything more for it, Deutschlandfunk and WDR do it . ..

It says in the article: Musicians are increasingly dependent on self-marketing – anyone who has been among them once or several times knows that this is not easy – every voice counts – but those who can afford it, one thinks, like to be served lukewarm, want to be served like Prince von Metternich and would like the wine intravenously … I’m sorting myself out:

The reference to the Gotheinstitut also explicitly states: “In view of the fiercely contested funding pots and the equally coveted but scarce media publicity, advertising, self-organization and cultural-political action are also becoming more and more fundamental in the German jazz scene.

But also: the artistic profile with which jazz musicians present themselves to the rest of the world remains central, even in a polystylistic, multicultural age that is open to migration. Unique characteristics are in demand and unusual bands and artists have been able to make a name for themselves in some genres over the past decade. The piano trio, for example, is experiencing rapid development not only internationally, but also in Germany. Groups such as the Tingvall Trio from Hamburg, Michael Wollnys (em) from Berlin and the Pablo Held Trio from Cologne have managed to win over audiences and explore new territory with communicative, structural and conceptual experiments. [We’ll save those mentioned for the German Jazz 2000s]

And refer in advance to the real-time music emerging at the same time in Berlin from around 1994 (presented by Burkhard Beins) – What is meant by ‚our music scene‘ is established by Marta Blazanovic – Location: Berlin, more precisely: between the stools of New Music (vulgo Sour Grapes) and Free Improvisation (vulgo Old Wine) – Time: ca. 1994 until further notice. The label ‚Echtzeitmusik‘ emerged in 1994 – Olaf Rupp is regarded as one of the godfathers – and initially determined the activities above all in the clubs Anorak (1995-97) and 2:13 (1996-98). Not without controversy, today it is a compromise formula for those who are even less in agreement with the label ‚Berlin reductionism‘. In this respect, ‚real-time music‘ is suitable as a collective term, while ‚reductionism‘ is a special path that at times – at least from the outside – threatened to subsume the whole. The half-life of the largely self-organized venues in Berlin’s permanent construction site is short, yet the quality of life in the precarious niches is high. Even the spaceship Zitrone (1997-2006) and Stralau 68 (2002-2007) are long gone. Today you can go to Labor Sonor, abroad, to the Club der Polnischen Versager, Quiet Cue, Sowieso, Raum20 etc. Weblink Echtzeit Musik Kalender

With all due caution: we expressly welcome the existence of the German Jazz articles Jazz Musicians in Germany and Jazz in Germany – always helpful as a first port of call – no question about that – but we are trying to solve the problem for ourselves: by seeking out the relevant recordings. This seems legitimate, especially in view of the fact that the doors are opening again and the exclusionitis of the different styles is developing from one against to one for each other – this also helps to make our own music legible and transparent. This should also be clear: no one can expect us to present a fully comprehensive offer, and we also apologize for any redundancies, for anything accidentally overlooked. We cannot change the fact that not all recordings are available in the digital space, so for the time being we are limiting ourselves to what can be found within the scope of the releases. We also try not to refer to the same ones too often … For all our enthusiasm, there are certainly also outliers, both upwards and downwards – let that be judged in the eye of the beholder. Remember: the years before 2000 are still the pre-digital vinyl and CD century, so some recordings are already off the shelves.