About the concert
Sandro Saez (Trio) (piano), Niklas Lukassen (double bass) & Nathan Ott (drums)
"The Sandro Sáez Trio skilfully combines a wide variety of stylistics and textures without losing a sense of taste: from quaking swings, lyrical (free) improvisations to complex grooves - rounded off by a sophisticated, original harmony."
Whether delicate or powerful, they perform the bandleader’s dazzling compositions, which always provide surprises and unforgettable moments.
Sandro Saez:
The Berlin-select Sandro Sáez is a young up-and-coming pianist who, after studying in Hamburg, has spread to the capital at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater and the Jazz Institute Berlin. In his early years, he was able to share the stage with internationally renowned artists such as Ben van Gelder, Doug Weiss, Randy Brecker and Kit Downes. Furthermore, he also achieves international recognition through his jazzhop project, with which he already has over 3.7 million streams on Spotify.
In 2023 he will release his debut album "No Perspective" as a bandleader of the Sandro Sáez Trio.
Nathan Ott:
Nathan Ott was still studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg when he suddenly got the opportunity to start a project with a musician who not only brought him to jazz, but was also one of the most important voices in jazz history - Dave Liebmann (Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, etc...)
Together with Robert Landfermann and Sebastian Gille, the first album "The Cloud Divers" was produced in 2018, followed by his second album "Shades Of Red" in 2019.
Furthermore, he can be heard in projects such as "EKKO" and "loxodrom_prism".
Niklas Lukassen:
Niklas Lukassen impresses with his painterly sense of instrumental lyrics on both the double bass and the bass guitar. Characteristic for his personal sound are his affinity for the unbundled bass guitar, as well as his pelectrum-played inserts on the double bass. He completed his bachelor's degree at the Jazzinstitut Berlin and his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music, which he completed with a full scholarship under his mentor Ron Carter.
Other academic experiences include his bachelor studies at the Jazz Institute Berlin, two summer stays at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency in Washington D.C.
As a bassist, he has already collaborated with personalities such as Mike Stern, Jorge Rossy, Oz Noy, Richie Beirach and Joe Lovano. In addition, he is also active as a singer and has sung in line-ups such as the Bundesjazzorchester. Home to several musical worlds, he also develops into an increasingly indispensable part of the jazz scene in Berlin, with a sound that also radiates an enormous potential as a bandleader.
His soon-to-be-released debut album Still Waters Run Deep he recorded with Ben van Gelder, Kit Downes, Francesco Ciniglio and guests such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Céline Rudolph and Wanja Slavin.
His life as a musician has already taken him on tours to China, Malaysia, the Arab world, the USA and large parts of Europe. These include iconic venues such as Lincoln Center, Beacon Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center and the Berliner Philharmonie. Even beyond the boundaries of jazz, he is regularly at the major pop/rock festivals in the German-speaking countries and the world. A. with acts of the label Universal Music.
Niklas Lukassen teaches as a lecturer for E- and double bass major at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden and at the British Institute for Modern Music in Berlin.