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Matthias Broede

Matthias Bröde, born in Karlsruhe, Germany, is a composer, improviser, jazz harmonicist and pianist. NEWS: THREE NEW ALBUMS WITH THREE DIFFERENT LINE UPS ARE RECENTLEY RECORDED AND READY TO BE PUBLISHED !!! 1.) January 2020: Recording-session with Berlin piano master Rolf Langhans for a harmonica/piano duo album, mainly playing jazz originals & standards; 2.) February 2020: The Berlin based BROEDE-SCHIRMER-UNIT recorded an album with all new compositions by Matthias Broede in Berlin @Tito's Zentrifuge, the real unique studio in Berlin-Wedding; with Bernd Oezsevim - dr, Jan Roder - bass, Tobias Schirmer - clarinets, Matthias Broede- harmonica, piano. 3.) November 2020: The Cologne based BROEDE-SCHICKENTANZ-QUARTET recorded a new album at Topaz-Studio in Cologne; Compositions by M.Broede & Andreas Schickentanz - trombone, Volker heinze - bass, Roland Hoeppner - drums.

From 1983-1990 he lived in Dusseldorf than moved to Cologne. He worked with Wolfgang Engstfeld, Claudio Puntin, Norbert Gottschalk , Peter Weniger, SDR–Big-Band , Michel Herr , Hubert Nuss , Paul Heller , Robert Landfermann, Christopher Dell , Oliver Potratz , Kalle Kalima, Jan Roder , Roland Höppner , Volker Heinze, Ralph Beerkircher, Martin Sasse, Johannes Fink , Michael Kersting , Joachim Schoenecker, Peter Weiss and Brasilian Singer Rosani Reis .

Matthias Bröde has recorded with the Norbert Gottschalk Band "Two Sessions" (Dr.Jazz Records,1993) and "Light Weight Sight" (Dr.Jazz Records,1988) which won an award from the "Deutsche Schallplatten Kritik" , with the Axel Fischbacher Group "Moods" (Blue Flame,1989) and "Spots From The Academy" (Dr.Jazz Records,1994) and with Othella Dallas a Live-CD at the Stadtgarten Cologne "Fever For Bluesy Jazz" (Mons Records,1995) .

As a leader he recorded with the MATTHIAS BRÖDE QUINTET “European Faces feat.Wolfgang Engstfeld” (GLM, 1999), with the MATTHIAS BRÖDE CHAMBER TRIO “From East To West:Strange Beauty Of The World” (Mr.D.Music, 2003), with MATTHIAS BRÖDE'S SPEAK TRES “Space Between Intervals” (Quadrant Records, 2012), with BRÖDE-VIER "Instinct to Play" (Jazzwerkstatt,2013) & with OH!-KESTER-OSLOER-3 "Where is Wedding"(Unitrecords, 2017).

Two quotes about his second CD “ FROM EAST TO WEST – STRANGE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD ” recorded by the MATTHIAS-BROEDE–CHAMBER-TRIO: TOOTS THIELEMANS : „ The world of Matthias Broede – pianist composer harmonica virtuoso : I can only applaud Matthias and his friends . I enjoy and I learn , what more to expect from a recording…? “ DAVID LIEBMAN : „ This is a very interesting and different approach to using the harmonica in jazz . With a giant like Toots around , it is hard to escape the shadow but Matthias has accomplished that admirably on this recording . “

He played at festivals like LEVERKUSENER JAZZTAGE , JAZZFESTIVAL HILDEN , JAZZ IN EBERSWALDE , HOT JAZZ MEETING DUSSELDORF , JAZZFESTIVAL SAN SEBASTIAN and in clubs like THE VILLAGE ( Dublin ) , MUSIC VILLAGE & SHERATON HOTEL ( Brussels ) , A – TRANE & B – FLAT ( Berlin ) , STADTGARTEN & LOFT ( Cologne ) , JAZZSCHMIEDE ( Dusseldorf ) , MERLIN ( Stuttgart ) , JAZZCLUB ( Karlsruhe ) . He worked with the MATTHIAS BRÖDE GROUP feat. tenorist Paul Heller (now playing with the WDR Big Band in Cologne) and with BIG4SWING with Joachim Schönecker - git, Peter Weiss - drums, Volker Heinze - bass.

From 2008 until spring 2012 he was living in Barcelona . There he played with Aldo Caviglia , Ana Luna Lucas , Roberto Faenzi , Stefano Senni, Bruce Arkin & Jordi Gaspar in venues like JAZZ SI , JAMBOREE , BEL LUNA as well as outside of Barcelona: Jazzfestival Vall d'Uixo , Teruel, Villa Real y Rubí among others . In 2009 he started to work with MATTHIAS BRÖDE'S SPEAK TRES as his "working group" in Spain with Roberto Faenzi - drums & Jordi Gaspar - Bass. 2010 marks the beginning of another project, called BRÖDE-VIER, this time in Berlin with Claudio Puntin - clarinet, bass clarinet; Oliver Potratz - bass & Alex Huber - drums. In September 2011 this quartet recorded an album which was published in NFebruary 2013 by the renowned German Label JAZZWERKSTATT.

