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Maastricht Jazz Awards 2023

Jazz Award

Theater Kumulus West 86 - Herbenusstraat Maastricht

19:00-23:30

The Maastricht Jazz Awards is the biggest jazz competition in the south of the Netherlands.

In 2023, the Maastricht Jazz Awards will return with a live edition once again. This year Conservatorium Maastricht and Jazz Maastricht want to celebrate the originality of Conservatorium Maastricht’s output in the last five years; our fresh voices in the professional field of Jazz. Our diverse students, alumni and young professionals are therefore all invited to participate in the Maastricht Jazz Awards. The main prize will be a cash prize of €1000, performances at JazzOut Festival, a performance at the showcase festival inJazz and 4 months of coaching to take your musical ambitions to a higher level. The public award winner will receive a cash prize of €500. All entrants will get a free masterclass by Buma Cultuur (date tba) on royalities.

Buy your tickets now

Please note: only 30 free student tickets available! This ticket can only be purchased if you are in the possession of a valid student pass from the Jazz Department of Conservatorium Maastricht. Take this pass with you to the Maastricht Jazz Awards!

More about the prize

Khassage

Comprised of Alex Lesage and Victor Khaddaj, the duo draws inspiration from renowned producers such as Alva Noto and Floating Points, fusing their jazz roots with minimalist, improvised electronic beats. Their music is a constantly evolving soundscape, shaped by their shared passion for modular synthesizers and the interplay between their musical abilities.

With their shared modular synthesizer connected to the drums and computers at the center of their live performance, Alex and Victor push the boundaries of electronic music through their ability to improvise around simple sequences, grooves, and loops. The result is a captivating and unpredictable musical journey, as the duo effortlessly shifts roles, taking turns to lead and influence each other in real-time.

Their music is characterized by its simplicity, with sparse, repeating patterns and subtle shifts in texture and tone. Despite its minimalism, however, Khassage's music is incredibly complex, with each piece unfolding in real-time, allowing the audience to experience a unique and ever-evolving soundscape.

Dimitris Terpizis Quartet

Every disaster has a peak and a suppression point. This is my whole idea behind the birth of my Quartet.
We live in a strange world, full of destruction and beauty. I would call my music progressive jazz due to the modern harmonies and volatile rhythms that my band and I create.
Imagine a rainstorm, getting to a point full of tension and finishing with a beautiful rainbow.
The whole pandemic inspired me in a sense of changing my point of view to create my own rainbow.
Dimitris Terpizis Quartet fuses modern way of playing with tradition. Strong rhythms with delicate sounds. Elements from West and Middle East.

Nicola Missing Quintet

The core of this formation is on the one side, Nicola’s recognizable clear, warm, earthy vocal sound. On
the other side, it is her unique jazz songwriting that builds a smooth bridge between contemporary and traditional, between written out swing-parts and freely improvised sections, between the intimate sound of a small jazz combo and a horn-section hinting towards a larger ensemble.

Jeline Weening’s (alto) strong sound and playfulness intertwines smoothly with Nicola’s voice. Chris Muller (piano) adds his unique straight ahead piano playing to the group. The rhythm section Peter Willems (double bass) and Jakob Lingen (drums) form a powerful basis for the melodies to flow on top.

It is the musicians, the songs and all these aspects combined that lend this music a lightness, a friendliness, an open-ness in sound and emotion– while at the same time having a sincere message in their songs. Bringing these two sides together makes this group of young jazz musicians unique and leaves the audience with an uplifting, refreshing experience.

Jungmi Yun small jazz orchestra

Jungmi Yun small jazz orchestra is led by composer and pianist Jungmi Yun.
Her modern jazz tunes are based on delicate emotions and rich sensibility, showing her
unique composing approach. Through a bonded sound of the band, the audience will be
led into a world of different stages in life via musical expression.

 

Peter Willems Trio

Peter is a bassist and Vocalist. He graduated cum laude at Conservatorium Maastricht with a shared bachelor of jazz voice (Sabine Kühlich) and jazz double bass (Matthias Nowak/John Goldsby). His first priority has ways been developing freedom in his playing. Being able to play whatever he thinks of, or whatever he feels. First only on the Double-bass, with which he played on festivals like the North Sea Jazz, Music Meeting and So what’s Next. And later he tried to sing and play at the same time. This slowly developed in his main project. With this he won the second Prize at the ‘Prinsess Christina Concours’ in 2019 and the 1st prize of the ‘Conservatory Talent Award’ in 2022.

After this, things started to develop quickly. He has been to two study trips to New York, has followed lessons with the three big ‘Johns’ of the bass world; Goldsby, Patitucci and Clayton. He recently released a very well received debut album called ‘DOUBLE DARE’, together with the grammy nominated New York based guitar player Gary Lucas, known for his work with Jeff Buckley and Captain Beefheart.

For his performance at the Maastricht jazz awards Peter strips his project down to the core of it. The trio form. Pianist Michal Niedbala, and drummer Jakob Lingen have been playing with him for many years now since they met at the conservatory of Maastricht. This allows them to break open the music and take risks in ways you only can if you know each other well and if there is an absolute trust.