RHEINISCHE POST, 12 October 2026
https://rp-online.de/kultur/das-roland-danyi-quartett-spielte-in-der-jazz-schmiede_aid-156395573
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Concert at the Jazz-Schmiede
A thrilling abundance
Düsseldorf · The Roland Danyi Quartet performed the winners’ concert for the 2026 ‘Young Jazz Talent Award’ at Düsseldorf’s Jazz-Schmiede and played themselves into a frenzy.
There is a kind of jazz where you close your eyes, cross your legs and let yourself drift away. This evening at the Jazz-Schmiede was the exact opposite: no sooner had the first note sounded than not a single pair of eyes turned away from the quartet. The music completely captivated the audience, holding them spellbound from the very first note to the very last.
The occasion was the winners’ concert for the 2026 Young Jazz Talent Award. The competition had taken place in May at the Jazz-Schmiede for the fifth year running, this year under the theme ‘Tenor saxophone only’. The prize includes a tour: four concerts in the coming weeks will take the winner, Roland Danyi, and his self-formed quartet across North Rhine-Westphalia; this was the first concert. Danyi, who began by playing the oboe before discovering jazz on the tenor saxophone, performed with Roman Babik (piano), Jan Blikslager (double bass) and Jakob Hein (drums) for the first time in this line-up.
Danyi’s tone was piercing; in his solos, the influence of his role model, John Coltrane, was unmistakable. Babik built up highly complex, loud harmonies on the piano, then let soft arpeggios trickle out as if from another world, before immediately returning to his virtuosic playing. Alongside him was Blikslager, who delivered varied solos with immense clarity and precision. Both the bassist and the tenor saxophonist clearly had a classical background. Hein let solos rise from the drums; they sounded like the thunder of a distant storm – complex, rich in colour and ever-changing.
A web stretched between the musicians, dense and knotted, a tangle of ideas all unfolding simultaneously. One would throw a musical idea into the room; the other would catch it. Saxophone and piano hurled notes at one another until, in the middle of his solo, the pianist took up the bass line like an echo. In the frenzied pieces, the harmony was lost in the thicket only to resurface seconds later. In between, a flash of delight shone through – a mischievous smile, and at the end, laughter that could no longer be contained.
The audience followed the quartet as if bound by a common thread. No one fidgeted, no one looked away, and no sooner had a solo faded away than the applause surged. Even the silence beforehand was charged with anticipation; during the pianist’s quiet passages, the hall audibly held its breath. This evening demanded attention, and the audience gave it their full attention, even when the music did not always make it easy for them. At times, the music was loud and dense – not for the untrained ear – and it bubbled forth so unchecked from the quartet that moments of calm were few and far between. Yet it was precisely this abundance that seemed to grip the audience even more firmly. One thing became clear: this was only the beginning, and the quartet is unstoppable.
(jkb w.g.)
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YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD 2026 .
TENOR SAXOPHONE ONLY
The idea of launching a YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD to provide professional support to young jazz talents as they embark on their careers arose in the summer of 2021 during a meeting between Prof. Dr Jürgen Ringbeck of the ‘Ringbeck Foundation’ and Peter Weiss, then director of the ‘Jazz Schmiede, Düsseldorf’. Young, as yet unestablished German jazz musicians aged between 16 and 23 are to be invited to participate as part of an early-stage support programme.
The call for entries for the first YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD 2022 initially focused on percussionists – DRUMS ONLY – in the North Rhine-Westphalia region; this was followed by PIANO ONLY in 2023, VOCALS ONLY in 2024 and GUITAR ONLY in 2025.
THE THEME FOR 2026: TENOR SAXOPHONE ONLY.
The prize, worth €5,000, will be used to fund an ‘exclusive tour’ for the winner with their own band at renowned German jazz clubs in the year the prize is awarded. The winner will thus have the opportunity to perform alongside well-known jazz greats and share the stage with them; they will be offered an exceptional springboard for their career. The criteria for assessing applicants are:
– Creativity
– Virtuosity/technique
– Innovation
– Potential
The YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD is organised through a collaborative partnership: the prize is sponsored by the ‘Ringbeck Foundation, Düsseldorf’ and organised jointly with the ‘Jazz Schmiede, Düsseldorf’ – directed by Peter Baumgärtner since 2024 –, the ‘Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen’ – this year with Sebastian Gille, lecturer in saxophone – and the ‘Cologne University of Music and Dance’ – Professor Niels Klein.
The YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD has successfully established itself as an exclusive brand offering innovative support to young German jazz talents. The presentation of the award winners and associated events are organised with the support of ‘Jazz Schmiede, Düsseldorf’, via a dedicated website, our own social media channels, specialist jazz media and local media.
THE COMPETITION
To simplify the selection process whilst ensuring a high standard of candidates, the initial shortlist was restricted to tenor saxophonists studying in North Rhine-Westphalia. Sebastian Gille, lecturer in saxophone at the ‘Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen’, and Professor Niels Klein, of the ‘Cologne University of Music and Dance’, both renowned teachers in the region, each proposed two suitable candidates who, having met all the necessary requirements, were nominated for the competition.
And here they are, the tenor saxophonists nominated for the YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD 2026
– Thies van Ballegooy
– Roland Danyi
– Dennis Grasmik
– Iara Sosalla Serodio
The auditions, the selection of the winner and the award ceremony will take place as a public event.
16 May 2026. from 8.00 pm
Jazz Schmiede
Himmelgeister Straße 107g
Entrance: Ulenbergstraße
40225 Düsseldorf
Each candidate will perform with the backing band – Lars Duppler (piano), Lisa Wulff (bass), Dominik Raab (drums) – two well-known pieces from different styles of jazz and one of their own compositions.
The winner will be selected by a panel of experts and the audience in attendance, and the award ceremony will take place on the same evening.
THE JURY
Kristina Brodersen – renowned jazz saxophonist Jörg Kaufmann – saxophonist and composer
Peter Weiss – founder and organiser of the YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD – jazz drummer
Jürgen Ringbeck – founder and organiser of the YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD – jazz enthusiast
the audience at the “Jazz Schmiede . Düsseldorf’ on the evening of the competition event.
The winner will be honoured on the same evening; their concert tour with a band will begin in autumn 2026. Performances are planned at renowned jazz clubs in Cologne, Wuppertal, Bielefeld and at the Jazz Schmiede in Düsseldorf. Peter Baumgärtner will organise the tour. The winner’s prize money will be used to cover fees, travel expenses, hotel accommodation, etc.
https://jazztalentaward.de/en/
CONTACT
JAZZ SCHMIEDE . Düsseldorf
Jazz in Düsseldorf e.V.
Himmelgeister Str. 107e
40225 Düsseldorf
Germany
+49 211 3110564
info@jazz-schmiede.de . www.jazz-schmiede.de
PETER BAUMGÄRTNER . Chairman
M +49 177 3416381
peter.baumgaertner@jazz-schmiede.de
TAMMEN GMBH
Advertising Agency . Management Consulting
Wilhelmstraße 14
49076 Osnabrück
Germany
+49 541 T 9 400 400 . F 9 400 450
info@tammen.de . www.tammen.de
ROLF TAMMEN . Managing Director
T +49 541 9 400 490 . M +49 170 9 100 490
rolf.tammen@tammen.de
