About the musicians
Insa Rudolph completed her studies in jazz singing at the Conservatorium van
Amsterdam.
She has been working intensively with Claudio Puntin since 2006: Together they founded
sepiasonic, produced radio play music (“Die dritte Frau von Meyer”, “Die Vermessung
der Welt) for WDR and NDR and performed as soloists with the WDR Big Band for
Claudio Puntin’s “Swiss Moods” project. She composed and sang the title songs for the
motion picture “Das wahre Leben” (Director: Alain Gisponer, with Hannah Herzsprung,
Katja Riemann, Ulrich Noethen). Since 2006, Insa Rudolph has been the composer and
musical director of the free theatre ensemble Werkgruppe 2 in the Göttinger Saline
(“Spieltrieb” 2006, “Das Orangenmädchen” 2007).
She recently opened the birthday gala for Günter Grass (with the NDR big band).
Claudio Puntin studied clarinet in Cologne (jazz) and bass clarinet in Rotterdam
(contemporary music). He was deeply influenced by courses taught by Sergiu
Celibidache. He is the winner of many international awards and has appeared in more
than 50 countries with his own ensembles. This exceptional clarinettist is known for his
improvisational art, and the extraordinary technique and rhythmical power of his playing.
He composes and produces film, radio play and theatre music such as Orhan Pamuk’s
“Rot ist mein Name” and Daniel Kehlmann’s “Die Vermessung der Welt”. The stylistic
variety and openness of his music helped him receive commissions from, among others:
The Donaueschingen Festival, the WDR Big Band, Camerata Variabile Basel and the
Guggenheim exhibition Bonn.
He has worked as a soloist with Carla Bley, Fred Frith, Steffen Schorn, Steve Reich, Nils
Wogram, Lucas Niggli, Skuli Sverrisson, Wolfert Brederode, the Ensemble Modern, the
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the WDR Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra.
Over 50 CD productions including for ECM, enja, Sony, Intakt, Doublemoon.
Kim Efert completed his studies in jazz guitar and music pedagogy at the conservatory
in Cologne. Known for his willingness to experiment, he elicits individual soundscapes
from his instrument. His current projects include Turbo Pascale and the Sideburns with
whom he has won numerous competitions. He has toured with, among others, Arve
Henriksen, Clueso, Mike Herting, Claudio Puntin, Bob Mintzer, Michael Küttner, Frank
Gratkowski, Ramesh Shotham, the Willem-Breuker-Kollektief, Fools Garden, LeAnn
Rimes, Annett Louisan and various big bands (including the Cologne Contemporary Jazz
Orchestra and the Blues Art Orchestra Cologne). In addition to radio and television
appearances (ARD, WDR, DLF, RTL), he contributes to radio play productions.
Jeff Denson studied double bass at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. His teacher
Mark Dresser was a major musical influence and he has played with Joe Lovano, Lee
Konitz and Bob Moses.
He tours regularly in the USA, Canada and Europe with his Minsarah trio (with Florian
Weber and Ziv Ravitz), for which he also composes, and has been a guest at renowned
festivals such as the JVC Jazz Festival Paris, the Jazz Festival Berlin and the Jazz
Festival Montreal.
In addition to working in R&B and pop, he devotes himself to contemporary music and
expanded playing techniques on the double bass.
Samuel Rohrer, known for his spirit of adventure, fact reactions and broad stylistic
spectrum, advanced in a very short time to become a much sought-after drummer. He
completed his studies at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern and subsequently at Berklee
College of Music (Boston). As of 1999, he started intensive concert and studio work
(including ECM) with, among others, Hal Crook, Reggie Johnson, Matthieu Michel, Erik
Truffaz, Joao Paulo, Michel Portal, Ellis Marsalis, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Malcolm Braff,
Nils Wogram and Dieter Manderscheid. He has a close musical partnership with the
clarinettist Claudio Puntin, with whom he is working on various projects. He is currently
working with the following bands: FlischNews, BrederodePuntinEilertsenRohrer, Cyrille
Bugnon Quartet, Colin Vallon Trio, Jean-Paul Brodbeck Quartet, BraffOesterRohrer,
JOYOSA (with Markus Stockhausen, Arild Andersen, Ferenc Snétberger),
BlomOverwaterRohrer, Tomas Sauter Group, LYNX,
JoaoPaulo/ClaudioPuntin/SamuelRohrer. Samuel Rohrer is regularly a guest at
international festivals.
Daniel Manrique-Smith studied flute at the Concervatorio Nacional de Lima and at the
Conservatory in Cologne. He is the winner of various international competitions. He was
the first flute in the Orquesta de las Américas, and occupies himself intensively with
Latin American music. As the musical director of the band “ELANDU” and the trio “Sur
Excess”, he contributes his own compositions and arrangements. He has worked as a
soloist with, among others, Lalo Schifrin, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Manfred Schoof.
Daniel Agi studied flute in Cologne and Freiburg with Hans-Martin Müller and Robert
Aitken. In the 2004/2006 season, he played in the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He
won several first prizes in the “Jugend Musiziert” competition. Concert tours have taken
him to countries including Korea, China, Portugal and Lithuania. In 2007, he completed
the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt.
Agi particularly supports the performance of new music and has contributed to numerous
premieres (with the Freiburg ensemble chronophonie etc.).
His interest in various styles is demonstrated by his work with the chanson singer Esther
Fellner, the video and sound artist Wojciech Kosma, the Berlin pianist and composer
Andreas Wolter and his Contrejour trio, and other chamber music formations.