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Jazzrausch Bigband

Jazzrausch Bigband

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Jazzrausch Bigband – The Munich Big Band Redefining Techno and Jazz

From Club Residency to International Ambassador: How the Jazzrausch Bigband Conquers Stages, Festivals, and Cultural Pages with Big Band Techno

The Jazzrausch Bigband has represented a music career since 2014 that radically merges big band tradition, electronic club culture, and orchestral thinking. Based in Munich, the collective around bandleader and producer Roman Sladek and composer and guitarist Leonhard Kuhn has evolved into an ensemble with a distinctive sound: techno-inspired four-on-the-floor pulses, powerful brass sections, sharp arrangements, improvisational escalations, and a stage presence that attracts both jazz fans and ravers alike. More than a hundred concerts per year, international guest performances, and albums on the renowned label ACT Music attest to the artistic development – and the cultural influence of this extraordinary large formation.

Biographical Roots: From Rausch & Töchter to Harry Klein

The band was founded in March 2014 by students of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. After initial performances as the house band for the concert series "Jazzrausch" at the club Rausch & Töchter, the ensemble moved to the techno club Harry Klein – becoming the world's first big band in such a club residency. This early connection to the club scene has shaped the aesthetics and dramaturgy of their shows to this day: composition and arrangement meet the energy of a rave, the dynamics of jazz improvisation, and the precision of electronic production.

Breakthrough: Club Aesthetics with Orchestral Color

With programs centered around electronic adaptations, independent techno compositions, and cross-genre projects, the band's career accelerated. Concerts at Muffathalle, Isarphilharmonie, Munich Philharmonie, as well as festival and international invitations presented the hybrid band sound to a broad, diverse audience. The concept: strong songwriting, dense groove architectures, sophisticated brass voicings – and a live production that translates the intensity of a club into the language of a big band.

Orchestra in Residence: Bergson Kunstkraftwerk

With the residency at the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk in Munich, the big band established its artistic center. The venue offers ideal spaces for immersive shows, thematic series, and album presentations. Here, the ensemble intertwines the club experience with curated concert formats: grand story arcs, dramaturgically designed sets that bridge the dance floor and concert hall, and a production that makes the band's sound body experienceable in a 360-degree atmosphere.

Discography: From Beethoven’s Breakdown to Bangers Only!

The discography of the Jazzrausch Bigband traces the maturation of a distinct style. With Beethoven’s Breakdown (2020), the ensemble reframed classics like the Moonlight Sonata as orchestral techno-jazz, blending Beethoven motifs with contemporary house aesthetics, sharp brass, and improvisational solos. This was followed by further ACT releases and program cycles that explored the tension between classical, club, and jazz. 2024 marked Bangers Only! as the next step: focused three- to four-minute tracks that rework live favorites and link them with fresh ideas – from "Moebius Strip" to "Punkt und Linie zur Fläche". In 2025, Live at Kleine Olympiahalle underscored the live power of the formation, while new programs asserted the versatility of their production and composition signature.

Current Projects: Releases, Residency Programs, Festival Presence

The latest phase is characterized by the thematic concentration of residency projects at Bergson Kunstkraftwerk and simultaneous appearances at European festivals. Capacities for album releases, thematic shows, and collaborations with guest soloists are growing together. The band places danceable singles and compact live arrangements alongside large-scale works – always aiming to balance compositional ambition with club suitability. Festival appearances confirm the demand for this crossover: the Jazzrausch Bigband remains a crowd-puller when it comes to contemporary, genre-open jazz productions.

Musical Development: Composition, Arrangement, Production

At the core lies expertise in compositional and production detailing. Leonhard Kuhn's compositions and arrangements combine voice leading technique, form dramaturgy, and sound layering techniques with DJ logic, build-ups, drops, and breaks. As bandleader, Roman Sladek is responsible for artistic production, ensemble organization, and performance architecture. The sound emerges from the friction between harmony theory, voicing strategy, and sound design: tuba and bass as a foundation of pressure, precise kick-snare axes, parallel brass layers, and voices ranging from spoken word to hymnic refrain.

Style Analysis: Big Band Techno Between Jazz History and Club Culture

Stylistically, the Jazzrausch Bigband moves between genre and metaphor: big band as a sound laboratory, techno as a structural motor, jazz as a culture of improvisation and interaction. The band works with ostinato bass lines, syncopated riffs, polyrhythmic overlays, and an orchestral dynamic arc. The production relies on sidechain-like compressions, spatial arrangements, and textural contrasts. Thus, tracks are created that work powerfully in song format, but are experienced live as modular suites with solos, tutti explosions, and surprising form transformations.

Cultural Influence: New Audiences, New Spaces

The cultural influence lies in the bridging: jazz aesthetics reach club culture, while clubgoers rediscover the orchestral potential of a big band. Educational and mediation aspects – from concert formats in the philharmonic context to club sets – open access for a diverse audience. For the scene, this means an expansion of performance venues and listening habits; for big band traditions, it represents a contemporary continuation in sound, narrative, and performance.

Reception: Press, Cultural Pages, Community

Music press recognizes the band for its innovative strength, conceptual clarity, and entertainment qualities. Reviews highlight the seamless connection between dance floor-ready beats and substantial jazz arrangements, the ability to respectfully transform classics, and the energy of live productions. Label and festival statements underline the artistic authority of the collective – from precise production to stringent programming and international touring capability. This mix of expertise and audience-engaging dramaturgy secures the band a rare visibility in the crossover segment.

Live Aesthetics: Dramaturgy, Sound Design, Stage Presence

The stage presence of the Jazzrausch Bigband is based on a coherent tension arc: electronic introductions that set the pulse; brass sets that articulate precisely; solo spots showcasing virtuosity; collective peaks that move the audience. The sound design prioritizes pressure and transparency, so the detailed work of the composition remains audible. Light, fog, and timing of form parts generate an atmosphere that carries the intensity of a club into the concert hall, without leveling the colorings of a big band.

Works and Highlights: Albums, Programs, Signature Tracks

Discographic milestones include Beethoven’s Breakdown (ACT Music, 2020), Bruckner’s Breakdown, Mahler’s Breakdown, Dancing Wittgenstein, téchne, Emergenz, and Bangers Only! (ACT Music, 2024). Live programs condense this aesthetic: recurring favorites like "Moebius Strip," "Punkt und Linie zur Fläche," or "I Want To Be A Banana" form the repertoire backbone, framed dramaturgically differently in each set. Here, the ensemble's experience shows in their ability to adapt material for different spaces – club, philharmonic, open air.

Voices of the Fans

Fan reactions clearly show: Jazzrausch Bigband captivates people worldwide. On Instagram, a fan raves: “Your sound is pure adrenaline – big band meets rave!” On Facebook, one reads: “Incredible energy, but with heart and detail – this is how modern jazz should sound.” A YouTube comment sums it up: “I came for the beats, but stayed for the arrangements.”

Conclusion: Why You Should Experience the Jazzrausch Bigband Live

This band is an event. It delivers an artistic evolution that fearlessly unites sound research and entertainment – with expertise in composition, arrangement, and production. If you want to hear big band in a new way, experience techno with orchestral color, or appreciate improvisational highlights in a form-conscious setting, you will find a reference act here. The Jazzrausch Bigband transforms concert stages into vibrant sound spaces – captivating, precise, approachable. A must-see live.

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