MATTHIAS BRÖDE IS THE WINNER OF THE WDR JAZZ AWARD 2013 IN THE IMPROVISATION CATEGORY. This award – one of the most important jazz awards in Europe - is given by the West German Public Radio (WDR) and is selcted during a “Blindfold Listening” by an international jury of musicians and journalist. With his trio OH!-KESTER-OSLOER-3 - with the finnish guitarist KALLE KALIMA & multi-instrumentalist JOHN SCHRÖDER (here playing drums) - MATTHIAS BRÖDE is also the WINNER of the STUDIO AWARD JAZZ 2015 given by the SENATE of BERLIN. This band recorded the album "Where is Wedding".

He also has worked for theaters in Germany as a composer, musical director and pianist. He is an experienced teacher for piano, harmonica and improvisation and has worked at the University of Duisburg as well as at various music schools and has taught privately for over 20 years.

He began to play the PIANO about the age of 7. A few years later he started to play also the FRENCH HORN and stayed with it for about 10 years. He studied CLASSICAL PIANO at the College of Music in Karlsruhe and JAZZ at the College of Music in Cologne; during that time trombonist Jiggs Wigham was the director. On the HARMONICA , which he began to play when he was about 20 years old , he is completly selftaught.

Awards

- STUDIO AWARD JAZZ 2015 given by the SENATE of BERLIN - WDR Jazz Award 2013 (WDR= West German Public Radio) - As pianist & composer he won together with the NORBERT GOTTSCHALK BAND the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik" for the album "LIGHT WEIGHT SIGHT". - As member of the WERNER-PUSCH–SEXTETT he got an award from the Jazzfestival San Sebastián, Spain.

Gear

The new "Symphony Grand Chromatic", "Saxony" & "Symphony 48 Chromatic harmonicas made by SEYDEL, 10 hole diatonic harmonicas ("Lightning" & "Noble" also by SEYDEL), acoustic piano & my really beloved electric fender rhodes piano mark 1 (I bought it when I was about 17 years old).

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Broede Schirmer Unit: Berlin, Germany

Read "Berlin, Germany" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 17, 2022

Listeners continually on the search for new instrumental configurations in jazz would be well-advised to check out the Broede Schirmer Unit. On the one hand, these four Berlin-based musicians walk in well-trodden territory, with a commitment to working within both composed and free musical forms; bassist Jan Roder and drummer Bernd Oezsevim have extensive experience in the European free jazz circuit. But it's the unique textures provided by the other half of the quartet that give the music its distinctive ...

Recording

Matthias Broede, Harmonica Player, Pianist & Composer From Germany With New CD

Source: Matthias Broede
April 16, 2012

LINER NOTES by Karsten Mützelfeldt (Jazz Journalist, Germany, WDR, Deutschlandfunk, Jazz Thing) for the new CD “Space Between Intervals" recorded by Matthias Broede's SPEAK TRES: It's a matter of fact that in the history of Jazz the harmonica plays a role as small as its size and had to share its place in the polls with other “miscellaneous instruments". These reasons make it inevitable to write some introductive words. Even though Toots Thielemans isn't anymore the only name who ...
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ENGLISH:

About the CD "Instinct to Play" by BRÖDE-VIER: REINER KOBE in Jazzpodium 07/2013: “BRÖDE, who is this years winner of the WDR Jazz award, is a MASTER on the harmonica .”

About the CD “From East to West: Strange Beauty of the World“ by the MATTHIAS BRÖDE CHAMBER TRIO: David Liebman: “This is a very interesting and different approach to using the harmonica in jazz. With a giant like Toots around, it is hard to escape the shadow but Matthias has accomplished that admirably on this recording.”

Toots Thielemans: “The world of Matthias Bröde – schooled musician pianist composer harmonica virtuoso. I can only applaud Matthias and his friends. I enjoy and I learn…”

ENGLISH:

About the CD "Instinct to Play" by BRÖDE-VIER: REINER KOBE in Jazzpodium 07/2013: “BRÖDE, who is this years winner of the WDR Jazz award, is a MASTER on the harmonica .”

Toots Thielemans: “The world of Matthias Bröde – schooled musician pianist composer harmonica virtuoso. I can only applaud Matthias and his friends. I enjoy and I learn…”

About the CD ”Space Between Intervals” by MATTHIAS BRÖDE SPEAK TRES: Amediavoz.com: “…The album ends with “Frei Ayran für Alle”, a recording from the Jazz club “Schmiede” in Dusseldorf, which reflects the powerfull live possibilities of the trio, the great abilities for improvisation and the quality of its members as interpreters as well as creators of sensations.”

