KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ Wiesbaden e.V.
The KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ Wiesbaden e.V. has been committed to promoting modern jazz and other contemporary music in Wiesbaden since it was founded in 1979. The association has organized numerous events with internationally renowned artists and newcomers in the past. In 2008, the KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ received the Wiesbaden Culture Prize.
The KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ, founded in 1979 as a non-profit association for the promotion of modern jazz in Wiesbaden, grew out of a lively initiative of musicians who had already committed themselves a few years earlier to promoting both the local and the organization of concerts with musicians from the regional and (inter)national scene. It is now one of the oldest and most continuous independent cultural organizations in Wiesbaden and has promoted and presented almost all types of contemporary music in the field of current jazz trends, improvised and new music in a variety of ways in Wiesbaden. With the label "ARTist - Musik zur Zeit", the KOOPERATIVE has achieved a widely respected profile that identifies Wiesbaden internationally as a center of improvised music.
The voluntary work focuses on organizing concerts and festivals, providing rehearsal, practice and teaching rooms, facilitating workshops, establishing a regular open stage for improvised music and networking with related initiatives throughout Europe and beyond. In addition, there are numerous interdisciplinary productions in collaboration with dance, performance, visual arts, sound art, theater and film.
The association, which currently has around 50 members, has now staged around 1000 individual events at around 30 different venues - including the self-run jazz club "ARTist" from 1983-87 - and released numerous recordings. The KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ has presented newcomers and insider tips as well as internationally renowned artists.
The KOOPERATIVE is a member of the LAG Improvisierte Musik Hessen e.V. and the Wiesbadener Arbeitskreis Stadtkultur. As one of the longest-standing independent cultural organizations, it is deeply rooted in Wiesbaden's cultural scene and cooperates with the Wiesbaden Cultural Office, the Nassauischer Kunstverein e.V., the Museum Wiesbaden, Galerie Haff, Museum Wiesbaden, Galerie Hafemann, thalhaus, Künstlerverein Walkmühle e.V. and others. Its work has been and is supported by the Cultural Office of the State Capital of Wiesbaden, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art, the British Council, Pro Helvetia, the German Music Council, the Sparkassenkulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen, the Pro Musica Viva/Maria Strecker-Daelen Foundation, Nassauische Sparkasse and other sponsors from the business world.
In 2008, the KOOPERATIVE NEW JAZZ/ARTist was awarded the Culture Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden. In 2007, pianist Uwe Oberg, one of the organizers of the KOOPERATIVE, received the Hessian Jazz Prize.
The most important events and series include HUMANOISE CONGRESS - Days of Improvised Music, JUST MUSIC - International Jazz Festival, PANAKUSTIKA - Concerts for Lateral Listeners, MUSIK ZUR ZEIT - Individual Concerts, SCHÖNER HÖREN and IMPROVISOHRIUM