Studio5 International Jazz Quintet feat. Valérie Graschaire

Homage to Ella Fitzgerald ("First Lady of Jazz") The Studio5 International Jazz Quintet is a project with renowned jazz musicians from France and Germany, all of whom have a connection to Studio5, the private concert studio of Kißlegg pianist Lothar Kraft, and have performed there.

Valérie Graschaire from France teaches jazz singing at the conservatories in Metz and Nancy. She is one of the most renowned jazz singers in France. She learned the piano and organ at a young age before her career as a singer began at the end of the 1980s. Her national breakthrough soon came with the duo CD Honky Tonk Women, a tribute to Thelonious Monk together with the exceptional pianist Pierre-Alain Goualch. She was soon sharing the stage with jazz greats such as Toots Thielemanns and Diane Krall and has been a sought-after soloist in various jazz formations and orchestras ever since.

Damien Prud'homme is a saxophonist with a broad musical spectrum. He is a professor of jazz saxophone at the conservatory in Metz, leads various formations of his own, plays in the Luxembourg State Jazz Orchestra and tours internationally. Performances with jazz greats such as Bob Mintzer, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Fonda and trumpet world star Randy Brecker underline his musical reputation.

Pianist Lothar Kraft runs Studio5 in Kißlegg, a private concert venue that has hosted many national and international jazz musicians. He plays in various formations such as HS French Connection and in projects with renowned musicians such as Harry Allen, Joe Magnarelli, Rosario Bonaccorso, Anne Czichowsky, Fola Dada, Thomas Siffling, Gregor Hübner....

Mini Schulz from Stuttgart is one of the most renowned jazz bassists in Germany. He studied classical music and jazz at the music academies in Stuttgart, Vienna, Copenhagen and New York with Ron Carter and Nils-Henning Oersted Pedersen, among others. He is a professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and a guest lecturer at the music academies in Seoul, Sydney and Paris.

The French percussionist Franck Agulhon is one of the best-known percussionists on the European scene. He has toured the world with the formations of Eric Legnini, Birelli Lagrene, Stefano di Battista... and has performed with jazz greats such as Archie Shepp, Lew Soloff, Bobby Shew, Bob Mintzer.... . Today he is considered one of the most important drummers of his generation. He is a professor at the conservatory in Paris and author of the percussion textbook 'Franck Agulhon Drumbook'.

Cast: Valérie Graschaire (voc); Damien Prud'homme (sax, fl); Lothar Kraft (p); Mini Schulz (db); Franck Agulhon (dr)