January 23, 2020

Winner European Edition 2019

Kathrine Windfeld

Danish pianist and composer Kathrine Windfeld is considered to be one of the most exciting and refreshing new Scandinavian jazz composers and arrangers. As a teenager she expressed her creativity through painting, acting, singing, and piano playing. Consequently, Kathrine went on to study music analysis arranging for big band and choir/ensemble at the Department of Musicology in Copenhagen and later at the Malmö Academy of Music. In early 2014, she founded the Kathrine Windfeld Big Band and a year later she released the album ‘Aircraft’ which received critical acclaim in Scandinavia and was awarded with a Danish Jazz Grammy. The follow up ‘Latency’ was released in March 2017 and received acclaim beyond Scandinavia in leading music magazines. As a composer, Kathrine has worked with the DR Big Band, Bohuslän Big Band and the HR Radio Big Band in Frankfurt.

During a star studded award ceremony in London, Kathrine was announced as the winner of the European edition of the ‘RISING STARS’ Jazz Award. The event was hosted by none other than pianist, singer, band leader and tv presenter Jools Holland, included performances from China Moses and Sarah McKenzie and a special surprice performance by Jamie Cullum. As winner of the ‘RISING STARS’ Jazz Award Kathrine will embark on a tour along 7 major jazz festivals in Europe: Love Supreme (GB), Leopolis Jazz Fest (UA), Kongsberg Jazzfestival (NO), Nice Jazzfestival (FR), Umbria Jazz (I), Jazzopen Stuttgart (D) and Festival de Jazz de Vitoria Gasteiz (E) In addition, she will receive a full year of PR and marketing support through Air Artist Agency.

Chairman of the 2019/20 jury is legendary ten-time Grammy award winning artist George Benson. Accompanying him on jury duty were senior Arts Editor at the Guardian Imogen Tilden and radio host Alex Dutilh. Previous jury members include Grammy award winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, UK Jazz superstar Jamie Cullum and former festival director André Menard among others. George Benson has high hopes for Kathrine Windfeld: ‘it was a tough call, almost impossible to choose just one winner out of 25 extremely talented finalists! Kathrine shows great potential, her innovative approach combined with an attractive blend of musical styles makes her ‘one to watch out for!’

Tour Dates ‘RISING STARS’ Jazz Award Tour 2021:

July 16, 2021Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz (E)
July 25, 2021Leopolis Jazz Festival, Lviv (UA)
September 14, 2021Jazzopen Stuttgart (D)
November 15, 2021London Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s (GB)