Eight ECHO Jazz Awards for ACT and its artists.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Munich based record label ACT and its artists have been honoured at Germany's prestigious ECHO Jazz Awards. Press release attached.

Press release: Eight ECHO Jazz Awards for ACT and its artists

Munich, April 28th, 2015 (ACT)
At this year’s ?ECHO Jazz?, seven ACT artists receive Germany’s most important music award. Moreover, this year the special award of the jury goes to the ACT series ?Young German Jazz? which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. The ECHO ranks among the most important music awards of the world. Since 2010 the ECHO presents a distinct jazz award. The winners are selected by a jury consisting of journalists, prominent members of the music industry and other experts.

Three ECHO awards go to ?Weltentraum? the current album of the Michael Wollny Trio ? for Michael Wollny as best national pianist, for the Michael Wollny Trio as best national ensemble and for Eric Schaefer as best national drummer.

Also multiple awards go to ?Belle ?poque? the duo album of accordionist Vincent Peirani and saxophonist Emile Parisien. The French dream team of jazz receives the award as best international ensemble and Vincent Peirani is awarded best international instrumentalist of the year, various instruments.

Lars Danielsson receives the ECHO as best international bassist for his album ?Liberetto II?. And saxophonist Christof Lauer together with the NDR Big Band receives the ECHO for best big band recording with his album ?Petit Fleur?.

The special award of the jury goes to the ACT series ?Young German Jazz?. ACT head Siggi Loch comments: ?Precisely ten years ago with Michael Wollny’s ?call it ? ACT released the first album of the Young German Jazz series. Today Michael Wollny is internationally regarded by many as the most important German jazz musician of his generation. And many success stories followed. The support of jazz from Germany was and is a matter of the heart for me. Already my first jazz production which I made in 1963 for PHILIPS at the tender age of 23, was with a German artist ? ?Klaus Doldinger ? Jazz made in Germany?. Since then Klaus Doldinger has become one of the greatest ambassadors of German jazz and many people today share the enthusiasm for jazz from Germany. Among the current top 20 of the German jazz charts (March) there are eight albums by German artists. Still there’s a lot of work to be done. Internationally German jazz remains somewhat exotic. The huge international acclaim for Michael Wollny however shows, that this can change. I’m extremely happy about the ECHO award for Young German Jazz. It encourages me, to continue the path, even in these difficult times for independent record labels. And it is a wonderful honor for all the musicians that fill the idea of Young German Jazz with life.?