Shantel & Bucovina Club Soundsystem feat. Tony Lakatos

In the organizer's words:

As part of the Jazz Connects Festival 2025, visitors can look forward to an extraordinary concert evening that promises musical diversity and captivating performances.

Shantel, alias Stefan Hantel, is a musician with many facets. The "king of the Balkan dancefloor" was the first German artist to win the BBC World Music Award (2006) and reach the top of the European world music charts. He brought the wildest sounds of Eastern Europe to the club scene. With his musical revolution, he triggered a completely new wave in pop and music culture. His parties pick up where the ecstatic raves of the house and techno generation left off.

The musician is not only coming to the Hugenottenhalle with his "canned goods suitcase", but is also bringing a whole live orchestra with him, as well as a special guest: Tony Lakatos, one of Europe's best-known jazz saxophonists. Lakatos' father was a famous violinist, as was his younger brother Roby. His musical training began at the age of six on the violin. He switched to the saxophone at the age of 15 and became a professional musician after winning a national jazz competition in 1977. He moved to Germany in 1981 and became one of the most respected saxophonists in Germany and worldwide. Despite being a member of the hr-Bigband until 2021, he was always able to realize his own extensive projects. He received the Hessian Jazz Prize in 2020.

The evening will kick off with the band Discovery Collective. Awarded 1st prize in the Future Sound competition, the young musicians played at the Guitar Night of the Leverkusen Jazz Days together with the bands of Bill Frisell and John Scofield, among others. In the summer, they opened the Jazzopen Stuttgart at the Altes Schloss and performed there in front of Marcus Miller and Richard Bona.

The four musicians Finn Heine (guitar), Colin Schulte (drums), Baruna Dhimas (bass) and Darius Blair (saxophone) are partly members of the Bundesjazzorchester or former scholarship holders of the Composers Fellowship Program of the WDR Big Band. Their sound is characterized by unconventional structures, complex rhythms and a combination of electronic and acoustic sounds. Their compositions explore the fusion of different musical worlds and focus on singable melodies that create a unique groove in a sophisticated musical context. Particularly important to the band is the space for improvisation, interaction and the creation of unique moments.

An event of Jazz Connects Festival 2025 and the Fb Kultur-und Bildungszentrum.