German jazz group sets audiences, and lips, abuzz

Bertrand Groeger of Jazz Chor Freiburg seems to have been born with entertainment in his genes ― the man can make an audience laugh or get wildly excited with only his music. Hopefully, he’ll be bringing that enthusiasm to Seoul again for his concert tomorrow.
Groeger rearranges a slew of musical styles, including pop, ballads, Latin and classical music, into jazz choir; most of the time, it works. He also adds entertaining elements to the concerts ― Tobias Reisige plays the recorder to accompany the jazz choir, and sometimes battles with a solo vocalist. Andreas Daenel, who will come to Seoul for the first time with the choir, does tap dancing as well as the violin, and Acoustic Instinct, a vocal percussion group with three members, makes instrumental and rhythmic sounds using only their mouths. Julian Knoerzer, a member of Acoustic Instinct, blew away audiences in Seoul last year by using his lips to make drum sounds that were better than the real thing.
Groeger formed the jazz choir in Freiburg, a small town in southwest Germany, in 1990. But Jazz Chor Freiburg, consisting of about 30 singers, quickly stepped up to the world stage, performing in Russia, France, Japan, Italy, Denmark and the Czech Republic, to name just a few. The group has won several awards, including first prize at the International Choir Competition in Limburg in 1996, first at the International Choir Competition at Riva del Garda in 1997, and again at the Choir Olympics in Korea in 2002.
Though classical jazz fans usually find the Jazz Chor Freiburg’s music to be a bit too light, the group seems to be making a large contribution to popularizing the relatively unfamiliar genre in Korea. The program includes, “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Lady Be Good,” “Maiden Voyage” and “C Jam Blues.”

by Park Sung-ha

The concert starts at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. Tickets cost 20,000 won ($21) to 80,000 won. Call (02) 2068-8000 or visit www.ticketlink.co.kr or http://ticket.interpark.com.