Stefano Bollani Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

Ralf Dombrowski (story and photos) writes:

Stefano Bollani was awarded the € 10,000 JTI Trier Jazz Award last Friday. He is the fifth recipient, after Marilyn Mazur, Oliver Strauch, Toots Thielemans and Pascal Schumacher. The award, jointly funded by JTI and the City of Trier, is given in alternate years to an international artist, and to one from the three-country European super-region of Saarland/ Lorraine/ Luxembourg.

He gave a solo concert in the JTI Tabak-Lager in Trier, playing scurrilously with tobacco themes –  Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, a bossa version of Smoke On The Water – plus classics like Blue Rondo A La Turk  comprehensively re-imagined and some of his own compositions. He even sang in the style of and Italian canzone. Outstanding, humorous, he’s an artist who never ceases to fascinate.

Stefano Bollani, Herman Lewen Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

He received the award from Hermann Lewen (above), Director of the Mosel Music Festival.