Jazzanova and Clara Hill

Comprised of DJs Alexander Barck, Class Brieler, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, Axel Reinemer, and Jürgen von Knoblauch, Jazzanova’s members all met at the Berlin-based club, Delicious Doughnuts. Expressing an interest to create a sophisticated, jazz-infused sound that borrows influences from past decades of dance music, the collective formed Jazzanova in 1995. It was two years however before the group yielded any rewards for their efforts, when BBC DJ Giles Peterson premiered the group’s debut production, “Fedime’s Flight” on his radio show. This success led the group to produce remixes for the likes of 4hero, Men from the Nile, and Ian Pooley, which subsequently comprised the group’s early compilation, “The Remixes 1997-2000”.

By this point Jazzanova had gained real momentum in dance and house circles, which Barck, Brieler, and von Knoblauch built on by performing DJ sets the world over. Upon its official release on the newly-founded Jazzanova Compost Records, “Fedime’s Flight”, soon became a staple of DJs’ sets across Germany and Europe, and was subsequently succeeded by the production, “Caravelle”. In 2002 following five years of hard graft, Jazzanova issued their debut full-length “In Between”. Featuring remixes of their debut, the compilation “Remixed” followed in 2003, marked by guest contributions from Kyoto Jazz Massive, Ayro and King Britt.

Jazzanova continued their prodigious remix output well into the new millennium, with mixes of artists including Liquid Lounge, Ursula Rocker, Marshmellows, Calexico, Shaun Escoffery, and Status IV. In 2005, entrusted with the jazz label Blue Note’s entire back-catalogue, Jazzanova issued the compilation “Blue Note Trip: Lookin’ Back/Movin’ On”, turning old jazz numbers into dancing catalysts. A second remix album appeared in 2005, “The Remixes 2002-2005, showcasing the group’s most recent output, followed by “Glow and Glare” in 2005, and “Paz e Futebol” and “Broad Casting” in 2006.

The group’s sophomore full-length “All the the Things” was issued on Jazzanova Compost Recordings in 2008, marked by soulful vocals from the likes of Leon Ware, Dwele, and José Jones and rapper Phonte Coleman. A host of remixes followed, as did a second album of Blue Note mixes “Blue Note Trip: Scrambled/Mashed” in 2006, and the compilation “Belle et Fou” in 2007. The collective’s third full-length “Upside Down” was released in January 2012, following which Jazzanova hit the studio with a live band and Paul Randolph to create the well-received “The Funkhaus Studio Sessions” in 2012.