Umbaji means creativity in Swahili and it is a word that has accompanied Jonas since his childhood, when his father worked in Africa. For Jonas, it stands for a ‘melting pot’ of captivating melodies, harmonic richness, daring improvisation and powerful beats. Over the years, Jonas has played with The Jazz Crusaders, Brian Wilson, Bill Champlin, Clarence Clemons and Frank McComb, among others, and has been a permanent member of the Nils Landgren Funk Unit for 15 years. Jonas is also a much sought-after composer, arranger and producer. For his own project Umbaji, he has selected a hand-picked line-up, including members of the band Mezzoforte, in which he also plays himself. The time is ripe for Umbaji!

Michel Schroeder grew up in Lübeck and received important musical impulses during his school years at the Johanneum in Lübeck. His subsequent path led him to Hamburg, where he studied jazz trumpet and composition at the HfMT. With the founding of the Michel Schroeder Ensemble in 2018, the bandleader fulfilled his dream of writing for an ensemble that knows no tonal boundaries. The ensemble of strings, winds, harp and a four-piece rhythm section brings together musicians from a wide variety of styles. Changing between romantic melodies, wild grooves or traditional swing - you can expect sounds that sometimes sound like the Pat Metheny Group, sometimes like the Gil Evans Orchestra, then again like Michael Brecker, but are none of these things, but rather the young trumpeter and composer's very own language.

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