THAT'S US
Tinka Steinhoff
I never learned to play an instrument, never even sang in the school choir, my approach to music was actually always rather superficial.
In my early twenties, when I fell in love with a musician during the open stage in the only jazz club in my university town, everything suddenly changed. We listened to music for hours, I paid attention to instruments and harmonies for the first time ever, we nerded details and backgrounds, spent all our money on CDs and concerts. I had never consciously perceived jazz before, but then I heard about Esbjörn Svensson Trio and Jacky Terrasson, my gateway drugs into jazz. My first jazz concert: Brad Mehldau, where a world opened up to me to which I had had no access so far. A key moment: I became an event manager.
The relationship to the musician ended eventually - the one to Jazz music didn't. Over the years, I realized that I do have a musical talent after all: the perception of the extraordinary. Since 2010 I have been working as a booking agent and not only jazz music, but also the industry has grown dear to my heart. I am happy to be a part of it and I am immensely proud of the trust that my artists and many promoters put in me.
Hermes Villena
Ever since I was a teenager, I've been digging into music like a wannabe musical archaeologist. Over the past 30 years, no genre has been left out, and I mean no genre. From folk to country, soul to disco, drone to avant-garde, MPB to salsa, techno to house and, of course, lots of jazz! Funnily enough, as much as I dig into a genre, I usually end up in jazz.
This interest, not only in listening to music but also in collecting and looking for context, has always opened many doors for me and still does. This is how I ended up programming music for Cologne's King Georg, and this is what brought me here: a deep belief in the power of music, or as Albert Taylor put it: Music is the healing power of the universe. I know it sounds a bit courny, but it is that simple.