Julia Hülsmann is one of the figureheads of German jazz. During her youth, she started taking classical piano lessons, and in 1991, she moved from Bonn to study jazz piano at Berlin’s Universität der Künste. Once she completed those studies, she upped sticks to New York to be an apprentice to Richie Beirach and Maria Schneider. Her respect for post-bop and modal jazz from the 1960s is clearly audible within her music. In addition, Hülsmann has a penchant for lyricism, a strong sense of melody, and a fascination for poetry. It’s not without reason that she’s also been proclaimed 'the poet of German jazz'. Her debut on ECM Records in 2008, The End Of A Summer, immediately pinned Hülsmann firmly on the international map. Earlier this year saw the release of the new album While I Was Away. Her lineup at the festival will be her Julia Hülsmann Quartet, accompanied by Norwegian trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth as a special guest.
