Jakob Manz

Saxophone

Jakob Manz is an exceptional talent on the saxophone and a master on the flute! Although he is only in his early 20s, Manz is already one of the most sought-after jazz musicians in Germany and has won several top-class awards in recent years. Born in 2001, Manz has played with Randy Brecker, the WDR Big Band, the SWR Big Band, Ack Van Rooyen, Nils Landgren and many others and has already had the privilege of presenting his music on internationally renowned stages such as the Elbjazz Festival, the Philharmonie Köln and the Jazzfest Basel.

Since the release of his debut "Natural Energy" in 2020 (ACT Music), Jakob Manz has played around 200 concerts in German-speaking countries and performed at all relevant festivals during this time. In 2022, the delicate acoustic duo album "The Gallery Concerts I" with pianist Johanna Summer was released, showing Manz as an improviser of great depth and sensitivity. In the same year, he also received many prominent awards, including the Landesjazzpreis of his home state of Baden-Württemberg as the youngest artist in the history of the prize. In 2023, he followed up with Groove Connection, another album on ACT, recorded with international genre greats such as Roberto Di Gioia, Per Lindvall, Tim Lefebvre and several others. The follow-up album with his regular formation The Jakob Manz Project is already firmly scheduled for 2024.

There are not many young jazz musicians who master their instrument as virtuosically as Jakob Manz, and whose playing sounds at the same time so unpretentious, clear, song-serving and soulful. The fact that he succeeds in this is due on the one hand to his talent and the determination with which he works on his musical expression. And on the other hand, it is due to his will to inspire and touch the audience with his music. He says that it is important to him to play his very special instrument, the alto saxophone, in a way that fills the room, but at the same time reaches each individual listener directly and immediately. And one can state that he succeeds in this at any time, whether in the club, in concert halls or on large festival stages.