Expressing his soul with Jazz

PNS | HYDERABAD

It was a stupefying chance to speak to the Grammy-nominated musician Thilo Wolf, who remains etched in the jazz category. Also a pianist, composer and arranger for his own formations, you will regularly see him composing and arranging music for concert programs, musical theatre and television productions.

In an exclusive conversation with us, he said, “There are so many influences that come into play at a concert. And Jazz musicians are able to react extremely quickly. In principle, Jazz is a good role model for life too. We can rely on our experience and skills, but we are able to react quickly. The most important thing is that we listen to others, only then can we interact. That’s the fascinating part of it, you see.”

Actually, with the National Centre for the Performing Arts bringing the International Jazz Festival this year, we got to know from our sources that the German musician is performing to create some of the finest and highest standard of Jazz in our country that has ever heard. The festival began on November 25 with The Mingus Big Band, followed by Monty Alexander on November 26 and Thilo Wolf Jazz Quartett featuring Johanna Iser on November 27. And, let us tell you, it was a nationwide hit!

“I first discovered it at a city music competition at the age of 13. There were many more perfect players than me, but I came up with my own composition and did my own thing! That impressed the jury. And in the end, that was even the first small building block to my own big band,” he added.

As per the musician’s expertise, “Jazz doesn’t have any genres, they both are timeless. When good musicians play good music, it doesn’t matter which style it is. They are just different ways of expressing a language that is common all over the world, namely music.”

Thilo Wolf has given concerts with his formations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and England. His crossover projects led him to joint concerts with well-known symphony orchestras, but also to classical music festivals! In addition to the piano, Wolf learned other instruments such as the double bass and drums and received numerous awards as a teenager. “I received my musical education in the form of private lessons with Charly Antolini, among others. At the age of 16, I wrote my first big band arrangement. After my school days at the Heinrich-Schliemann-Gymnasium Fürth, I studied business administration at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and graduated with a diploma with honors.”

It was in 1992, he founded the Thilo Wolf Big Band and got his own show Swing it! from Bayerischer Rundfunk with a fixed slot, in which internationally renowned jazz musicians were guests for twelve years. Including Grammy award winners such as Diane Schur or New York Voices!

“We have also played as the ARD television orchestra in numerous music programs, plus in numerous ballrooms in Germany. After the band’s 20th anniversary had already been broadcast, Bayerische Fernsehen dedicated a half-hour portrait to me to mark the 25th anniversary and broadcast the live recording of the anniversary concert. In 2021, the recording of the live concert Big Band Swinging – Voices Singing in the Stadttheater Fürth was published on YouTube. My musical focus is in jazz, supplemented by cross-style projects. And, here I am,” he concluded.