(Substitute for Carolin Pook, who was ill at short notice)

Zuzana Leharová is an improvisational musician rooted in various musical genres and styles, with a focus on jazz. The Slovakian-born Austrian violinist, composer and arranger lives in Cologne.

Photo by Taisjia Chernishova

As the bandleader of the Zuzana Leharová Quartet or “prominently” as a sidewoman, she is an integral part of the Cologne jazz scene and is involved in various projects, where she is experienced as a versatile and energetic improviser.

Zuzana grew up in Tyrol and after studying classical violin at the conservatory in Innsbruck, she continued her studies at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam and Maastricht, before finally completing her jazz violin studies at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne, where she found in Michael Gustorff, Claudius Valk, as well as Prof. Dieter Manderscheid and Sebastian Gramss, formative teachers and mentors for her further musical career.

Since 2008 Zuzana Leharová appeared, besides her own projects, in numerous formations such as Urbanic Cycles, Multiple Choice Orchestra, John Betsch Society and Tabadoul Orchestra, and worked with artists such as, Angelika Sheridan, Angelika Niescier, Annette Maye, Bastian Stein, Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Carolin Pook, Bodek Janke, Elisabeth Coudoux, Filippa Gojo, Jobic Le Masson, John Betsch, Joscha Oetz, Nils Klein, Nils Tegen, Simon Rummel and Peter Giron.
In addition to working on various studio productions and as a musician for the Rundfunk Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld (ZDF Neo), regular activities at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus have created a close working relationship with director Robert Wilson.

For several years, he taught Djoze, violin, and music theory at the conservatory and music school in Baghdad. He played in various formations, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture such as Al Bayariq, Al Nahar al jadid, Babel, and the State Symphony Orchestra. Together with his brother Saad Mahmood, he founded the group Melodic.

Photo Bassem Hawar

Bassem has been living in Germany since 2000 and has established himself in the free music scene. He is a co-founder of the ensembles Lagash, Ahoar, and Sidare, with which he has performed internationally. Ahoar won the 1st prize at the regional competition Creole NRW in 2006 and the following year at the federal competition of the World Music Prize.

Currently, Bassem plays in numerous groups of various musical genres, ranging from classical Iraqi Maqam (Duo Melodic, Mesopotamiens) to European medieval music (Sanstierce, La Beltatz), Flamenco (Trio Ziryab), new music, and experimental jazz (Crossover Bagdad Köln). In 2018, he founded the Nouruz Ensemble, which further develops contemporary oriental art music. The ensemble was included in the “Musikkulturen” promotion program of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the 2019/20 season.

Bassem Hawar is a recipient of the WDR Jazz Prize 2020 in the Musikkulturen category.