Norbert Scholly

Jazzguitarist - Composer

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„...Great flow within phrasing, skilful placements of notes and pauses – this is typical of Norbert Scholly’s way of playing guitar. He is a guitar player with an incomparable, pianistic way of playing. Jazz with intensity of chamber music and of extremely high quality – worthwhile to be discovered…” (Marc Bienfait, Jacques Pelzer Jazzclub)

“Norbert Scholly is the most remarkable guitar player I heard in Germany for a long time… A guitar player with skills and extraordinary potential.” MUSIKER MAGAZIN

Norbert Scholly is price winner of “European Jazz Competition” and of “Jazz Art-Festival NRW”. He is a brilliant aesthete, in love with melodies, presenting three jazz price winners on his latest cd: pianist Pablo Held, who often plays keyboards, bassist Benjamin Garcia and drummer Jonas Burgwinkel. These three guys are fantastic partners of Cologne’s string virtuoso, who lets out and brings to live his musical preferences with “Dreams, Drums & Drones”.....

“…and once more Norbert Scholly plays the acoustic guitar: in his beautifully floating homage to deceased pianist Esbjörn Svensson. And then Scholly knows exactly how to let shine through his deep love for bluegrass in his always excitingly arranged compositions.” Jazz thing 83

“...Scholly—von Klewitz—Gjakonovski—Schröder: their sound is to amazingly easy going, despite of their overwhelming will to play. Either in impulsive, heated moments or in quite ones – there are able to constantly keep tension and intensitiy…” K. MÜTZELFELD

“…Norbert Scholly, a guitar player, who nearly forces you to be interested and attentive, with his strong and convincing thematic statements about harmonic landscapes, of which you can only detect the outlines, when he or Held have already passed them, while jamming. No redundancies, no eloquence just for the sake of filling space…” Jazzpodium 05/2010

“...the musicians’ competent way of dealing with complex matters leads to the fact that the most complicated rhythms become natural, even though they are contradictory to the sounds Western Europeans are used to hear. …This makes the at the same time physical and intellectual musical experience become a dizzying pleasure.” F.A.Z.

“...over and over again pointed and lively. This music is most of all full of many experiences, clearly soaked by a neo-romantic grounding.” BADISCHE ZEITUNG

Biography

1983 / 84Jazz productions for “WDR Stadtmusik” („Shaft“-Trio : Norbert Scholly-guit/compositions, Stefan Glückert-bass/compositions, Reinhard Kobialka-drums)
1985Soloist award of "European Jazz-Competition" (Soloist award was first time ever awarded in 1985)
1989 / 90various tours through Switzerland with "Jochen Bohnes Quartett“ feat. Norbert Scholly –guit, Jochen Bohnes- keys, Norbert Pfammatter –drums, Thomas Duerst-bass. Jazz production for Radio Lausanne (CD), guest-workshop at „Swiss-School Bern“ work as freelance musician
1990studies in New York, collaborations with local musicians.
1994 various tours and guest performances in Germany and Italy with Mark Abrams, Francesco Bearzotti, Frank Bambara.
1995Concerts with new founded quartet (Jochen Rueckert-drums, Martin Gjakonovski-bass, Jan von Klewitz –sax ) (e.g. at 26. Jazzfestival Frankfurt).
1996 collaboration with WDR Big Band, various productions led by Bill Dobbins, Jerry van Rooyen and others, feat. Benny Golson, Peter Erskin, Danny Gottlieb.
since 1997 university teaching position Jazz guitar at "Johannes Gutenberg university”, Mainz.
CD production „Norbert Scholly Quartet“, with Jochen Rueckert-drums, Dietmar Fuhr -bass, Jan von Klewitz –sax
1998 Concerts at various festivals in Rumania and Hungary with „Nicolas Simion Group“, collaboration with local musicians (experience of the melting of traditional Balkan music with modern Jazz))
1999 playing concerts and music production in Madras (Southern India) and Bangalore, within the WDR project “Madras Spezial”, exchange of experiences with local musicians: Shankari Krishnan, Naresh Shotham, Ramesh Shotham, experience of traditional Southern Indian music and new aspects of rhythm.
2000Goethe-Tour through the center of Asia with „Norbert Scholly quartet (N. Scholly-guit/comp, John Schröder-drums, Jan von Klewitz-sax, Martin Gjakonovski-bass)
since 2001intensive work with computer software related to live performance/integration into various band constellations/improvisations.
2002 / 03winner of the Jazz-Art-Award of North-Rhine-Westphalia and WDR as electronic performer with "Box of Toads", performance at Copenhagen Jazz festival.
2004 / 05Music-Triennale 2004: "BITS & PIECES" feat. Jürgen Friedrich-keys, Norbert Scholly-guit/Laptop, Philipp Rehm-bass/electronics, Christian Thome-dr/electronics.

Jazz-Festival Sibiu 2004 (Romania) with "Nicolas Simion Group" feat: Florian Weber, Norbert Scholly, Kruno Levacich, Arthur Balogh

Jazz-Festival Katowitz mit "SSH" feat. Norbert Scholly-guit/laptop, Thomas Heberer-trumpet, Frank Schulte-laptop/electronics.

WDR Big Band production "Balkan Jazz" lead by: Bill Dobbins Comp.: N. Simion/B. Dobbins. feat. Zoltan Lantos-Violin, Fausto Beccalossi-Akkordion.

Guest academic at Hogeschool Zuid (Conservatorium Maastricht) for Jazz guitar (Jan. 2004 – July 2005)

Ukraine-tour with Matthias Danecks "NOW" feat. N. Scholly, M. Erlewein, H. Sieverts.

Jazz-Festival "Outreach" in Schwaz (Austria) with Low Cut Experience (LCE) " (N. Scholly-guit, Claudius Falk-Sax/clarinet, Daniel Schröteler-drums /var. percussion).
2006various productions for broadcasting stations, e.g. Hessischer Rundfunk

WDR Jazzmeeting feat. "LCE" (N. Scholly, Claudius Falk, Daniel Schröteler).

Moers Jazz festival: Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra plays the "Music of Slayer" lead by/arr. :Axel Knappmeyer, feat.Norbert Scholly- Guitar
2007 Jazz-Festival “InnTöne“(Diersbach/Austria)

WDR Bigband production feat. Gerald Presencer-Tp/Flh.

Guest academic at “Hochschule für Musik Franz List“, Weimar for Jazz guitar and ensemble-play (Sept. 2007 – Feb. 2008).
2008contribution to European music festival, Stuttgart, within the framework of an assignment for composition by CarolineThon feat. Michel Godard, Junia Vent, Christoph Hillmann, Gavino Murgia and others –SWR Live-recording
2009Rumania tour with "Nicolas Simion Group"

Jazz Festival Viersen feat. Oliver Leicht as, cl Norbert Scholly guit Alex Morsey b Jens Dueppe dr feat:Ack van Rooyen fglh

Guest academic at Hogeschool Zuid (Conservatorium Maastricht) for Jazz guitar (Sept. 2009 –July 2010)
2010-2018various tours and guest performances in Israel, England and others,

assignment for composition by the cultural institute of Rumania for chamber orchestra

performances in Rumania, Austria, Germany

"Vive le Jazz" 2011/12/13

"Gaume Jazz-Festival" 2017

Several Broadcastings Scholly-Böhm Duo

a.m.m.