tickets:
regular: 14,- €uro
students, disabled persons: 7,- €uro
doors: 7.30 pm CET
concert starts:
approx. 8.00 pm CET
„A great bassist with very musical instincts!“
Mike Stern
„Niklas Lukassen is clearly developing his own artistic voice on his instrument and has a gift for jazz composition.“
Richie Beirach
Niklas Lukassen amazes with his painterly sense of instrumental lyricism on both double bass and bass guitar. After returning from New York, he now lives between London and Berlin. He is establishing himself in the young European jazz scene with an increasingly polarizing presence. With his individual sound, he also exudes a characteristic bandleader potential....
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tickets:
regular: 14,- €uro
students, disabled persons: 7,- €uro
doors: 7.30 pm CET
concert starts:
approx. 8.00 pm CET
„A great bassist with very musical instincts!“
Mike Stern
„Niklas Lukassen is clearly developing his own artistic voice on his instrument and has a gift for jazz composition.“
Richie Beirach
Niklas Lukassen amazes with his painterly sense of instrumental lyricism on both double bass and bass guitar. After returning from New York, he now lives between London and Berlin. He is establishing himself in the young European jazz scene with an increasingly polarizing presence. With his individual sound, he also exudes a characteristic bandleader potential.
Niklas Lukassen grew up in an unassuming Black Forest village, but early on he embarked on a special musical journey into a life full of stimulating places and opportunities. After discovering his passion for bass playing and especially improvisation, he moved to Berlin at the age of 16 to study at the Jazz Institute and immerse himself in the capital’s scene.
An elementary part of Nikla’s musical development lies in New York. There he completed his master’s degree with a full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music under his mentor Ron Carter. He is currently a PhD student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, researching modern bass playing concepts.
His multi-faceted playing is characterized by his plectrum playing on the double bass, his affinity for the fretless bass with gut strings and his innovative playing on the bass cello.
https://www.niklaslukassen.com/
Niklas is coming to Cologne for a few days in March 2025 for a creative exchange – with British pianist Ivo Neame from London, who was already an artist in residency with the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra for a series of concerts in Cologne in 2023 – at the concert in the LOFT they will meet the finest Cologne regulars: Stefan Karl Schmid on saxophone and Fabian Arends on drums.
On his debut album as bandleader Still Waters Run Deep, Niklas combines his talents as composer, bassist and singer (Luna).
At 27 years old at the time of recording, he has already undergone a number of life changes, and so his music is also nourished by the interplay of contrasts. In keeping with his philosophy, Niklas unites protagonists from the scenes of Amsterdam, London, Paris and Berlin on the recordings with alto saxophonist Ben Van Gelder, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Francesco Ciniglio to form a unique, synergetic ensemble. Enriched by guest appearances from Kurt Rosenwinkel, Celine Rudolph, Wanja Slavin and Geoffroy De Masure, his album explores unimagined depths in supposedly still musical waters.
With his natural playful authority and emphatic joy of experimentation, Niklas Lukassen is at home in several musical worlds. He has had the honor of accompanying Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joe Lovano, Mike Stern, Jorge Rossy, Oz Noy, Will Vinson, Jo Lawry, Sean Wayland, Valerie Simpson, Norma Winstone & Richie Beirach, among others. He was also a singer with the Bundesjazzorchester. His musical encounters have taken Niklas on tours throughout the USA, UK, China, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and much of Europe. These include iconic venues such as the Lincoln Center, the Beacon Theatre, the John F. Kennedy Center and the Berlin Philharmonie.
Niklas is currently working with his trio on his second bandleader album. Together with pianist Gwilym Simcock and drummer James Maddren, he is exploring untrodden musical paths on a new, innovative hybrid instrument, the bass cello.
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