Distritojazz.es: “...Founded in 2008 the Trio SPEAK TRES has developed in four years a notably original style through the interactive playing by the three group members and particularly because of Broede's innovative work on the harmonica searching new sounds by eliminating the stereotypes used by former harmonica players...”

Hendrik Meurkens: “…with this CD, we see a sophisticated jazz album in front of us, with the harmonica being an integrated part of the ensemble… And, here we go, we have a new and very personal voice on the harmonica. Great job, guys. 'Space Between Intervals' is a beautiful addition to the still small treasure chest of jazz harmonica CDs. July 2011

Apoloybaco.com: Elegant, sophisticated and performed with high virtuosity on the piano as well as on the harmonica this first-rate CD "SPEAK TRES: Space Between Intervals" belongs to the small collection of Jazz albums which use the harmonica as main instrument...

CASTELLANO:

Sobre el CD ”Space Between Intervals” de MATTHIAS BRÖDE SPEAK TRES:

APOLOYBACO: Matthias Bröde, armonicista, pianista y compositor alemán, presenta al frente de su trío el álbum "Speak Tres", un excelente trabajo en dos sesiones de grabación que pone en valor un instrumento poco habitual en el jazz como es la armónica. En trío junto al excelente batería Roberto Faenzi y Jordi Gaspar en el contrabajo, Matthias presenta un disco muy disfrutable en sus cerca de cincuenta minutos de música. Elegante, sofisticado, y haciendo gala de un virtuosismo excelente tanto en el piano como en la ármónica, este excelente "Speak Tres", forma parte por derecho propio de esa selecta y minoritaria colección de discos de jazz con la ármónica como instrumento principal.

La primera sesión está grabada en directo desde el Jazz-Schmiede de Düsseldorf en Abril de 2010 en Barcelona, y la segunda en Julio del mismo año en Barcelona. Todas las composiciones del disco (8 temas) son del propio Mathias Bröde, con excepción de los cortes 5 y 7 que son de Jordi Gaspas. Muy buen trabajo.

DISTRITOJAZZ: Matthias Brode es un armonicista y pianista alemán que con el tiempo ha sabido encontrar un lenguaje propio en el mundo del jazz.

Su espectro estilístico abarca desde el swing cercano a Lester Young o Duke Ellington que practica con su grupo (4 Big Swing) al jazz latino. Tambien trabaja el jazz moderno entre Miles, Jarrett y Mehldau con el Matthias-Broede Group, o la música de cámara contemporánea con sabor a jazz que hace con el trio de cámara de Matthias-Broede.

Es este trio de cámara llamado Speak Tres el que nos ocupa, en el aparte de Matthias nos encontramos con el batería italiano Roberto Fanzi y el bajista catalán Jordi Gaspar. El trío ‘Speak Tres’ nace en el 2008 y en estos cuatro años ha desarrollado un estilo diferente y notable marcado por el hacer de los tres miembros del grupo, sobre todo por el trabajo innovador de Broeder con la armónica que busca nuevas sonoridades alejándose de los estereotipos que marcaban el trabajo de anteriores armonicistas. Vamos que no es Toots Thielmans.

También tenemos que destacar la labor de Brode al piano instrumento que intercala con la harmónica a lo largo del disco.

El repertorio esta formado por seis composiciones del propio Matthias, ‘Interval Series’ un tema que sirve como eje del cd y que esta dividido en tres partes tocadas en desorden, ‘Der Siebener’ y la ‘Bagatelle’ nº3, además tenemos el tema añadido en directo ‘Frei Ayran Fur Alle’, el bajista Jordi Gaspar aporta dos composiciones, un racial solo de bajo llamado ‘El Toro’ y el bello ‘Akixi’.

Estamos ante un bonito trabajo que se sale de la norma, un disco que aporta algo y que seguro resulta una grata sorpresa para quien se acerque con ganas de buscar algo nuevo y diferente sobre todo en el mundo de la harmónica de jazz. Si estuviéramos en una conocida red social pulsaría sin miedo, ‘Me gusta’.

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Primary Instrument

Harmonica

Location

Berlin

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

I'm able to give lessons for piano (jazzpiano as well as classical piano), chromatic harmonica, diatonic harmonica and improvisation. These lessons can be given in German, English or Spanish. I already taught jazz piano at the University of Duisburg and at the Jazz Haus Schule in Cologne(Germany). I also worked for some time as a guest teacher at the jazz college in Arnhem(Holland). For about ten years I taught Piano at the Music School in Wipperfürth(Germany) and gave privat lessons for harmonica & piano in Barcelona.