Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra feat. Ivo Neame

When on 16.September 2002, a Monday evening, the newly founded Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra entered the concert hall of the Stadtgarten in Cologne in small loose groups to the sounds of a single bansuri flute, slowly settled on the stage under the gaze and comments of the visitors, some of whom were greeted with handshakes or hugs, Only the boldest optimists would have bet that this concert, with its obvious and intended happening character, would mark the beginning of a 20-year success story in the difficult field of large jazz formations.

In the beginning there was the idea to create a stylistically and organizationally open possibility for composers and arrangers of the local scene to play and develop their music with enthusiastic colleagues. This was in the spirit of the "rehearsal bands" that had always existed in the jazz metropolises and some of which, such as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra or the London "Loose Tubes" around Django Bates and Graham Collier, later became style-defining and celebrated jazz orchestras.

A real highlight in the history of the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra from Cologne: the British pianist and composer Ivo Neame will be the orchestra's first artist in residence in 2023. He has composed a full-length program especially for this orchestra and will sit at the piano himself.

Ivo Neame says about his music: "I combine the improvisational flexibility of small ensembles with the power and sound possibilities of a large ensemble. In this way I explore the entire field of tension between improvisation and composition. Often rhythmically complex, without cutting the roots in jazz and adjacent styles."

In addition to leading his own bands, Ivo Neame has been a member of some of Europe's most innovative jazz groups, including Phronesis and the Marius Neset Quintet. He performs regularly at jazz festivals worldwide and collaborates with ensembles such as the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the London Sinfonietta. Ivo studied at the Royal Academy of Music and since graduating in 2003 has collaborated with highly respected musicians both at home and abroad, including Hermeto Pascoal, David Binney and Kenny Wheeler. His eighth album under his own name, 'Glimpses of Truth', was released on Whirlwind Recordings in November 2021.