Overcoming a long delay due to COVID-19, the first ever winners of the Europe Jazz Network Zenith Award are preparing their award tour this autumn. Trio Heinz Herbert from Zürich, Switzerland, were selected as the winners of the first Zenith Award at the 12 Points Festival 2019, based on criteria which included a strong originality in sound, music and performance, a high level of instrumental ability, a strong stage presence and future potential for an international career. As part of the award, the trio are touring to acclaimed European stages, including a prestigious concert at the European Jazz Conference 2021 in Tallinn.
The first leg of the tour for Dominic Landolt (electric guitar/fx) Ramon Landolt (synths/piano), and Mario Hänni (drums/fx), kicks off in the Nordic countries, with a first date at G-Livelab Tampere (Finland), before the European Jazz Conference in Tallinn (Estonia). The group will also perform in Wrocław (Poland), Ghent (Belgium), Cologne (Germany), and Lyon (France) for a tour in two stages, with dates in September and November.
Trio Heinz Herbert’s exploratory aesthetic centres on their collective intensity of expression. With traces of '70s free jazz psychedelics and particles of contemporary club culture, this electronics-infused trio’s almost telepathic interplay is all about feel, colouration and texture. Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, has already identified Trio Heinz Herbert as a high priority ensemble and awarded them with a public grant to strengthen their international presence. The Trio have performed at some renowned festivals and venues such as as London Jazzfestival (2020), Unerhört Zurich (2019), Jazzfest Berlin (2018) or unlimited 31 (2017) in Wels, Austria – at the invitation of curator Mary Halvorson – along with unconventional concert locations and forms such as the multi-disciplinary performance weeks in Lucerne and Zurich, establishing their reputation as hip, risk-taking sound researchers.
About The Zenith Award
The Zenith Award shines a spotlight on one remarkable European ensemble or solo project working in creative jazz and improvised music, with the winner selected from the carefully curated 12 acts performing at 12 Points festival, all coming from different European countries.
The Award celebrates the ensemble’s ability to break musical boundaries while demonstrating an original approach to performance and a potential for a strong, ongoing international career. The name “Zenith Award” was adopted to reflect the level of excellence in the winning act, and its capacity to show a way forward for the future of creative music in Europe.
The jury for the first Zenith Award was composed by: Pierre Dugelay (Le Périscope, France), Annamaija Saarela (G Livelab Tampere, Finland), Trude Storheim (Vossa Jazz, Norway), Wim Wabbes (Handelsbeurs, Belgium), Edin Zubcevic (JazzFest Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina) and Kenneth Killeen (Improvised Music Company, Ireland).
About 12 Points festival
12 Points is a dynamic festival of emerging European jazz established in 2007 by Dublin-based Improvised Music Company (IMC). The festival is nomadic, alternating between Dublin and other vibrant European cities. The 2019 edition took place in partnership with the prestigious BIMHUIS venue in Amsterdam from 25-28 September.
The 4 day festival presents 12 emerging acts from 12 different European countries. Over 600 young musicians from across Europe have performed at 12 Points since 2007. 12 Points is programmed each year by an open-call, with peer recommendations from jazz promoters and organisations across Europe. This exploratory approach to finding new talent earned 12 Points the inaugural Europe Jazz Network award for ‘Adventurous Programming’ in 2012.
www.12points.ie
About Europe Jazz Network (EJN)
The Europe Jazz Network (EJN) was created in 1987 as a Europe-wide non-profit association with the mission to encourage, promote and support the development of jazz and creative improvised music within the European scene and to create opportunities for artists, organisers and audiences from all different countries to meet and communicate. Currently EJN includes 170 organisations (festivals, clubs and concert venues, independent promoters and national organisations) in 34 countries and is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union through its network strand for the period 2017-2021.
www.europejazz.net
Check out Trio Heniz Herbert's Bimhuis performance at 12 Points festival 2019: https://youtu.be/V38TbetpLCc
