A special concert in Sindelfingen
A fantastic home game with the BB Allstars

Bernd Epple, May 15, 2023

Mother's Day Jazz Brunch: Five very special musicians delighted the audience at the Sindelfingen Pavilion. The artists' special qualities included not only their talent, but also their remarkable story and the fact that their performance even took place.

With around 80 attendees, the pavilion at the Calwer Knoten interchange in Sindelfingen was already quite full shortly before 11:00 a.m., which wasn't necessarily expected on Mother's Day morning. The air was filled with the aroma of wheat beer, white sausages with pretzels – and, if you will, good jazz! As it turned out, the culinary and musical delights blended beautifully.

A Rare Performance

Backstage, the musicians were probably already champing at the bit until the line at the bar finally dissolved, everyone found their (dining) seat, and the gentlemen musicians could finally begin. Beforehand, Pit Bäuerle from IG Kultur gave a short introduction, and at that point everyone realized what a special performance this BB Allstars was.

Getting this lineup together wasn't exactly easy. After all, the musicians travel from one gig to the next in a variety of formations. Andi Maile, for example, the SWR Big Band saxophonist, had just returned from a performance in Kaiserslautern and was rushing off to the next event right after the morning concert. "Why travel far when the good stuff is so close at hand?" Bäuerle remarked happily as he handed the stage over to the band. Andi Maile (tenor saxophone), Philip Konowski (electric guitar), Branko Arnsek (double bass), Jogi Nestel (drums), and Martin Johnson (stage piano) proved him right in no time.


Andi Maile (tenor saxophone), Philip Konowski (electric guitar), Branko Arnsek (double bass), Jogi Nestel (drums), and Martin Johnson (stage piano) proved him right in an instant. Very Old Friends Make Music

The term "old school" takes on a double meaning here: Not only do these members, all born in the 1960s, have a wealth of musical experience under their belts, but some of them are also former classmates from the Albert Einstein Gymnasium in Böblingen, and all of them studied music in Bern. "We're all very old friends who can reminisce about old times together," Johnson enthused at the beginning. During his cheerful introductions, the audience learned quite a bit about the history of this group, who have been friends since the 1980s and had come together especially for this jazz brunch.

Today, these five seasoned jazz musicians are music producers, lecturers, composers, state jazz prize winners, and above all, excellent instrumentalists! Johnson could hardly contain his admiration for the skills of Andi Maile ("My hero – he plays like no other!") or Philip Konowski ("One of the most accomplished guitarists I know"). The exciting licks and playing techniques that the two musicians presented that morning were truly remarkable.

While the first half consisted mainly of standards familiar to many jazz fans, the second half featured more recent compositions. Pat Metheny's "James" was tailor-made for Konowski's multifaceted guitar playing, "Walk Tall," a showpiece by Nils Landgren, inspired Maile to deliver sharp, high-note phrases, and Nestel shone with a drum solo and rap-like lyrics when he presented Doug Hammond's "To My Family." "Flip Side" from Johnson's Common Sense project brought the jazz brunch to a close, and it couldn't have been more perfect.


Pat Metheny's "James" was a perfect fit for Konowski's multifaceted guitar playing, "Walk Tall," a showpiece by Nils Landgren, inspired Maile to deliver sharp, high-note phrases, and Nestel shone with a drum solo and rap-like lyrics when he presented Doug Hammond's "To My Family." "Flip Side" from Johnson's Common Sense project provided a fitting finale to the jazz brunch, which couldn't have been more perfect.

Only beaming faces

Musicians of this genre, as one could see after this performance, only get better with age, even if Nestel modestly remarked afterward: "The Allstars could just as easily have been younger musicians, if you think, for example, of Jo Ambros and other rising stars from the district," and added with a smile: "But actually, they've all passed through our hands." A lighthearted reference to the music schools where Konowski, Johnson, and he himself taught. It can be said with certainty: The district is a showcase for jazz, and at the "Oldstars" concert, only beaming faces were to be seen!

High-level entertainment: The concert by jazz veterans at the Sindelfingen Pavilion. Photo: Bernd Epple