[re:jazz]

[re:jazz] is a German jazz group led by pianist and arranger Matthias Vogt. Its regular lineup includes vocalist Mediha Rustempasic (since 2011; previously Inga Lühning), saxophonist Oliver Leicht, guitarist Jan Stürmer (since 2006; previously Hanno Busch), percussionist Heiko Himmighoffen, bassist Andreas Manns, and drummer Volker Schmidt. Manns and Schmidt also perform with Vogt in the Matthias Vogt Trio; [re:jazz] grew out of that trio, which continues to perform and record independently.

Band History

The self-titled debut album was released in 2002, following an idea by Infracom founder Jan Hagenkötter and Namé Vaughn. They commissioned Matthias Vogt to create acoustic jazz versions of tracks from Infracom’s catalog. Alongside Vogt’s trio, many guest musicians took part in the sessions, including Till Brönner, Joy Denalane, Erik Truffaz, Nathan Haines, and Linda Carriere.

The project developed into a regular live band, and work then began on a second album, Point of View. It features acoustic jazz versions of electronic music from Infracom, including Compost’s “Donaueschingen.” The album also featured notable musicians such as Nils Petter Molvær, Viktoria Tolstoy, Nils Wogram, and tok tok tok. In 2006, [re:jazz] released its third album, the first to include original compositions, alongside covers of well-known electronic tracks such as Ce Ce Peniston’s “Finally” and Herbie Hancock’s “Rock It.”