Competition of the 2ndFLOOR e.V.
4 two-day recording sessions at the LOFT are to be won.
The jury will award a price in sum of 1.000€.
Update 6th of May 2023:
The winners have now been determined by the jury – here is the overview (in alphabetical order, by last name):
- Mathis Czech (M.E.I.N.E.R.)
- Darius Heid (Piano Solo)
- Sofia Will (Volo – jury price: 1.000,-€)
- Nicolaj Wolf (MILLENNIUM Trombone Quartet)
Over the past 34 years, the LOFT in Cologne has become one of the most distinguished venues for jazz and improvised music in Germany. In June 2021, it was voted Club of the Year by the more than 1,300 members of the German Jazz Union as part of the German Jazz Prize, and this year it is once again one of the three finalists for the German Jazz Prize. Contributing to its success, in addition to the excellent acoustics, the special atmosphere and, of course, the two excellent concert grand pianos (a Steinway D and a Yahama C3), is above all the recording studio, which is known far beyond its borders. More than 1,000 recordings from the LOFT have been released on CD or digitally to date.
In 2019, the association 2ndFLOOR e.V., which organizes the LOFT concerts, announced its recording project for young musicians for the first time; the space and studio were made available to the association free of charge for this purpose, and additional funds came from the Spielstättenprogrammprämie of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which the LOFT has always received since it was announced 14 years ago, and which among other things recognizes the promotion of regionally effective bands and up-and-coming artists.
Three successful recording projects in 2019, 2021 & 2022 are now behind us. In January 2023, the association 2ndFLOOR e.V. was again awarded a prize at the award ceremony of the Spielstättenprogrammprämie of the state of NRW, so that the recording project can also be announced in 2023.
The offer is principally aimed at jazz musicians from North Rhine-Westphalia and jazz students at the universities in Cologne, Essen and Mainz. Bands with an average age of up to 25 years, as well as soloists who are not older than 25 years, can apply.
The deadline for applications is April 17th, 2023.
Required application documents:
- short curriculum vitae of the applicant
- two recordings (also self-made documentation recordings – e.g. with Zoom
or comparable – are welcome) - short concept (max. 1,000 characters)
- overview of the line-up including age information of the musicians involved
please send by mail to: info@loftkoeln.de
A total of 4 prizes of two studio days each will be awarded between June and August 2023. Applications with two pianists are possible. Thanks to the generous donation of a good friend of the LOFT it will be possible to award the best application with 1.000€. A jury consisting of the chairmen of 2ndFLOOR e.V., Prof. Shannon Barnett and Prof. Sebastian Sternal, as well as the sound engineers of LOFT, Christian Heck and Stefan Deistler, will decide on the award.