Photo: © Klaus Fischer

OPENING CONCERT

Hanno Busch Quartett & Friends [D,IRL]

There are guitarists who stick to one genre, and then there’s Hanno Busch. Born in Wuppertal in 1975, he has been playing for decades wherever things get interesting: with Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination & Brass, with the Heavytones on TV Total, with Michael Wollny’s Wunderkammer, with PeterLicht, and, since 2021, with Jan Delay’s Disko No. 1. The list could go on, yet it wouldn’t capture what makes Busch unique. He doesn’t stick to genres; he traverses them. This spring, he received the 2026 WDR Jazz Prize.

For the festival opener, he expands his trio into a quartet. Mathew Halpin on saxophone brings a melodic voice that provides a counterpoint to Busch’s textures. Claus Fischer on bass and Jonas Burgwinkel on drums form the rhythmic backbone. Joining them are three special guests who elevate the quartet to a summit meeting. Anna Luca, the versatile Wuppertal-based singer who bridges jazz and pop, has gained international recognition not least through her work with the nu-jazz project Club des Belugas. Roman Babik, pianist and composer, who has previously performed at the NCF with his Urban Wedding Band, and Peter Weniger, one of the country’s leading saxophonists and a longtime professor at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), who has played with greats such as Joe Henderson and Charlie Mariano. Thus, for the second year in a row, the festival opens with a reigning WDR Jazz Award winner. No coincidence, but by design.