Musicians from across Germany and around the globe flocked to Cologne for the German Jazz Prize on 13 June – and that’s no surprise. All 76 nominees got €4,000, while winners in 22 categories departed E-Werk’s brick-and-steel interior with €12,000 in their pockets. That’s an attractive wedge of cash, especially when arts budgets are getting cut, slashed and DOGEd.
In fact, the political context outside this former factory in north-west Germany was top-of-mind and at the heart of the evening’s prize giving. Live performances communicated unrest in their lyrics, melodies and percussion. Acceptance speeches turned the spotlight on injustice. And much of the €500,000 forked out by the government’s funding institute for music landed with musicians and projects that aim to counteract the rise of divisive or violent ideologies.
The boldest statements came from the opening act, Sonic Intervention. Twelve members of the group had their eyes bound by white blindfolds and the 13th was chained up by wrist-to-ankle shackles. Those restraints fell away throughout an energetic performance that blended impulses from hip-hop and free jazz with Latin rhythms and street-carnival intensity.
South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini made a deconstructed and reconstructed contribution to the night. He was joined by his wife, Omagugu Makhathini, whose astonishing vocals leapt from fulsome low notes to piercing cries. Her husband augmented his established mix of ideas from African, blues and classical traditions with digital samples and effects.
The young organisers of Peng Festival also collected a cut-glass trophy. Their jazz event in Essen emphasises support for female artists and freedom from oppression, dominance and power structures. Jazzpilot*innen (Jazz Pilots) claimed a gong for striving to merge jazz with political education for children, teenagers and adults. And the most high-profile award went to singer Uschi Brüning, who earned the lifetime-achievement prize for her work in the German jazz scene since launching her career in East Germany during the early 70s.
Brüning’s moment of recognition wrapped up a night characterised by its focus on music’s capacity to hold up a mirror to the world. The vocalist’s career stands with one foot either side of Germany’s reunification and transformation. What’s on the other side of the current turmoil and transition outside E-Werk and around the globe? Restraints may drop away. Walls may rise or fall. There could be revolution, rebirth or collapse. But there will definitely be jazz.
The German Jazz Prize Ceremony at E-Werk in Cologne, 13 June 2025
