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Jazzpool NRW
Lithuania/Germany
Anke Lucks / trombone
Wolfgang Schmidtke / soprano saxophone
Raissa Mehner / guitar
Andrius Savchenko / keyboards
Leonid Shinkarenko / electric bass guitar
Peter Weiss / drums
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is the most densely populated federal state in Germany. Naturally, the industrial region between Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Ruhr area also has a strong jazz scene.
For over 15 years, Peter Weiss and Wolfgang Schmidtke have been working with Jazzpool NRW, a collective of musicians that brings together jazz artists from all over Europe. Once a year, they form an ensemble with musicians from a European partner country, prepare a new program and go on a short tour. They have played with Julian Argüelles in London, with Jarek Śmietana in Krakow, with Glauco Venier in Palermo and with João Moreira in Lisbon - to name a few.
In 2026, Jazzpool NRW will welcome two guests from Lithuania: Leonidas Šinkarenko and Andrius Savčenko, both undoubtedly important figures on the Lithuanian jazz scene. Together with their German colleagues, they will present a program clearly aimed at reviving the fusion jazz of the 1970s and 1980s.
Anke Lucks and Raissa Mehner are two important representatives of the German improvisational scene. Together with them, the entire 6-piece band will freely improvise on energetic fusion jazz rhythms, which, to paraphrase Miles Davis, could be called “Witches Brew”. But don’t be fooled, this music will not be a look into the past. On the contrary, it will be a step forward, pushing back against the solid foundation of tradition.
Tickets can be purchased at kakava.lt or at the event location, one hour before the event starts.
