Sebastian Wittstock Trio

The program features rarely played gems such as “Letter to Evan” (Bill Evans), “Introspection” (Th. Monk), “Dance of the Infidels” (Bud Powell), “Yeah!” (H. Silver), and “The Peacocks” (J. Rowles). Intimate, friendly, and humorous music-making together demands a state of utmost openness (both active and reactive) from all three musicians. Playing without routine or restraint, openness to the surprising and unpredictable, as well as the willingness to make the most of the moment, characterize the trio’s work.

Lineup

Sebastian Wittstock: Piano

Carmelo Leotta: Bass

Andrea Marcelli: Drums

Sebastian Wittstock, born in Berlin in 1970, grew up in Munich and began playing music at the age of 7. He received classical piano lessons, and later also clarinet lessons, and graduated from high school with a focus on music. As a teenager, his passion for jazz grew, leading him to take lessons with jazz pianist Max Neißendorfer, followed by studies at the “Neue Jazz School” in Munich. He successfully completed his studies there in 1994 with a diploma in jazz piano.

In 1994, following its formation, he began working continuously with his trio (a classic jazz piano trio with piano, bass, and drums), a project particularly close to his heart that continues to this day.

Carmelo Leotta was born in northern Italy in 1975 and began playing the piano as a child. When he discovered heavy rock as a teenager, he started playing electric bass. The blues introduced him to the folkloric radicalism of musical expression, which he has never stopped seeking. Jazz, finally, allowed him to combine the theatricality of blues history with the complexity of classical music. In 2014, he moved to Berlin, enticed by the diversity of horizons the city offers, drawn by the opportunity to experience a touch of Eastern European and Middle Eastern influences that bring him closer to his southern roots.

Andrea Marcelli, born in Rome, studied classical clarinet, jazz composition, and arrangement at the renowned Conservatorio L. Refice in Frosinone. He has lived in Berlin since 2001, after spending twelve years in Los Angeles and New York. He has recorded over 200 of his own compositions, two of which were published in the “European Real Book” and “The Digital Real Book Part 2.” Marcelli has performed his music on five continents, recorded numerous albums for labels such as Verve/Polygram, ESC, and BHM, and has collaborated with prominent musicians including Wayne Shorter, David Liebman, Markus Stockhausen, Bob Mintzer, Eberhard Weber, Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Gomez, Don Menza, Mike Stern, Ekkehard Wölk, Ralph Towner, and many others.